The actor Bernard Hill, who has died aged 79, starred in two of the only three films to have won 11 Oscars. In Titanic (1997), he was the ship’s captain, Edward Smith, while in The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King (2003), he reprised the role of King Théoden from the previous instalment, The Two Towers (2002). Both parts drew on his grave, peremptory air, and his ability to be simultaneously fallible and resolute.
It was his fearsome yet pitiful performance as the jobless labourer and single father Yosser Hughes, in Alan Bleasdale’s tragicomic BBC series Boys from the Blackstuff (1982), that made him a television star. The role came to define not only Hill but an entire era. Yosser’s plaintive, hectoring catchphrase – “Gizza job” – was parroted everywhere from the Kop to the corner shop, the playground to the dole queue. An unofficial novelty record, Gis’ a Job, was released by the Blackstuff Lads. The phrase was even used as the title of a 1984 educational film on job interview techniques.
