The Lord of the Rings cast have paid tribute to their co-star Bernard Hill who died this morning (May 5), aged 79.
Hill played King Théoden in the Lord of the Rings (LOTR) franchise. ITV's Lauren Ostridge posted a video on X which showed Hill's co-stars at the Comic Con Liverpool event, paying tribute to their colleague.
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Billy Boyd (Peregrin 'Pippin' Took), Sean Astin (Samwise Gamgee), Dominic Monaghan (Meriadoc 'Merry' Brandybuck) and Elijah Wood (Frodo Baggins) were all in discussion on stage, before Astin told the others "I can do this".
"So, we lost a member of our family this morning. Bernard Hill passed. King Théoden," Astin began, turning to the audience.
"And so we just want to take a moment, before we walk off this stage, to honour him. He was supposed to be here. He was supposed to be here today and yesterday," he said, referencing the fact that Hill had to cancel his appearance at the event.
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"So, we love him. He was intrepid, he was funny, he was gruff, he was irascible. He was beautiful," Astin ended.
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Boyd continued, praising Hill's character, on and off screen. "We were watching it actually, I think. And we were talking about the movies, and I said to Dom [Monaghan], I don't think anyone spoke [LOTR author, J R R] Tolkien's words as great as Bernard did. I think the way he just - he grounded those words in their realism.
"He would break my heart when I saw him on the screen. He was a wonderful man and he'll be sorely missed." The cast embraced each other as they spoke, before waving to the audience and solemnly leaving the stage.
Hill returned to our TV screens in series two of police drama The Responder, this evening (May 5). The actor played the father of Martin Freeman's character in the show.
Divya is a freelance writer with experience in entertainment and lifestyle news. Described as a "telly addict" since childhood, Divya was able to translate her interests into a BJTC-accredited, Honours degree in Journalism and Media. After working in communications and marketing, Divya joined Digital Spy as a Freelance News Reporter. She has also written for various publications including Metro, Asian World News and TwitCelebGossip; as well as interviews, features and reviews on her own blog. Divya prides herself on her TV, film and showbiz knowledge, always offering (not so) fun facts to her long-suffering friends and family. From soaps to superheroes, Divya is the go-to person for tailored recommendations and up to date information.
