In Titanic, Hill played Captain Edward Smith, one of the only characters based on a real person, and in the Lord Of The Rings franchise, he was Théoden, King of Rohan.

Actor Bernard Hill, who delivered a rousing cry before leading his people into battle in The Lord Of The Rings: The Return Of The King and went down with the ship as the captain in Titanic, has died. Hill, 79, died on morning, his agent Lou Coulson said.