Lord of the Rings cast pay tribute to late co-star Bernard Hill

Stars of The Lord of the Rings paid tribute to their late co-star Bernard Hill at Comic Con Liverpool on Sunday.

Elijah Wood, Sean Astin, Dominic Monaghan and Billy Boyd, who played the hobbits in Peter Jackson's trilogy, honoured Hill onstage at the convention hours after he died on Sunday morning aged 79.

"So, we lost a member of our family this morning. Bernard Hill passed. King Théoden," Astin said, referring to Hill's character. "And so we just want to take a moment, before we walk off this stage, to honour him. He was supposed to be here. He was supposed to be here today and yesterday. We love him. He was intrepid, he was funny, he was gruff, he was irascible, he was beautiful."

Boyd added, "I don't think anyone spoke (author J. R. R.) Tolkien's words as great as Bernard did. The way he grounded those words in a realism. He would break my heart. He was a wonderful man and he'll be sorely missed."

Hill played King Théoden in the second and third Lord of the Rings films, The Two Towers and Return of the King. He was scheduled to appear at the convention over the weekend but had to pull out of the event.

Wood also posted a photo of Hill on X/Twitter and wrote, "So long to our friend, our king, Bernard Hill. We will never forget you."

Monaghan shared the same snap on Instagram and added, "The Broken king has passed to the grey havens but he will always be remembered."

In addition to the trilogy, Hill was also known for his roles in Titanic, The Scorpion King, Valkyrie and the TV show Boys From The Blackstuff.