Lord of the Rings, Titanic actor dies aged 79

Fiancee Alison and son Gabriel were at Mr Hill's bedside when he died on the morning of May 5, agent Lou Coulson confirmed.

Mr Hill found international fame after starring as Captain Edward Smith in the 1997 tragic romance Titanic alongside Kate Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio. The film garnered 11 Academy Awards.

He went on to star as Théoden, King of Rohan in Peter Jackson's The Two Towers (2002) and Return of the King (2003) in the Lord of the Rings trilogy based on the books by J.R.R. Tolkien.

Return of the King tied with Titanic to win a whopping 11 Oscars.

Mr Hill was born on December 17, 1944 and grew up in Manchester, England but settled in Suffolk.

He landed his breakout role as Yosser Hughes in the 1982 miniseries Boys From the Blackstuff about men struggling with mental health and family in Margaret Thatcher's England.

Boys from the Blackstuff writer Alan Bleasdale said the actor's death was a "great loss and also a great surprise".

"You always felt that Bernard would live forever. He had a great strength, physically and of personality," he said.

Co-stars have farewelled Mr Hill after news of his death emerged.

Elijah Wood, who played Frodo Baggins in the Lord of the Rings trilogy said "so long to our friend, our king, Bernard Hill. We will never forget you".

Elijah Wood, Sean Astin, Dominic Monaghan and Billy Boyd, the actors who played the hobbits Frodo, Sam, Merry and Pippin in the Lord of the Rings trilogy, paid tribute to their co-star at Comic Con in Liverpool.

Sean Astin, who played Samwise Gamgee in the same films, said "we love him. He was intrepid, he was funny, he was gruff, he was irascible, he was beautiful".

Billy Boyd, who played hobbit Pippin Took, said "I don't think anyone spoke Tolkien's words as great as Bernard did. He would break my heart. He will be sorely missed".

Mr Hill's final television show, The Responder starring Martin Freeman, is yet to air in Australia.