‘Titanic’ and ‘Lord of the Rings’ star Bernard Hill dead at 79

British actor Bernard Hill, who starred as the Captain Smith in ‘Titanic’ and as Théoden, the King of Rohan, in ‘The Lord of the Rings,’ died Sunday, his family said. He was 79 years old.

“It is with the greatest sadness that we must announce that Bernard Hill, renowned actor, passed away in the early hours of this morning,” his family said in a statement. “He was with his fiancée Alison and his son Gabriel.”

Hill rose to fame in his home country in the early 1980s, when he starred as Yosser Hughes in the BBC series ‘Boys from the Blackstuff.’ The character’s catchphrase, “Gizza’ job!” (“give us a job!”) became popular and was used by protesters against Margaret Thatcher’s government.

Globally, he is best known for playing Captain Edward Smith in ‘Titanic,’ which became the highest-grossing film of all time when it was released in 1997, grossing more than $2.2 billion at the box office.

Hill went on to star as King Théoden in the 2002 film ‘The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers,’ as well as its sequel, ‘The Return of the King,’ in 2003. He also appeared as Philos in the 2002 film ‘The Scorpion King.’

Hill is survived by his son Gabriel, from his marriage with American actress Marianna Hill, and his fiancée Alison.

Bernard Hill’s showreel