10 Best Bernard Hill Movies & TV Shows

May 7, 2024, 12:30 a.m.

Movies

10 Best Bernard Hill Movies & TV Shows

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Summary Bernard Hill's impressive career spanned 50 years, with standout performances in iconic films like Titanic and The Lord of the Rings trilogy.

Hill's portrayal of historical figures like Captain Edward John Smith in Titanic and Magwitch in Great Expectations showcased his versatility.

From playing Yosser Hughes in Boys from the Blackstuff to Théoden in The Lord of the Rings, Hill left a lasting impact on cinema and television.

With a career that lasted more than 50 years, Bernard Hill was an accomplished English actor who left an impressive mark on the world of movies and television. Sadly, Hill passed away in 2024 at 79, but his body of work across film and television amounted to an impressive legacy full of powerful and nuanced performances in various genres and styles. With an intense commitment to every role he played, Hill made a name for himself in the 1980s and continued taking on acclaimed roles until his final years.

Hill’s earliest roles included working-class British icon Yosser Hughes on the legendary Boys from the Blackstuff television series. In the world of movies, Hill was known for supporting roles in some of the most successful films of all time, including Titanic and Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings trilogy. Looking back on his impressive career, it’s incredible how many great movies and television shows Hill was a part of over the years.

10 A Very Social Secretary (2005)

Bernard Hill as David Blunkett

Hill’s performance was inspired as he effectively mimicked Blunkett’s mannerisms and characteristics throughout A Very Social Secretary.

One of Bernard Hill’s most memorable television roles was in the 2005 made-for-TV movie A Very Social Secretary, a satirical look at the public scandal involving the former British Home Secretary David Blunkett. Hill hilariously portrayed Blunkett as the fallout from his affair with an American journalist became public. For those who had followed the controversy, Hill’s performance was inspired as he effectively mimicked Blunkett’s mannerisms and characteristics throughout A Very Social Secretary.

With razor-sharp wit and a cutting satirical edge, watching as Hill expertly portrayed a Labour politician in bed with the right press, and not in a metaphorical way, was a laugh-out-loud lampooning of current events. Other highlights included Robert Lindsay as Tony Blair and Stuart McQuarrie as Boris Johnson, long before he became the British prime minister. A clever piece of political commentary, A Very Social Secretary came out the same year as the first series of the BBC sitcom The Thick Of It, which proved what a great time 2005 was for hilarious political satire.

9 The Bounty (1984)

Bernard Hill as William Cole

The Bounty was an epic British swashbuckler adventure that featured Bernard Hill in the supporting role of Wiliam Cole. As the story of a ship crew who were fed up with their captain’s rigid discipline and decided to rise against him and take action, Hill was surrounded by a star-studded cast that included Anthony Hopkins, Mel Gibson, Laurence Olivier, and Daniel Day-Lewis. The Bounty told the true tale of a mutiny against Royal Navy Lieutenant William Bligh and was notable for its realism and historical accuracy.

Hill more than held his own among the impressive roster of talented actors in The Bounty, as Mr. Cole stood as one of the most memorable members of the ship’s crew. A high-spirited and intelligent adventure, The Bounty was just one of many adaptations of the mutiny on the HMS Bounty in 1789. Previously notable adaptations featured other significant stars like Clark Gable and Marlon Brando.

8 Shirley Valentine (1989)

Bernard Hill as Joe Bradshaw

Shirley Valentine was a romantic comedy-drama about a dissatisfied housewife who decided to rekindle her childhood dreams and rediscover her love for life. While Pauline Collins starred as the titular Shirley, Bernard Hill hilariously played her husband, Joe Bradshaw, and perfectly captured how a once exciting romance can, over the years, devolve into dull domestic drudgery. Shirley felt like her husband and children treated her like a servant, and Hill’s performance was a fantastic presentation of the clueless husband who never gave his wife the love and attention she needed to feel fulfilled in their relationship.

As Shirley rethought her entire existence with her husband, Joe complained about his dinner not being ready on time. Shirley Valentine was initially based on a one-character play by Willy Russell, but the addition of Hill and the rest of Shirley’s family made this such an enjoyable, lesser-known 1980s domestic drama. While Hill’s most well-known roles were often in massive, big-budget productions, Shirley Valentine highlighted his skill at playing more subtle, everyday characters like Joe.

7 Great Expectations (1999)

Bernard Hill as Magwitch

Throughout his acclaimed career, Bernard Hill made a name for himself with a strong performance in period dramas, and one of his very best was in the 1999 BBC television film adaptation of Great Expectations. Hill played Magwitch, one of the most essential characters in Charles Dickens’s original novel, as he was Pip’s benefactor and was instrumental in changing his viewpoint of the world. As such, Magwitch instigated much of the plot of Great Expectations, even if he was not on screen for most of the film.

While there have been many adaptations of Great Expectations, this version stood out as one of the most powerful, and Hill gave a magnificent performance as Magwitch. With incredible costume designs, strong direction, and an incredible score, Great Expectations set the bar very high for subsequent BBC Dickens-based productions. Although Hill’s role as Magwitch was not a leading part, Hill’s appearances stood as the most exciting aspect of Great Expectations as he bookended the beginning and end of the film.

6 Gandhi (1982)

Bernard Hill as Sergeant Putnam

Gandhi (1983) Where to Watch *Availability in US stream

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buy Not available Not available Not available Director Richard Attenborough Release Date February 25, 1983 Cast Ben Kingsley , John Gielgud , Rohini Hattangadi , Roshan Seth , Candice Bergen , Edward Fox , Trevor Howard , John Mills Runtime 191 Minutes

One of Bernard Hill’s earliest film roles was as Sergeant Putnam in Richard Attenborough's fantastic biopic Gandhi. Although Hill’s role in Gandhi was minor, it was also his first step into significant productions and would signal the true beginning of his incredible career. As a massively acclaimed film that took home eight Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Hill’s small role in Gandhi would open the door to bigger and more significant parts moving forward as his career progressed from strength to strength throughout the 1980s and 1990s.

While Gandhi famously starred Ben Kingsley as the non-violent resistance leader Mahatma Gandhi, the movie featured a huge cast of supporting characters such as Hill as Sergeant Putnam. A true must-see film for its incredible emotional impact and powerful political themes, Gandhi was the crowing achievement of director Attenborough and was one of the biggest movies worldwide in 1982. In India, Gandhi also received widespread acclamation and became the highest-grossing foreign film ever in the country at the time of its release (via The Jam Report.)

5 Wolf Hall (2015)

Bernard Hill as Duke of Norfolk

Bernard Hill’s role as the Duke of Norfolk in the first series of the BBC historical drama Wolf Hall was his most significant role in the latter stage of his career. This fictional biography, an adaptation of Hilary Mantel’s novels Wolf Hall and Bring Up the Bodies, tracked Thomas Crowell’s rapid rise to power under King Henry VIII. Wolf Hall received overwhelmingly positive reviews when it was released, as its incredible attention to detail truly brought Mantel’s novels to life.

Hill stood out as one of the greatest supporting characters in the entire series, which was an impressive feat among such a large cast of secondary roles. Mark Rylance and Damien Lewis equaled impressively with their lead performances, Thomas Cromwell and Henry VIII. A second series of Wolf Hall is in pre-production, and Timothy Spall has been recast in Hill’s role. Hopefully, he can live up to the high expectations set by Hill’s performance.

4 True Crime (1999)

Bernard Hill as Warden Luther Plunkitt

Clint Eastwood’s insightful mystery True Crime explored an over-the-hill journalist on a mission to uncover evidence that can prove a death row convict's innocence as the threat of execution loomed large. Bernard Hill gave an incredible supporting performance as Warden Luther Plunkitt, the prison guard who started to doubt the validity of the killer's guilt. With many moving parts as the truth was slowly revealed, True Crime was a forgotten Clint Eastwood movie that deserved more love.

Hill and other acclaimed supporting cast members like James Woods, Lucy Liu, and Michael McKean helped anchor True Crime with an impressive roster of talented actors. Plunkett’s realization that Steve Everett (Eastwood) may be telling the truth helped add suspense to this thriller in the hours leading up to the execution. With a slow build toward its grand conclusion, True Crime was an excellent character-driven race-against-the-clock style story.

3 Boys From The Blackstuff (1982)

Bernard Hill as Yosser Hughes

Bernard Hill’s crowning achievement on television came early in his career with the role of Yosser Hughes in Alan Bleasdale’s hard-hitting drama serial Boys from the Blackstuff. A highly relevant series at the time of its release, Boys from the Blackstuff followed five unemployed men who would do just about anything to get a job amid the financial woes and recession of Thatcher’s Britain. Hill’s performance stood out as intensely powerful and was the main point of discussion following the series release.

Yosser Hughes became an icon of Thatcherite Britain during the 1980s as his catchphrase “gizza job” acted as a funny comment on the serious issue of mass unemployment. Hill did an incredible job of portraying Yosser’s mental health struggles as he was driven to the edge of insanity with the loss of his job, wife, and children. Hill’s role effectively summed up the gloomy mood of Britain during this era and the working-class men who were being left behind by a society that no longer valued their skill set.

2 Titanic (1997)

Bernard Hill as Captain Edward John Smith

Titanic Where to Watch *Availability in US stream

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buy Not available Not available Not available Titanic is the 1997 blockbuster romantic/disaster epic based on the events surrounding the sinking of the legendary "unsinkable" vessel. Flashing back to the past and forward to the present, the film primarily follows the stories of the well-to-do and somewhat timid Rose and the poor but lively Jack, star-crossed lovers who meet aboard the doomed ship. In addition, the film tells true and fictionalized accounts of the passengers of the RMS Titanic, with an older Rose recounting her tale to the crew of a research ship. Director James Cameron Release Date December 19, 1997 Cast David Warner , Kathy Bates , Billy Zane , Bill Paxton , Bernard Hill , Kate Winslet Leonardo DiCaprio , Gloria Stuart , Frances Fisher , Victor Garber Runtime 3h 14m

One of Bernard Hill’s greatest roles came with the release of James Cameron’s Titanic, in which he played the real historical figure of Captain Edward John Smith. Hill’s portrayal of Smith and his tragic demise on the sinking ship became all the more heartbreaking with the fact that the voyage of the Titanic was to be his final outing before retiring. The scene where Smith accepted his fate and retreated to the wheelhouse as the ship went down was one of the most compelling moments in Titanic.

As the highest-grossing movie of all time before it was eventually outgrossed by Cameron’s next movie, Avatar, Titanic's success was due to its impressive cast of supporting characters, which included the likes of Hill and Kathy Bates in memorable roles. With 11 Academy Award wins, Titanic was a spectacular cinematic event with powerful visual effects and a compelling historical account. Hill’s role as a captain who chose to go down with his ship was a heartbreaking and highly memorable performance.

1 The Lord Of The Rings (2001 – 2003)

Bernard Hill as Théoden

Bernard Hill’s greatest role was his exceptional performance as Théoden, King of Rohan, across Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings trilogy. Théoden appeared in The Two Towers and The Return of the King and was an instrumental ally in the war against Saruman and Sauron. With a powerful onscreen charisma and real emotional depth, Hill depicted Théoden as he led the Rohirrim into the Battle of the Pelennor Fields and was an important warrior who bravely fought and died in battle.

With a career that lasted more than 50 years, roles such as Théoden contributed to Hill’s impressive legacy and long-lasting impact on cinema and television.

Hill’s performance as Théoden was one of the most underrated roles in the entire The Lord of the Rings trilogy, and he truly excelled in every scene he was in. From weeping for his son Theodred to the rousing speeches that he delivered, Hill put his all into his portrayal of Théoden, and his intense commitment to the part shone through. With a career that lasted more than 50 years, roles such as Théoden contributed to Hill’s impressive legacy and long-lasting impact on cinema and television.

Sources: The Jam Report