Bernard Hill Archives

by Aly Runke, contributing writer Now, if this date is ringing a bell for you its probably not because you remembered today is Bernard Hill's birthday, however it could be that you knew today was the release date for Lord of The Rings: Return of the King, which Bernard Hill acted in! Hill is an English actor who got his start portraying Shakespearean characters on stage. However, most of us geeks will recognize him as King Theòden from Lord of the Ring: The Two Towers and Return of the King. Hill has also wowed audiences in such films as the Titanic and Gandhi. Gandhi, Titanic, and Return of the King each went on to win Academy Awards. Recently, Hill has been the narrator for several documentaries. In March of 2012, he was one of the judges for the Norwich Film Festival. Today, Hill is still acting. In fact, he plays Samuel Cotton, a man who runs a sweets factory in Manchester, England, in the three part BBC series From There to Here. Before Hill was given the part of King Theòden in The Lord of the Rings, he was considered for the role of Gandalf! Hill admitted to having broken his sternum as well as getting his ear slashed by a sword during the filming of The Two Towers. Even this couldn't get purple belt Bernard Hill down, though. Apart from being immortalized in the adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien's beloved series, Hill has also accomplished several astonishing feats for an actor. For one, Hill is one of only three actors to be in seven films that all grossed over 1 billion dollars; the other two actors are Orlando Bloom and Johnny Depp. Hill was born at the tail-end of World War II, on December 17th, 1944, and today marks his 70th birthday! Hill was born in Blackly, Manchester. He grew up in a Catholic home and went to Catholic school, Xavier College. Hill then went on to Manchester Polytechnic School of Drama and was in attendance during the same years as Richard Griffiths. He graduated in 1970. He is married to Marianne Hill and has a son, Gabriel Hill. -30-

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