Bernard Hill
Encyclopedia
Bernard Hill is a British actor
of film, stage and television. In a career spanning thirty years, he is best known for playing Yosser Hughes, the troubled 'hard man' whose life is falling apart in Alan Bleasdale's groundbreaking 1980s TV drama, Boys from the Blackstuff
. He is also known for a number of iconic roles in blockbuster films, including Captain Edward John Smith in Titanic
, King Théoden in The Lord of the Rings film trilogy
, and as the Warden of San Quentin Prison in the Clint Eastwood
film True Crime
. Hill is the only actor to have appeared in more than one of the three films awarded 11 Oscars, and one of only three actors to have starred in more than one film grossing more than $1 billion
USD
, namely: Titanic and The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
(the others being Orlando Bloom
who also starred in The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, as well as Pirates of the Caribbean
and Johnny Depp
who also starred in Pirates of the Caribbean
, as well as Alice in Wonderland
). Hill has appeared in three films which have won Best Picture
: Gandhi
, Titanic, and The Return of the King.
, Manchester
, England
. He attended Xaverian College
although at the time it was known as "Xaverian School", and then Manchester Polytechnic School of Drama at the same time as Richard Griffiths
. He graduated with a diploma in theatre in 1970.
, a Liverpool
working class
man ultimately driven to the edge by an uncaring system, in Alan Bleasdale
's BBC
Play for Today
, The Black Stuff and its more famous series sequel (also by Bleasdale), Boys from the Blackstuff
. His character's much-repeated phrase Gizza job ("Give us a job") became popular with protesters against Margaret Thatcher
's government, because of the high unemployment of the time.
With his bemused brood of kids never let out of his sight, Bernard Hill's powerful depiction of a man crumbling before the audience's eyes brought him numerous awards but, as he later revealed, almost "drove him to the edge of insanity".
(1982), directed by Richard Attenborough
. Though Hill didn’t figure prominently in the cast, he benefited from being part of an Oscar-winning film. Next up for Hill was Roger Donaldson
’s The Bounty
(1984), a fourth dramatisation of the famed mutiny on HMS Bounty
.
He had previously taken smaller parts in a number of British television dramas, appearing as the no-nonsense soldier of Caligula
's bodyguard, who, after the assassination of that emperor Gratus
in the acclaimed I, Claudius
, and as Richard Plantagenet, Duke of York in the BBC's 1982 productions of Shakespeare's Henry VI plays.
In 1985, he played the lead role in a TV dramatisation of John Lennon's life, A Journey in the Life. In addition to TV roles, Hill appeared on stage in The Cherry Orchard
, and the title roles in Macbeth
and A View from the Bridge
.
Hill starred alongside acting greats, including Anthony Hopkins
, Laurence Olivier
and Daniel Day-Lewis
, as well as Mel Gibson
and Liam Neeson
. Hill then received critical acclaim for his performance as Joe Bradshaw in Shirley Valentine
(1989), about a Liverpool
housewife (Pauline Collins
) who was a former anti-establishment rebel and engages in an extramarital affair. Hill added more prominent films to his resume, including Mountains of the Moon
(1990), Skallagrigg
(1994) and Madagascar Skin
(1995).
In the mid-1990s, Hill began appearing in films more regularly. His first major role in The Ghost and the Darkness
(1996), starring Val Kilmer
as a bridge-building engineer who must trust a big game hunter (Michael Douglas
) despite their mutual animosity. Hill then went down with the ship when he played Captain E.J. Smith on the ill-fated RMS Titanic (1997), by James Cameron
, whom Hill got along with quite well - an experience most working on the film did not have. Being in the biggest grossing film of all time attracted attention to his career, as Hill became more sought-after for more prominent parts.
Hill played Philos in The Scorpion King
(2002), starring The Rock, Michael Clarke Duncan
and Kelly Hu
.
Hill became known to a worldwide audience when he was cast in the role of King Théoden of Rohan
in Peter Jackson
's The Lord of the Rings film trilogy
based on Tolkien's
novel of the same name. Before casting him as King Théoden, director Peter Jackson considered Hill for the part of Gandalf
. When he was due to leave the set at the end of production, Jackson gave Hill two gifts, Théoden's helmet and sword Herugrim.
At the 2006 BAFTA TV Awards and International Emmy Award, Hill was nominated for his portrayal of David Blunkett
in the one-off satirical drama, A Very Social Secretary.
More recently, he held a minor role in the 2008 film Valkyrie
, as the commanding general of the German
Afrika Korp X Panzer Division, and as a voice actor for Sir Walter Beck in Fable III
(2010).
Hill has been the narrator in many television documentaries.
Due to his affinity and links to the region, along with his extensive CV in film, Hill was recently announced as a new patron and judge of the Norwich Film Festival
, due to be held in March 2012.
Information taken from filmreference.com
Information taken from filmreference.com, netglisme.com, and The Internet Movie Database
Information taken from The Internet Movie Database
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
of film, stage and television. In a career spanning thirty years, he is best known for playing Yosser Hughes, the troubled 'hard man' whose life is falling apart in Alan Bleasdale's groundbreaking 1980s TV drama, Boys from the Blackstuff
Boys from the Blackstuff
Boys from the Blackstuff is a British television drama series of five episodes, originally transmitted from 10 October to 7 November 1982 on BBC2....
. He is also known for a number of iconic roles in blockbuster films, including Captain Edward John Smith in Titanic
Titanic (1997 film)
Titanic is a 1997 American epic romance and disaster film directed, written, co-produced, and co-edited by James Cameron. A fictionalized account of the sinking of the RMS Titanic, it stars Leonardo DiCaprio as Jack Dawson, Kate Winslet as Rose DeWitt Bukater and Billy Zane as Rose's fiancé, Cal...
, King Théoden in The Lord of the Rings film trilogy
The Lord of the Rings film trilogy
The Lord of the Rings is an epic film trilogy consisting of three fantasy adventure films based on the three-volume book of the same name by English author J. R. R. Tolkien. The films are The Fellowship of the Ring , The Two Towers and The Return of the King .The films were directed by Peter...
, and as the Warden of San Quentin Prison in the Clint Eastwood
Clint Eastwood
Clinton "Clint" Eastwood, Jr. is an American film actor, director, producer, composer and politician. Eastwood first came to prominence as a supporting cast member in the TV series Rawhide...
film True Crime
True Crime (1999 film)
True Crime is a 1999 American mystery drama film directed by Clint Eastwood, and based on Andrew Klavan's 1997 novel of the same name. Eastwood also stars in the film as a journalist covering the execution of a death row inmate, only to discover that the convict may actually be innocent.-Plot:Steve...
. Hill is the only actor to have appeared in more than one of the three films awarded 11 Oscars, and one of only three actors to have starred in more than one film grossing more than $1 billion
1000000000 (number)
1,000,000,000 is the natural number following 999,999,999 and preceding 1,000,000,001.In scientific notation, it is written as 109....
USD
United States dollar
The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
, namely: Titanic and The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King is a 2003 epic fantasy-drama film directed by Peter Jackson that is based on the second and third volumes of J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings...
(the others being Orlando Bloom
Orlando Bloom
Orlando Jonathan Blanchard Bloom is an English actor. He had his break-through roles in 2001 as the elf-prince Legolas in The Lord of the Rings and starring in 2003 as blacksmith Will Turner in the Pirates of the Caribbean film series, and subsequently established himself as a lead in Hollywood...
who also starred in The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, as well as Pirates of the Caribbean
Pirates of the Caribbean
Pirates of the Caribbean is a multi-billion dollar Walt Disney franchise encompassing a series of films, a theme park ride, and spinoff novels as well as numerous video games and other publications. The franchise originates with the Pirates of the Caribbean attraction, which opened at Disneyland in...
and Johnny Depp
Johnny Depp
John Christopher "Johnny" Depp II is an American actor, producer and musician. He has won the Golden Globe Award and Screen Actors Guild award for Best Actor. Depp rose to prominence on the 1980s television series 21 Jump Street, becoming a teen idol...
who also starred in Pirates of the Caribbean
Pirates of the Caribbean
Pirates of the Caribbean is a multi-billion dollar Walt Disney franchise encompassing a series of films, a theme park ride, and spinoff novels as well as numerous video games and other publications. The franchise originates with the Pirates of the Caribbean attraction, which opened at Disneyland in...
, as well as Alice in Wonderland
Alice in Wonderland (2010 film)
Alice in Wonderland is a 2010 American computer-animated/live action fantasy adventure film directed by Tim Burton, written by Linda Woolverton, and released by Walt Disney Pictures...
). Hill has appeared in three films which have won Best Picture
Academy Award for Best Picture
The Academy Award for Best Picture is one of the Academy Awards of Merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to artists working in the motion picture industry. The Best Picture category is the only category in which every member of the Academy is eligible not only...
: Gandhi
Gandhi (film)
Gandhi is a 1982 biographical film based on the life of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, who led the nonviolent resistance movement against British colonial rule in India during the first half of the 20th century. The film was directed by Richard Attenborough and stars Ben Kingsley as Gandhi. They both...
, Titanic, and The Return of the King.
Early life
Hill was born in BlackleyBlackley
Blackley is an area of the city of Manchester, in Greater Manchester, England. It is north of Manchester city centre, by a meander of the River Irk. Further north is Middleton...
, Manchester
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. He attended Xaverian College
Xaverian College
Xaverian Roman Catholic Sixth form College is a College in the city of Manchester.-Admissions:It lies in the inner city suburb of Rusholme close to Wilmslow Road and Oxford Road...
although at the time it was known as "Xaverian School", and then Manchester Polytechnic School of Drama at the same time as Richard Griffiths
Richard Griffiths
Richard Griffiths, OBE is an English actor of stage, film and television. He has received the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actor, the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actor in a Play, the Outer Critics Circle Award for Best Featured Actor and a Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actor...
. He graduated with a diploma in theatre in 1970.
Boys from the Blackstuff
Hill first came to prominence in Britain through his Yosser HughesYosser Hughes
Yosser Hughes is a fictional character from Alan Bleasdale's 1982 television series Boys from the Blackstuff, set in Liverpool, though ironically the character was played by Manchester-born actor Bernard Hill.Yosser appears as a tall man in his mid thirties who wears predominantly black clothes...
, a Liverpool
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
working class
Working class
Working class is a term used in the social sciences and in ordinary conversation to describe those employed in lower tier jobs , often extending to those in unemployment or otherwise possessing below-average incomes...
man ultimately driven to the edge by an uncaring system, in Alan Bleasdale
Alan Bleasdale
Alan Bleasdale is an English television dramatist, best known for writing several social realist drama serials based on the lives of ordinary people.The Bleasdales live in prescot,liverpool,wales and london.-Early life:Bleasdale is an only child; his father worked in a food factory and his mother...
's BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
Play for Today
Play for Today
Play for Today is a British television anthology drama series, produced by the BBC and transmitted on BBC1 from 1970 to 1984. During the run, more than three hundred programmes, featuring original television plays, and adaptations of stage plays and novels, were transmitted...
, The Black Stuff and its more famous series sequel (also by Bleasdale), Boys from the Blackstuff
Boys from the Blackstuff
Boys from the Blackstuff is a British television drama series of five episodes, originally transmitted from 10 October to 7 November 1982 on BBC2....
. His character's much-repeated phrase Gizza job ("Give us a job") became popular with protesters against Margaret Thatcher
Margaret Thatcher
Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher, was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990...
's government, because of the high unemployment of the time.
With his bemused brood of kids never let out of his sight, Bernard Hill's powerful depiction of a man crumbling before the audience's eyes brought him numerous awards but, as he later revealed, almost "drove him to the edge of insanity".
Other works
Hill then appeared as Sergeant Putnam in GandhiGandhi (film)
Gandhi is a 1982 biographical film based on the life of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, who led the nonviolent resistance movement against British colonial rule in India during the first half of the 20th century. The film was directed by Richard Attenborough and stars Ben Kingsley as Gandhi. They both...
(1982), directed by Richard Attenborough
Richard Attenborough
Richard Samuel Attenborough, Baron Attenborough , CBE is a British actor, director, producer and entrepreneur. As director and producer he won two Academy Awards for the 1982 film Gandhi...
. Though Hill didn’t figure prominently in the cast, he benefited from being part of an Oscar-winning film. Next up for Hill was Roger Donaldson
Roger Donaldson
Roger Donaldson is an Australian-born New Zealand film producer, director and writer who has made numerous successful movies. He was a co-founder of the New Zealand Film Commission.-Life and career:...
’s The Bounty
The Bounty
The Bounty is a 1984 British historical film directed by Roger Donaldson, starring Mel Gibson and Anthony Hopkins, and produced by Bernard Williams with Dino De Laurentiis as executive producer. It is the fifth film version of the story of the mutiny on the Bounty. The screenplay was by Robert Bolt...
(1984), a fourth dramatisation of the famed mutiny on HMS Bounty
HMS Bounty
HMS Bounty , famous as the scene of the Mutiny on the Bounty on 28 April 1789, was originally a three-masted cargo ship, the Bethia, purchased by the British Admiralty, then modified and commissioned as His Majesty's Armed Vessel the...
.
He had previously taken smaller parts in a number of British television dramas, appearing as the no-nonsense soldier of Caligula
Caligula
Caligula , also known as Gaius, was Roman Emperor from 37 AD to 41 AD. Caligula was a member of the house of rulers conventionally known as the Julio-Claudian dynasty. Caligula's father Germanicus, the nephew and adopted son of Emperor Tiberius, was a very successful general and one of Rome's most...
's bodyguard, who, after the assassination of that emperor Gratus
Gratus
Gratus, a soldier of Caligula's bodyguard, who, after the assassination of that emperor, discovered and drew Claudius from his hiding-place in the palace, and presented him to the soldiers as a Germanicus, the proper heir to the empire....
in the acclaimed I, Claudius
I, Claudius (TV series)
I, Claudius is a 1976 BBC Television adaptation of Robert Graves' I, Claudius and Claudius the God. Written by Jack Pulman, it proved one of the corporation's most successful drama serials of all time...
, and as Richard Plantagenet, Duke of York in the BBC's 1982 productions of Shakespeare's Henry VI plays.
In 1985, he played the lead role in a TV dramatisation of John Lennon's life, A Journey in the Life. In addition to TV roles, Hill appeared on stage in The Cherry Orchard
The Cherry Orchard
The Cherry Orchard is Russian playwright Anton Chekhov's last play. It premiered at the Moscow Art Theatre 17 January 1904 in a production directed by Constantin Stanislavski. Chekhov intended this play as a comedy and it does contain some elements of farce; however, Stanislavski insisted on...
, and the title roles in Macbeth
Macbeth
The Tragedy of Macbeth is a play by William Shakespeare about a regicide and its aftermath. It is Shakespeare's shortest tragedy and is believed to have been written sometime between 1603 and 1607...
and A View from the Bridge
A View from the Bridge
A View from the Bridge is a play by American playwright Arthur Miller that was first staged on September 29, 1955 as a one-act verse drama with A Memory of Two Mondays at the Coronet Theatre on Broadway. The play was unsuccessful and Miller subsequently revised the play to contain two acts; this...
.
Hill starred alongside acting greats, including Anthony Hopkins
Anthony Hopkins
Sir Philip Anthony Hopkins, KBE , best known as Anthony Hopkins, is a Welsh actor of film, stage and television...
, Laurence Olivier
Laurence Olivier
Laurence Kerr Olivier, Baron Olivier, OM was an English actor, director, and producer. He was one of the most famous and revered actors of the 20th century. He married three times, to fellow actors Jill Esmond, Vivien Leigh, and Joan Plowright...
and Daniel Day-Lewis
Daniel Day-Lewis
Daniel Michael Blake Day-Lewis is an English actor with both British and Irish citizenship. His portrayals of Christy Brown in My Left Foot and Daniel Plainview in There Will Be Blood won Academy and BAFTA Awards for Best Actor, and Screen Actors Guild as well as Golden Globe Awards for the latter...
, as well as Mel Gibson
Mel Gibson
Mel Colm-Cille Gerard Gibson, AO is an American actor, film director, producer and screenwriter. Born in Peekskill, New York, Gibson moved with his parents to Sydney, Australia when he was 12 years old and later studied acting at the Australian National Institute of Dramatic Art.After appearing in...
and Liam Neeson
Liam Neeson
Liam John Neeson, OBE is an Irish actor who has been nominated for an Oscar, a BAFTA and three Golden Globe Awards.He has starred in a number of notable roles including Oskar Schindler in Schindler's List, Michael Collins in Michael Collins, Peyton Westlake in Darkman, Jean Valjean in Les...
. Hill then received critical acclaim for his performance as Joe Bradshaw in Shirley Valentine
Shirley Valentine (film)
Shirley Valentine is a 1989 British/American romantic comedy-drama film directed by Lewis Gilbert. The screenplay by Willy Russell is based on his 1986 one-character play of the same title.-Plot:...
(1989), about a Liverpool
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
housewife (Pauline Collins
Pauline Collins
Pauline Collins, OBE is an English actress of the stage, television, and film. She first came to prominence portraying Sarah Moffat in Upstairs, Downstairs and its spin-off Thomas & Sarah during the 1970s. She later drew acclaim for playing the title role in the play Shirley Valentine for which...
) who was a former anti-establishment rebel and engages in an extramarital affair. Hill added more prominent films to his resume, including Mountains of the Moon
Mountains of the Moon (film)
Mountains of the Moon is a 1990 theatrical film depicting the 1857-58 journey of Richard Francis Burton and John Hanning Speke in their expedition to central Africa — the project that culminated in Speke's discovery of the source of the Nile River. The expedition led to a bitter rivalry between the...
(1990), Skallagrigg
Skallagrigg
Skallagrigg is a 1987 novel written by William Horwood and influenced by Horwood's relationship with his own daughter Rachel, who has cerebral palsy.-Plot introduction:...
(1994) and Madagascar Skin
Madagascar Skin
Madagascar Skin is a 1995 British film starring Bernard Hill and John Hannah.-Plot summary:Hannah plays Harry, a very shy young gay man who has a birthmark in the shape of Madagascar across much of the left-hand side of his face. On fleeing the city and the shallow gay scene, Harry ends up at a...
(1995).
In the mid-1990s, Hill began appearing in films more regularly. His first major role in The Ghost and the Darkness
The Ghost and the Darkness
The Ghost and the Darkness is a 1996 adventure film starring Michael Douglas and Val Kilmer set in Africa at the end of the 19th century.It was directed by Stephen Hopkins and the screenplay was written by William Goldman....
(1996), starring Val Kilmer
Val Kilmer
Val Edward Kilmer is an American actor. Originally a stage actor, Kilmer became popular in the mid-1980s after a string of appearances in comedy films, starting with Top Secret! , then the cult classic Real Genius , as well as blockbuster action films, including a supporting role in Top Gun and a...
as a bridge-building engineer who must trust a big game hunter (Michael Douglas
Michael Douglas
Michael Kirk Douglas is an American actor and producer, primarily in movies and television. He has won three Golden Globes and two Academy Awards; first as producer of 1975's Best Picture, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, and as Best Actor in 1987 for his role in Wall Street. Douglas received the...
) despite their mutual animosity. Hill then went down with the ship when he played Captain E.J. Smith on the ill-fated RMS Titanic (1997), by James Cameron
James Cameron
James Francis Cameron is a Canadian-American film director, film producer, screenwriter, editor, environmentalist and inventor...
, whom Hill got along with quite well - an experience most working on the film did not have. Being in the biggest grossing film of all time attracted attention to his career, as Hill became more sought-after for more prominent parts.
Hill played Philos in The Scorpion King
The Scorpion King
The Scorpion King is a 2002 American action film directed by Chuck Russell, starring Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, Kelly Hu, Grant Heslov, and Michael Clarke Duncan...
(2002), starring The Rock, Michael Clarke Duncan
Michael Clarke Duncan
Michael Clarke Duncan is an American actor, best known for his breakout role as John Coffey in The Green Mile, for which he was nominated for an Academy Award and a Golden Globe.- Early life :...
and Kelly Hu
Kelly Hu
Kelly Ann Hu is an American actress and former fashion model. She was Miss Teen USA 1985 and Miss Hawaii USA 1993.-Early life:Hu was born in Honolulu, Hawaii, the daughter of Juanita, an engineering drafter for Honolulu, and Herbert Hu, a salesman and exotic bird breeder; the two divorced during...
.
Hill became known to a worldwide audience when he was cast in the role of King Théoden of Rohan
Rohan
Rohan is a realm in J. R. R. Tolkien's fantasy era of Middle-earth. It is a grassland which lies north of its ally Gondor and north-west of Mordor, the realm of Sauron, their enemy . It is inhabited by the Rohirrim, a people of herdsmen and farmers who are well-known for their horses and cavalry....
in Peter Jackson
Peter Jackson
Sir Peter Robert Jackson, KNZM is a New Zealand film director, producer, actor, and screenwriter, known for his The Lord of the Rings film trilogy , adapted from the novel by J. R. R...
's The Lord of the Rings film trilogy
The Lord of the Rings film trilogy
The Lord of the Rings is an epic film trilogy consisting of three fantasy adventure films based on the three-volume book of the same name by English author J. R. R. Tolkien. The films are The Fellowship of the Ring , The Two Towers and The Return of the King .The films were directed by Peter...
based on Tolkien's
J. R. R. Tolkien
John Ronald Reuel Tolkien, CBE was an English writer, poet, philologist, and university professor, best known as the author of the classic high fantasy works The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, and The Silmarillion.Tolkien was Rawlinson and Bosworth Professor of Anglo-Saxon at Pembroke College,...
novel of the same name. Before casting him as King Théoden, director Peter Jackson considered Hill for the part of Gandalf
Gandalf
Gandalf is a character in J. R. R. Tolkien's novels The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. In these stories, Gandalf appears as a wizard, member and later the head of the order known as the Istari, as well as leader of the Fellowship of the Ring and the army of the West...
. When he was due to leave the set at the end of production, Jackson gave Hill two gifts, Théoden's helmet and sword Herugrim.
At the 2006 BAFTA TV Awards and International Emmy Award, Hill was nominated for his portrayal of David Blunkett
David Blunkett
David Blunkett is a British Labour Party politician and the Member of Parliament for Sheffield Brightside and Hillsborough, having represented Sheffield Brightside from 1987 to 2010...
in the one-off satirical drama, A Very Social Secretary.
More recently, he held a minor role in the 2008 film Valkyrie
Valkyrie (film)
Valkyrie is a 2008 American historical thriller film set in Nazi Germany during World War II. The film depicts the 20 July plot in 1944 by German army officers to assassinate Adolf Hitler and to use the Operation Valkyrie national emergency plan to take control of the country...
, as the commanding general of the German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
Afrika Korp X Panzer Division, and as a voice actor for Sir Walter Beck in Fable III
Fable III
Fable III is the third video game in the Fable series of action role-playing games . The game was developed by Lionhead Studios and published by Microsoft Game Studios for Microsoft Windows and Xbox 360. The story focuses on the player character's struggle to overthrow the King of Albion by...
(2010).
Hill has been the narrator in many television documentaries.
Due to his affinity and links to the region, along with his extensive CV in film, Hill was recently announced as a new patron and judge of the Norwich Film Festival
Norwich Film Festival
Norwich Film Festival is a film festival that takes place annually in Norwich. During its inaugural year the festival supported independent films as well as student films, and showcased feature films, short films, animated films, and documentary films....
, due to be held in March 2012.
Theatre
| Year | Play | Role | Theatre |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1974 | John, Paul, George, Ringo... and Bert | John Lennon John Lennon John Winston Lennon, MBE was an English musician and singer-songwriter who rose to worldwide fame as one of the founding members of The Beatles, one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music... |
Lyric Theatre, London |
| 1978 | Twelfth Night | Toby Belch Toby Belch Sir Toby Belch is a character in William Shakespeare's Twelfth Night. He is considered one of William Shakespeare's finest comic characters, an ambiguous mix of high spirits and low cunning. He first appears in the play's third scene, when he storms onto the stage the morning after a hard night... |
Young Vic, London |
| 1983 | Short List | Howard | Hampstead Theatre Hampstead Theatre Hampstead Theatre is a theatre in the vicinity of Swiss Cottage and Belsize Park, in the London Borough of Camden. It specialises in commissioning and producing new writing, supporting and developing the work of new writers. In 2009 it celebrates its 50 year anniversary.The original theatre was... , London London London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its... |
| 1986 | Macbeth Macbeth The Tragedy of Macbeth is a play by William Shakespeare about a regicide and its aftermath. It is Shakespeare's shortest tragedy and is believed to have been written sometime between 1603 and 1607... |
Macbeth | Haymarket Theatre Haymarket Theatre (Leicester) The Haymarket Theatre was a theatre in Leicester, England, based in the Haymarket Shopping Centre on Belgrave Gate in Leicester city centre. The theatre closed at the end of 2006 and has been replaced by the Curve Theatre... , Leicester Leicester Leicester is a city and unitary authority in the East Midlands of England, and the county town of Leicestershire. The city lies on the River Soar and at the edge of the National Forest... |
| 1989 | The Cherry Orchard The Cherry Orchard The Cherry Orchard is Russian playwright Anton Chekhov's last play. It premiered at the Moscow Art Theatre 17 January 1904 in a production directed by Constantin Stanislavski. Chekhov intended this play as a comedy and it does contain some elements of farce; however, Stanislavski insisted on... |
Lopakhin | Aldwych Theatre Aldwych Theatre The Aldwych Theatre is a West End theatre, located on Aldwych in the City of Westminster. The theatre was listed Grade II on 20 July 1971. Its seating capacity is 1,200.-Origins:... , London |
| 1990 | Gasping | Sir Chiffley Lockheart | Theatre Royal Haymarket Theatre The Theatre Royal Haymarket is a West End theatre in the Haymarket in the City of Westminster which dates back to 1720, making it the third-oldest London playhouse still in use... , Haymarket, London |
| 1995 | A View from the Bridge A View from the Bridge A View from the Bridge is a play by American playwright Arthur Miller that was first staged on September 29, 1955 as a one-act verse drama with A Memory of Two Mondays at the Coronet Theatre on Broadway. The play was unsuccessful and Miller subsequently revised the play to contain two acts; this... |
Eddie Carbone | Strand Theatre, London |
Information taken from filmreference.com
Filmography
| Year | Film | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1975 | It Could Happen to You | Syph | |
| 1976 | Trial by Combat Trial by Combat (film) Trial by Combat is a 1976 film directed by Kevin Connor. It stars John Mills and Donald Pleasence.-Cast:* John Mills as Colonel Bertie Cook* Donald Pleasence as Sir Giles Marley* Barbara Hershey as Marion Evans* David Birney as Sir John Gifford... |
Blind Freddie | Film also known as Dirty Knight's Work and A Choice of Arms |
| 1978 | The Sailor's Return The Sailor's Return (film) The Sailor's Return is a 1978 British drama film directed by Jack Gold and starring Tom Bell, Shope Shodeinde and Elton Charles. It is based on the 1925 novel The Sailor's Return by David Garnett. A sailor returns to his hometown to open a pub bringing with him his new black wife. Very quickly they... |
Carter | |
| 1982 | Gandhi Gandhi (film) Gandhi is a 1982 biographical film based on the life of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, who led the nonviolent resistance movement against British colonial rule in India during the first half of the 20th century. The film was directed by Richard Attenborough and stars Ben Kingsley as Gandhi. They both... |
Sergeant Putnam | |
| 1983 | Squaring the Circle | Narrator Narrator A narrator is, within any story , the fictional or non-fictional, personal or impersonal entity who tells the story to the audience. When the narrator is also a character within the story, he or she is sometimes known as the viewpoint character. The narrator is one of three entities responsible for... |
Documentary Documentary A documentary is a creative work of non-fiction, including:* Documentary film, including television* Radio documentary* Documentary photographyRelated terms include:... |
| Runners | Trevor Field | ||
| 1984 | The Bounty The Bounty The Bounty is a 1984 British historical film directed by Roger Donaldson, starring Mel Gibson and Anthony Hopkins, and produced by Bernard Williams with Dino De Laurentiis as executive producer. It is the fifth film version of the story of the mutiny on the Bounty. The screenplay was by Robert Bolt... |
Cole | |
| 1985 | Restless Natives Restless Natives Restless Natives is a 1985 comedy film directed by Michael Hoffman and starring Vincent Friell, Joe Mullaney, and Ned Beatty.Filmed in Scotland, the story follows the adventures of two young men who don masks and hold up tourist coaches in the Highlands... |
Will's father | |
| The Chain The Chain (1984 film) The Chain is a British comedy drama film first released in 1984. The film was produced and distributed by Film Four International.-Cast:* Denis Lawson as Keith* Rita Wolf as Carrie* Phyllis Logan as Alison* David Troughton as Dudley... |
Nick | ||
| Samson and Delilah | Willie Naknervis | ||
| 1986 | Milwr Bychan | Officer | Film also known as Boy Soldier |
| New World New World The New World is one of the names used for the Western Hemisphere, specifically America and sometimes Oceania . The term originated in the late 15th century, when America had been recently discovered by European explorers, expanding the geographical horizon of the people of the European middle... |
John Billington | ||
| No Surrender No Surrender (film) No Surrender is a 1985 comedy film starring Michael Angelis and Ray McAnally.The film is black comedy about the Northern Ireland conflict, set in Liverpool on New Year's Eve. The plot focuses on the Irish Catholic and Protestant communities in the city, and the action is seen through the eyes of... |
Bernard | ||
| 1987 | Bellman and True Bellman and True Bellman and True is a 1987 film written and directed by Richard Loncraine, starring Bernard Hill, Derek Newark, and Richard Hope.-Plot:Hiller, a computer expert, was bribed by a group of bank robbers to obtain details of the security system at a newly-built bank. Having obtained the information, he... |
Hiller | |
| 1988 | Drowning by Numbers Drowning by Numbers Drowning by Numbers is a 1988 British film directed by Peter Greenaway. It was entered into the 1988 Cannes Film Festival.-Plot:The film's plot centers on three women — a grandmother, mother and daughter — each named Cissie Colpitts. As the story progresses each woman successively drowns her husband... |
Henry Madgett | |
| 1989 | Shirley Valentine Shirley Valentine (film) Shirley Valentine is a 1989 British/American romantic comedy-drama film directed by Lewis Gilbert. The screenplay by Willy Russell is based on his 1986 one-character play of the same title.-Plot:... |
Joe Bradshaw | |
| 1990 | Mountains of the Moon Mountains of the Moon (film) Mountains of the Moon is a 1990 theatrical film depicting the 1857-58 journey of Richard Francis Burton and John Hanning Speke in their expedition to central Africa — the project that culminated in Speke's discovery of the source of the Nile River. The expedition led to a bitter rivalry between the... |
Dr. David Livingston | |
| 1991 | The Law Lord | Martin Allport | |
| 1992 | The Name of the Game The Name of the Game "The Name of the Game" is a 1977 song by Swedish pop group ABBA, and was released as the first single from the group's fifth studio album, The Album... |
Ignatius "Iggy" Smith | Film also known as Run Rabbit Run and Double X |
| 1993 | Shepherd on the Rock | Tam Ferrier | |
| 1994 | Skallagrigg Skallagrigg Skallagrigg is a 1987 novel written by William Horwood and influenced by Horwood's relationship with his own daughter Rachel, who has cerebral palsy.-Plot introduction:... |
John | |
| Drug Taking and the Arts | Presenter and narrator | Documentary | |
| 1995 | Madagascar Skin Madagascar Skin Madagascar Skin is a 1995 British film starring Bernard Hill and John Hannah.-Plot summary:Hannah plays Harry, a very shy young gay man who has a birthmark in the shape of Madagascar across much of the left-hand side of his face. On fleeing the city and the shallow gay scene, Harry ends up at a... |
Flint | |
| 1996 | The Ghost and the Darkness The Ghost and the Darkness The Ghost and the Darkness is a 1996 adventure film starring Michael Douglas and Val Kilmer set in Africa at the end of the 19th century.It was directed by Stephen Hopkins and the screenplay was written by William Goldman.... |
Dr. Hawthorne | |
| 1997 | The Wind in the Willows The Wind in the Willows The Wind in the Willows is a classic of children's literature by Kenneth Grahame, first published in 1908. Alternately slow moving and fast paced, it focuses on four anthropomorphised animal characters in a pastoral version of England... |
Engine driver | Film also known as Mr. Toad's Wild Ride |
| Titanic Titanic (1997 film) Titanic is a 1997 American epic romance and disaster film directed, written, co-produced, and co-edited by James Cameron. A fictionalized account of the sinking of the RMS Titanic, it stars Leonardo DiCaprio as Jack Dawson, Kate Winslet as Rose DeWitt Bukater and Billy Zane as Rose's fiancé, Cal... |
Captain E.J. Smith | Nominated - Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture One of two films in which Hill stars, that have won 11 Oscars 70th Academy Awards The 70th Academy Awards were noted for their high ratings and the 11 wins obtained by the Best Picture Titanic. Billy Crystal hosted the ceremony for the sixth time, and received an Emmy award for his performance.... . |
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| The Mill on the Floss The Mill on the Floss The Mill on the Floss is a novel by George Eliot , first published in three volumes in 1860 by William Blackwood. The first American edition was by Thomas Y... |
Edwards Tulliver | ||
| 1999 | The Titanic Chronicles | Captain S. Lord | |
| The Criminal The Criminal The Criminal is a 1960 British drama film produced by Nat Cohen and directed by Joseph Losey, starring Stanley Baker, Sam Wanamaker and Jill Bennett. Baker plays an ex-con who takes part in the robbery of a racetrack and is caught and sent back to prison... |
Walker | ||
| True Crime True Crime (1999 film) True Crime is a 1999 American mystery drama film directed by Clint Eastwood, and based on Andrew Klavan's 1997 novel of the same name. Eastwood also stars in the film as a journalist covering the execution of a death row inmate, only to discover that the convict may actually be innocent.-Plot:Steve... |
Lunther Plunkitt | ||
| A Midsummer Night's Dream A Midsummer Night's Dream A Midsummer Night's Dream is a play that was written by William Shakespeare. It is believed to have been written between 1590 and 1596. It portrays the events surrounding the marriage of the Duke of Athens, Theseus, and the Queen of the Amazons, Hippolyta... |
Egeus Egeus Egeus is a character in A Midsummer Night's Dream, the comedy by William Shakespeare. He tries to keep his daughter, Hermia, from marrying Lysander, by force if necessary... |
Film also known as Sogno di una notte di mezza estate | |
| The Loss of Sexual Innocence The Loss of Sexual Innocence The Loss of Sexual Innocence is a 1999 film written and directed by Mike Figgis. It tells the story of the sexual development of a filmmaker through three stages of his life, in a non-linear and disjointed manner... |
Susan's father | ||
| 2000 | Blessed Art Thou | Frederick | |
| Einstein | Voice of Stalin | Film also known as The Furnace The Furnace The Furnace is a literary magazine edited by Kelli Kavanaugh and a board of editors. The magazine covers Detroit, Michigan culture, including visual arts, architecture, urban development, literature, history and music. Editorial offices are located at the National Bohemian House, 3009 Tillman... |
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| Going Off Big Time | Murray | ||
| 2002 | The Scorpion King The Scorpion King The Scorpion King is a 2002 American action film directed by Chuck Russell, starring Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, Kelly Hu, Grant Heslov, and Michael Clarke Duncan... |
Philos | |
| The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers | King Theoden | Online Film Critics Society Award for Best Cast Phoenix Film Critics Society Award for Best Cast Phoenix Film Critics Society Award for Best Cast The Phoenix Film Critics Society Award for Best Cast is an annual award given by the Phoenix Film Critics Society.-2000s:*2001: The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring... Nominated - DVD Exclusive Awards for Best Audio Commentary DVD Exclusive Awards The DVD Exclusive Awards is an award that honors direct to video productions. The awards were first held in 2001. They are awarded by online periodical Video Business and The Digital Entertainment Group.... Nominated - Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture |
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| 2003 | The Boys from County Clare The Boys from County Clare The Boys From County Clare is a 2003 Irish comedy/drama film about a céilí band from Liverpool that travels to Ireland to compete in a céilí competition in County Clare... |
John Joe | |
| Gothika Gothika -Box office:Gothika was released on November 21, 2003 in North America, grossing $19,288,438 in the opening weekend and ranking at #2, behind The Cat in the Hat. It went on to gross $59,694,580 in the domestic market and $81,896,744 from foreign markets for a worldwide total of $141,591,324... |
Phil Parsons | ||
| The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King is a 2003 epic fantasy-drama film directed by Peter Jackson that is based on the second and third volumes of J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings... |
King Theoden | Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best Cast National Board of Review Award for Best Cast National Board of Review Award for Best Cast The National Board of Review Award for Best Acting by an Ensemble is an annual film award given by the National Board of Review.-1990s:... Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture Nominated - Phoenix Film Critics Society Award for Best Cast Phoenix Film Critics Society Award for Best Cast The Phoenix Film Critics Society Award for Best Cast is an annual award given by the Phoenix Film Critics Society.-2000s:*2001: The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring... The second film in which Hill starred, that won 11 Oscars 76th Academy Awards The 76th Academy Awards ceremony honored the best films of 2003 and was broadcast from the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood, California on ABC beginning at 5:30 p.m. PST/8:30 p.m. EST, February 29, 2004 . The show was produced by Joe Roth and was hosted for the eighth time by comedian Billy Crystal.The... |
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| 2004 | Wimbledon Wimbledon (film) Wimbledon is a 2004 romantic comedy film directed by Richard Loncraine. The film centers on a washed-up tennis pro named Peter Colt and an up-and-coming tennis star named Lizzie Bradbury during the Wimbledon Championships.The film was dedicated to Mark McCormack, who died on 16 May 2003 after... |
Edward Colt | |
| The Deal | Victor | Short film | |
| 2005 | The League of Gentleman:The Apocalypse | King William | |
| 2006 | Joy Division Joy Division (2006 film) Joy Division is a 2006 British film directed by Reg Traviss. The story is a fictional biopic which follows the life of a boy in Germany at the end of WWII into his adulthood in Russia and London during the Cold War... |
Dennis | |
| Save Angel Hope | Oscar Kurz | ||
| 2007 | Exodus | N/A | Film made for television. Broadcast on Channel 4 Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel... |
| 2008 | Valkyrie Valkyrie (film) Valkyrie is a 2008 American historical thriller film set in Nazi Germany during World War II. The film depicts the 20 July plot in 1944 by German army officers to assassinate Adolf Hitler and to use the Operation Valkyrie national emergency plan to take control of the country... |
Unnamed German General in the desert | "Franklyn" |
| 2011 | The Wraith | The Narrator | Short Film |
| 2012 | ParaNorman ParaNorman ParaNorman is an upcoming 3D stop-motion animated comedy thriller film produced by Laika, distributed by Focus Features and set for international release on August 17, 2012... |
TBA | Voice only |
Information taken from filmreference.com, netglisme.com, and The Internet Movie Database
Television
| Year | Programme | Role | Episodes | Broadcasting Network | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1973 | Hard Labour Hard Labour (film) Hard Labour is a 1973 television film, directed by Mike Leigh and produced by Tony Garnett which aired as part of the BBC anthology series Play for Today. The film stars Liz Smith in her first major role. The film is the most clearly drawn in all Leigh's work from the background in Higher and... |
Edward, Mrs Thornley's son | N/A | BBC | |
| 1976 | I, Claudius I, Claudius (TV series) I, Claudius is a 1976 BBC Television adaptation of Robert Graves' I, Claudius and Claudius the God. Written by Jack Pulman, it proved one of the corporation's most successful drama serials of all time... |
Gratus | 2 | BBC BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff... |
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| 1978 | Pickersgill People | N/A | 1 | BBC | |
| 1979 | Telford's Change | Jack Burton | 1 | BBC | |
| The Black Stuff | Yosser Hughes Yosser Hughes Yosser Hughes is a fictional character from Alan Bleasdale's 1982 television series Boys from the Blackstuff, set in Liverpool, though ironically the character was played by Manchester-born actor Bernard Hill.Yosser appears as a tall man in his mid thirties who wears predominantly black clothes... |
5 | BBC | ||
| 1980 | Fox | Vin Fox | 11 | ITV ITV ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK... |
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| 1982 | Boys from the Black Stuff | Yosser Hughes | 5 | BBC | Broadcasting Press Guild Awards for Best Actor Broadcasting Press Guild The Broadcasting Press Guild is a British association of journalists who specialise in writing and broadcasting about television, radio and the media generally.... Nominated - BAFTA TV Award for Best Actor British Academy Television Award for Best Actor - 1950s :*1955 Paul Rogers — *1956 Peter Cushing — *1957 Michael Gough — *1958 Michael Hordern — *1959 Donald Pleasence — - 1960s :*1960 Patrick McGoohan — *1961 Lee Montague —... |
| Henry VI | Richard Plantagenet, Duke of York | 1 | BBC | ||
| 1984 | Antigone Antigone In Greek mythology, Antigone is the daughter of Oedipus and Jocasta, Oedipus' mother. The name may be taken to mean "unbending", coming from "anti-" and "-gon / -gony" , but has also been suggested to mean "opposed to motherhood", "in place of a mother", or "anti-generative", based from the root... |
Messenger | 1 | BBC | |
| 1985 | The Burston Rebellion | Tom Higdon | 1 | BBC | |
| 1993 | Olly's Prison | Mike | 1 | BBC | |
| 1994 | Once Upon a Time in the North | Len Tollit | N/A | BBC | |
| 1999 | Great Expectations Great Expectations Great Expectations is a novel by Charles Dickens. It was first published in serial form in the publication All the Year Round from 1 December 1860 to August 1861. It has been adapted for stage and screen over 250 times.... |
Abel Magwitch | 2 | BBC | |
| 2001 | Horizon | Narrator | 9 | BBC | |
| 2002 | Timewatch Timewatch Timewatch is a long-running British television series showing documentaries on historical subjects, spanning all human history. It was first broadcast on 29th September 1982 and is produced by the BBC, the Timewatch brandname is used as a banner title in the UK, but many of the individual... |
Narrator | 1 | BBC | |
| 2004 | Atheism: A Rough History of Disbelief Atheism: A Rough History of Disbelief Atheism: A Rough History of Disbelief – known in the United States as A Brief History of Disbelief – is a 2004 television documentary series written and presented by Jonathan Miller for the BBC and tracing the history of atheism. It was first shown on BBC Four and was repeated on BBC... |
Himself | 1 | BBC | |
| 2005 | A Very Social Secretary | David Blunkett David Blunkett David Blunkett is a British Labour Party politician and the Member of Parliament for Sheffield Brightside and Hillsborough, having represented Sheffield Brightside from 1987 to 2010... |
1 | Channel 4 | Nominated - BAFTA TV Award for Best Actor British Academy Television Award for Best Actor - 1950s :*1955 Paul Rogers — *1956 Peter Cushing — *1957 Michael Gough — *1958 Michael Hordern — *1959 Donald Pleasence — - 1960s :*1960 Patrick McGoohan — *1961 Lee Montague —... Nominated - International Emmy Award for Best Performance by an Actor |
| 2007 | Egomania Egomania (UK TV Documentary) "Egomania" was an episode of a 3-part documentary series on Channel 4 made by Firecracker Films about people who are diagnosed with narcissistic personality disorder .... |
Narrator | 1 | Channel 4 | |
| 2008 | Sunshine Sunshine (UK TV series) Sunshine is a three-part comedy drama that began on 7 October 2008 on BBC1 from the co-writers of The Royle Family and Early Doors. These co-writers, Craig Cash and Phil Mealey, also appear in the series.-Plot:... |
Granddad Crosby | 3 | BBC | |
| 2009 | Folk America | Narrator | 3 | BBC | |
| 2009 | Ice Patrol | Narrator | 4 | National Geographic | |
| 2009 | Bombay Railway | Narrator | 2 | BBC Series | |
| 2010 | Old Trafford 100 Years | Narrator and Presenter | 1 | MUTV | |
| 2010 | Five Days | Gerard Hopkirk | 5 | BBC | |
| 2010 | Indian Hill Railways | Narrator | 3 | BBC | |
| 2010 | Canoe Man | John Darwin John Darwin disappearance case The John Darwin disappearance case was an investigation into the faked death of British former teacher and prison officer John Darwin, who turned up alive in December 2007, five years after he was thought to have died in a canoeing accident.... |
1 | BBC |
Information taken from The Internet Movie Database
Video games
| Year | Video game | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | Fable III Fable III Fable III is the third video game in the Fable series of action role-playing games . The game was developed by Lionhead Studios and published by Microsoft Game Studios for Microsoft Windows and Xbox 360. The story focuses on the player character's struggle to overthrow the King of Albion by... |
Sir Walter Beck |