{"id":373334,"date":"2025-08-25T21:45:13","date_gmt":"2025-08-25T21:45:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/373334\/"},"modified":"2025-08-25T21:45:13","modified_gmt":"2025-08-25T21:45:13","slug":"the-only-actor-to-star-in-first-two-billion-dollar-movies","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/373334\/","title":{"rendered":"The only actor to star in first two billion-dollar movies"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Hollywood<\/p>\n

(Credits: Far Out)<\/p>\n

Mon 25 August 2025 20:45, UK <\/p>\n

It\u2019s one thing to say you\u2019ve appeared in the first movie<\/a> to make over $1 billion, but how many people can say they\u2019ve appeared in the second-ever film to gross $1 billion, as well? <\/p>\n

As it turns out, only one actor can say this. These days, movies that gross over $1 billion are more common than ever before, perhaps because the cinematic landscape has evolved to feature more blockbusters and franchises that appeal to a large audience. It\u2019s a depressing state of affairs \u2013 indie cinema isn\u2019t able to thrive in this market-based film economy where the bigger, the better. So many amazing films that we herald as classics, from Halloween to Pulp Fiction, would significantly struggle in today\u2019s cinematic climate, where advertising gimmicks and star power overpower genuine artistry. <\/p>\n

The popularity of the Marvel Cinematic Universe<\/a>, which began in 2008 with Iron Man, is a testament to Hollywood\u2019s current prioritising of action and legacy. It\u2019s the kind of cinema you don\u2019t have to think too hard about, and while that\u2019s totally OK \u2013 sometimes it\u2019s nice to switch off and enjoy something that doesn\u2019t make you question the meaning of life \u2013 the fact that these kinds of films dominate the box office rather than interesting movies made by filmmakers with bold ideas is undeniably disappointing. <\/p>\n

Who is to blame for these pesky billion-dollar movies that we just can\u2019t seem to escape? Interestingly, it\u2019s the New Hollywood boom of the \u201860s and \u201870s \u2013 which featured a move away from studio domination and towards more auteur-driven movies \u2013 that accidentally led to the switch back to studio control. What was meant to be a revolutionary moment in cinema led to the very thing it was trying to escape from. Movies like Jaws and Star Wars<\/a> paved the way for the blockbuster, and before you could say, \u2018you\u2019re gonna need a bigger boat\u2019, the \u201880s was dominated by sequels and franchises from the likes of George Lucas, Steven Spielberg, and James Cameron.<\/p>\n

The latter is the one responsible for the first ever movie to earn $1 billion, but I can\u2019t even be mad at him. It\u2019s a great film. In 1997, Titanic emerged and instantly became a cultural phenomenon. Celine Dion\u2019s \u2018My Heart Will Go On\u2019 was inescapable. People wanted Leonardo DiCaprio\u2019s floppy hair \u2013 or just him. Everyone suddenly romanticises the idea of a great tragedy, as reflected in the copious amount of tickets sold to watch the disaster play out on the big screen.\u00a0<\/p>\n

So, who was the actor to appear in both of cinema\u2019s first billion-dollar movies?<\/p>\n

The movie starred Bernard Hill as Captain Edward J Smith, who sank with the ship on that fateful night. <\/p>\n

The actor had started his career in the 1970s, making his debut performance in Mike Leigh\u2019s social realist television play Hard Labour. His foray into cinema was fairly modest, although he did appear in the likes of Gandhi and Shirley Valentine. Yet, when he landed the role in Cameron\u2019s epic blockbuster, he took an unprecedented leap forward into the arms of Hollywood success.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Just a few years later, with the mega success of Titanic under his belt, he got the part of King Th\u00e9oden in The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers. He reprised the role in The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King a year later, and this allowed him to set the record as the only actor to appear in both the first billion-dollar movie and the second.\u00a0I bet he felt like he\u2019d won the cinematic lottery. <\/p>\n

The movie holds a box-office gross of $1.138 billion, while Titanic currently sits at a whopping $2.264 billion. That\u2019s an incredible amount of money, and it\u2019s no wonder blockbusters have become such a huge phenomenon in the wake of these films; studio moguls know that movies can rake in an unbelievable sum if they strike the right chord, and they\u2019ll gladly line their pockets with the profits.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

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