Best Of British Biographies – Bernard Hill

It’s not often that I can say that I’ve had the privilege to have seen one of my favourite actors live on stage but one of those rare occasions was when I saw Bernard Hill at the Everyman Theatre. It was in 1974 and he was playing John Lennon in Willy Russell’s John, Paul, George, Ringo…and Bert. Back then I was in the Lower VI^th studying Eng. Lit. ‘A’ Level and we’d gone as a trip to see the work of a  contemporary British playwright.  It says something that I remember it fondly to this day. It was based on the story of The Beatles as told by Bert McGhee

Bert is a box stacker who claims to have been in The Quarrymen until he confused an A minor chord with a G7^th. I do remember enjoying it even though I hadn’t heard of anyone that I went to see. These unknowns included Trevor Eve, George Costigan, Anthony Sher, and Elizabeth Estensen as well as Bernard Hill. Obviously, being based on The Beatles’ story, there was a lot of music to play around with. Rather than try and get away with second rate impressions they went in a different direction and got the soundtrack interpreted and performed by another unknown…Barbara Dickson. All those names are now very well known in the UK if not overseas.

You’re A Swine

But thirty years earlier, Bernard Hill was born in Blackley, Manchester. He was raised in a Catholic family of miners. He attended Xaverian College, and then went to Manchester Polytechnic School of Drama, where he graduated with a diploma in theatre in 1970. While there he was a contemporary of Richard Griffiths who went on to play Uncle Vernon in a certain wizard based series of films. There then followed what I am guessing is the usual round of auditions, call backs, and “resting” jobs until he got his first role. Unusually for most British trained actors, he didn’t spend ages on the stage but actually made his professional debut on TV.

From 1970 to 1984, the BBC had a showcase for modern dramatic talent known as Play For Today. This was an anthology series of, mainly, original plays by the top writers of the time and featuring a mix of established names and complete newcomers. On 12^th March 1973 they broadcast a Mike Leigh play called Hard Labour which was the first major role for future national treasure Liz Smith. It was also the professional debut of Bernard Hill. In this he played Edward Thornley, a mechanic living on a new housing estate with his wife Veronica (Alison Steadman). I think you can tell by the names of the people connected to the project that the BBC did not mess around when recruiting the talent!

Gizza Job, I Can Do That, Gizza Job

It was later that same year, that Bernard Hill made his debut on the stage at the Everyman Theatre, Liverpool. That was the 21^st May 1974; I saw him a bit later in the eight week run. There was the inevitable transfer to the West End where it was staged at the Lyric Theatre on Shaftesbury Avenue. A brief tour of the UK followed and it even managed a few nights at the UMBC theatre in Maryland, USA. Since then it hasn’t been staged and is highly unlikely to be ever performed again. Back then the performing rights to the music were a bit more flexible, now you can’t even hum Let It Be without getting a tap on the shoulder by someone from the PRS for Music.

But going back to the casting of the actors, you have to bear in mind that while the Everyman was, indeed still is, a relatively small company, there was a mountain of talent on hand there. Jonathan Pryce, Alison Steadman, Matthew Kelly, Pete Postlethwaite, Julie Walters, and Bill Nighy to name but a few were all regulars at the Everyman. I don’t think that there is any hyperbole in saying that, despite his relative lack of experience, Bernard Hill’s talent must have shone through in order for him to land the part of John Lennon. He stayed with the production for the Liverpool and London runs before moving on to a variety of TV and film roles

We Always Have Steak On Thursday

The second half of the seventies saw Bernard picking up roles in a variety of popular TV shows.  Crown Court, I Claudius, and Telford’s Change were all well received. His film debut is somewhat less well known. He played the part of Syph in It Could Happen To You also known as Intimate Teenage Secrets which was an educational film about the perils of sexually transmitted diseases. Personally speaking, I think I’d rather see him in Crown Court, I Claudius, or Telford’s Change. But it was the end of the seventies that saw the start of his real rise to fame. And, funnily enough, it was with a return to the BBC anthology series Play For Today.

The play in question was actually made in 1978 but, for internal BBC reasons, wasn’t premiered until 1^st January 1980. It was called The Black Stuff and featured a group of Liverpudlian labourers who go to Middlesbrough to take on some casual labour laying tarmac…the eponymous black stuff. For those of you from outside of the UK, casual labour refers to a type of employment where an employee is hired on an as-needed basis, without any guarantee of ongoing work or job security. Nowadays it is probably known as being part of the gig economy but, back then, there was also a tendency for the work to be paid “cash in hand” which avoided the payment of tax or National Insurance making it ever so slightly illegal.

I Believe You May Get Your Headlines, Mr. Ismay

Things go badly for the guys and they end up not only losing their pay for the job but a big chunk of their life savings. The group consisted of Yosser, Loggo, Chrissie, George, Dixie and his son, Kevin. The stand out character was, undoubtedly, Bernard Hill’s Yosser Hughes. Yosser was desperate to do well and get money to support his family. He so perfectly embodied the ‘close to the edge of sanity’ hopelessness that it totally epitomised the feeling of the working man in Thatcher’s Britain. I was around back then and remember that the unemployment figures were always featured high on the news headlines.

This led to a spin off series…The Boys From The Black Stuff consisting of the original Play For Today and five extra episodes. The fourth episode was Yosser’s Story and was spectacularly heart rending. Yosser, alone with custody of his children, takes desperate measures to get a job until it starts to look like the pressure of life has finally beaten him. He can not find work and is battling against Social Services who are looking for any opportunity to take his children into care. Despite this there were scenes of guilty humour most notably the confession scene when he tells the priest how desperate he is.

Ignite The Powder

The priest, trying to comfort Yosser, tells him “Call me Dan” to which Yosser replies “I’m desperate, Dan”. You have a second when you think it is safe to laugh but Yosser breaks down and smashes his head into the confessional window. It is this emotional roller coaster that helped make the role of Yosser Hughes the one that made Bernard Hill a household name. It must say something that Boys From The Black Stuff and Gandhi both came out in 1982 but nobody remembers that Bernard Hill was in Gandhi! 

There seems to be a strange circularity surrounding Bernard Hill’s career and the playwrights he worked with. For instance, his big breakthrough came from Alan Bleasdale’s Boys From The Black Stuff and he later played Bernard in No Surrender, a 1985 Bleasdale comedy set on New Year’s Eve in Liverpool. Bernard’s Black Stuff co-star, Michael Angelis, plays the new manager of a run down social club. He discovers that the previous manager, in an attempt to spite the owners, has double booked the venue to two groups of senior citizens for New Year’s Eve; one group are hardline Catholics and the other are fervent Protestants. Part of the night’s entertainment consists of a magician with stage fright; an early acting role for Elvis Costello.

Where Is The Horse And The Rider?

Another repeat collaboration was with Willy Russell. Russell had written John, Paul, George, Ringo…and Bert which had been Bernard’s stage debut and he also wrote Shirley Valentine. The play was a single hander performed as a monologue by Shirley but Willy Russell expanded the cast for the film version. In short, Shirley Valentine is a middle aged house wife who has become bored with her dull life and, on a whim, goes off to Greece on a holiday…and decides to stay.  Bernard plays Shirley’s husband, Joe, who can’t understand why Shirley is so dissatisfied with her routine, monotonous, lifestyle. He is perfect as both the frustrated working man who can’t understand why next door’s dog is eating his steak while he has egg and chips and the penitent husband who comes to “rescue” her from the trauma of sipping wine on the beach at sunset.

Throughout his career, Bernard Hill consistently delivered strong performances in a variety of projects, establishing himself as a dependable and talented character actor. So, while he might not have been a household name to everyone, he achieved a level of stardom through critical acclaim, association with major films, and a long-lasting career filled with memorable characters. Whether it was Captain Smith in Titanic, King Théoden in the Lord Of The Rings franchise, or Wolfgang Fischer with Tom Cruise in Valkyrie, Bernard Hill was always excellent.

No, Miranda, No

Despite being mainly known for his earlier roles, Hill didn’t shy away from new projects. In 2015, he appeared in the BBC adaptation of Wolf Hall as well as playing a priest with a secret in the crime drama Unforgotten…playing across a range of characters was not a problem for him! He had racked up over a hundred credited appearances in a career spanning over fifty years and those advancing years didn’t seem to be slowing him down. He had filmed scenes for the second season of the Martin Freeman led crime drama The Responder which premiered just days before his death. Bernard Hill was an incredible character actor with a gift for portraying characters on the edge. He will be missed.

Bernard Hill – 17/12/1944-05/05/2024

Writer’s Note – I actually wrote this a day or so after the death of Bernard Hill was announced. Unfortunately I was taken ill and ended up being hospitalised and had totally forgotten about it. Still…better late than never, eh?