THE LORD OF THE RINGS Cast Honors Bernard Hill After His Death

Published: May 8, 2024

THE LORD OF THE RINGS Cast Honors Bernard Hill After His Death

By Movieguide® Contributor

The actors who played the four main hobbits in THE LORD OF THE RINGS trilogy shared thoughtful words about Bernard Hill and his role in the series after he unexpectedly died last weekend.

Hill played King Théoden in THE LORD OF THE RINGS.

“So long to our friend, our king, Bernard Hill. We will never forget you,” Elijah Wood, who played Frodo, wrote on X, before quoting from Tolkien’s book, “For he was a gentle heart and a great king and kept his oaths; and he rose out of the shadows to a last fair morning.”

So long to our friend, our king, Bernard Hill.

We will never forget you.

“For he was a gentle heart and a great king and kept his oaths; and he rose out of the shadows to a last fair morning.”

photo by Viggo pic.twitter.com/lxjepm5rUZ

— Elijah Wood (@elijahwood) May 5, 2024

“The Broken king has passed to the grey havens but he will always be remembered,” added Dominic Monaghan, who played Merry.

The four cast members were at Comic Con Liverpool when the news broke. Hill had been scheduled to appear at the convention as well but pulled out days before the event started.

“We lost a member of our family this morning… So we want to take a moment before we walk off stage to honor him,” Sean Astin, who played Samwise Gamgee, said during an onstage event.

“We love him. He was intrepid, he was funny, he was gruff, he was irascible, he was beautiful.”

“We were watching the movies and I said to Dom, I don’t think anyone spoke Tolkien’s words as great as Bernard did,” added Billy Boyd, who played Pippin, at the same onstage event. “He would break my heart. He will be solely missed.”

Hill passed away on Sunday, May 5. He was 79 years old.

Along with his portrayal of Théoden in THE LORD OF THE RINGS, Hill is best remembered for his role as Captain Edward J. Smith in TITANIC.

Fans will get a chance to see Hill’s King Théoden and the rest of the cast on the big screen again this June as the entire trilogy gets rereleased in theaters nationwide.

Movieguide® previously reported:

Fans of Peter Jackson’s LORD OF THE RINGS trilogy are in for a treat this summer as the extended cuts of the movies hit theaters for a major celebration.

For the occasion, Warner Bros. is teaming up with Fathom Events to bring each movie back to theaters for one day each. THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING will kick things off on June 8, followed by THE TWO TOWERS on the 9th and THE RETURN OF THE KING on the 10th.

Each movie was recognized by Moveiguide® for its excellent storytelling and commitment to a redemptive story, earning all three a Movieguide® Teddy Bear Award®.

This will be the first time the extended editions are screened in theaters. Though they provide additional lore and action to the movies and are seen as the definitive versions by diehard fans, their lengthy runtimes were cut down for the original theatrical releases in the early 2000s.