Connor MacLeod, also known as The Highlander, is a fictional character in the Highlander film series, and appears in the extended franchise of the television programs: Highlander: The Series and Highlander: The Animated Series. In the films and live-action series, he is portrayed by Christopher Lambert.
The Highlander franchise covers different fictional timelines. Though his fate is different in each of these timelines, generally Connor MacLeod's origins remain the same: he is a man born in the Scottish Highlands in the 16th century who becomes ageless after his first death in 1536. He later learns he is one of several immortals born with an energy called "the Quickening", unable to die unless beheaded. If he beheads another immortal, he will absorb the power of their Quickening, and for this reason many of his kind hunt each other in "the Game" where the winner will win the collective power of all immortals who lived, a "Prize" that can make them ruler of the Earth. Connor is taught about his nature and how to fight by another immortal named Juan Sánchez-Villalobos Ramírez (played in the films by Sean Connery). The film Highlander III: The Sorcerer revealed a second immortal mentor, a sorcerer named Nakano.
The film Highlander II: The Quickening introduced an alternate backstory that said Connor was an alien, while a later version of the same film said he was born in Earth's distant past before recorded history, then sent forward to the 16th century. Highlander II is generally regarded as outside the canon of the rest of the franchise.
Character concept The character of Connor MacLeod and his role as an immortal swordsman was the creation of scriptwriter Gregory Widen. Widen was studying film at University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) and working on a class writing project. Widen was inspired by a vacation to Scotland and England, as well as the 1977 Ridley Scott film The Duellists. According to Widen, "the idea of the story was basically a combination of a riff on The Duellists — guy wants to finish a duel over years — and a visit I made both to Scotland and the Tower of London armor display, where I thought, 'What if you owned all this? What if you'd worn it all through history, and were giving someone a tour of your life through it?' That scene is basically in the movie." According to William Panzer, producer of Highlander: The Series: "And that's where everything fell into place — the idea that there are Immortals and they were in conflict with each other, leading secret lives that the rest of us are unaware of."Bill Panzer, at Thedigitalbits.com , last accessed September 4, 2007
Widen decided to make the immortal protagonist MacLeod relatable by depicting him as someone who experiences emotional loss and loneliness due to his power, falling in love with people and forging friendships but knowing he will eventually outlast and lose them all. He was also an underdog in the story, one who wasn't as old, experienced, powerful, or physically intimidating as the enemy he would have to face in the story's climax. Widen's instructor advised him to send in the class project script to an agent. It became the first draft of what would eventually be the screenplay for the 1986 film Highlander.The Telegraph - "There can be only one: Why Highlander will live forever" (2016). In a 2006 interview with The Action Elite, Gregory Widen remarked: "I’ve always been amazed that a project I wrote as a UCLA student has had this kind of life. I think its appeal is the uniqueness of how the story was told and the fact it had a heart and a point of view about immortality."The Action Elite - Interview with Gregory Widen (2016).
As the film readied for production, Kurt Russell was cast as Connor Macleod beating Michael Douglas, Ed Harris, Sam Shepard, David Keith, Kevin Costner, Scott Glenn, Sting (who was also considered to provide the soundtrack for the movie), Mickey Rourke, Peter Weller, Mel Gibson and William Hurt; however, Russell dropped out of the film at the insistence of Goldie Hawn. Russell Mulcahy, director of Highlander, became interested in actor Christopher Lambert after seeing a photograph of the 28-year-old actor in his portrayal of Tarzan in Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes. At the Neuchâtel International Fantastic Film Festival in 2015, Mulcahy said he saw the photo in a magazine and showed the production staff: "I said, 'Who's this?' They had no idea. He couldn't speak English. But he had the perfect look. And he learned English very fast."
Mulcahy met with Christopher Lambert and decided to cast him. In preparation to play Connor MacLeod, Lambert spent months working with a dialect coach (four hours each morning) and sword-training with Bob Anderson (four hours each afternoon) who had been a Darth Vader stunt double in the Star Wars franchise.Guardian - "How we made Highlander: Connery opened his homemade whiskey on the plane" (2016). During an interview regarding the characters he played in Highlander, Fortress and Greystoke, Lambert remarked that these heroes "all have one thing in common: that is that they will never give up. If they have to die for a cause, they would go for it because the purpose is not themselves, it's the other people... You can't win if you don't try, so you've gotta try."
Gregory Widen had originally envisioned Connor as a very serious, grim character following centuries of violence and loss. The film however portrayed MacLeod as a person who has suffered loss and fears new attachments but who still pursues the possibility of love, maintains a sense of humor about life, and adopts a daughter whom he tells to keep hope and remain optimistic. In a 2016 interview with HeyUGuys, Lambert said he found Connor MacLeod appealing for still having humor and hope despite his long life and many losses: "It's the only role that I have played that is touching on the subject of immortality, through a character carrying five hundred years of violence, pain, love, and suffering on his shoulders, who is still walking around and being positive. That is what amazed me about him the most... It's difficult living through one life but to see all the people around you dying over and over. How do you cope with that pain? How do you have the strength to keep on walking, to keep being positive and optimistic? To be capable of falling in love again when you know the pain it creates when you lose them."HeyUGuys - "Exclusive: Christopher Lambert on 30 Years of Highlander" (2016).
In a 2016 interview with The Guardian, Lambert said he reflected on Connor MacLeod following the loss of his own brother: "When my brother died of cancer, I had the same feeling I had during Highlander, with its idea that you cannot get the past back – life has to go on. If Connor MacLeod can get through five or six lifetimes, we should be able to manage one."
Film continuity Highlander (1986) In the first Highlander movie, it is established that immortals are rare human beings born with "the Quickening." Once they have experienced their First Death, they will stop aging and heal from any wound except the loss of their head. The Quickening connects them to nature and allows them to sense each other, and one immortal can absorb the Quickening power of another if they behead them. For this reason, some immortals hunt each other, a "Game" with only one rule: never fight on holy ground. It is said that when only a few immortals are left, they will be drawn to "a faraway land" to fight for the Prize: the combined power of all immortals before them, granting enough power and knowledge to enslave humanity.
Connor MacLeod is born in 1518 in Glenfinnan, Scotland near the shores of Loch Shiel. In 1536, he enters his first battle when the Clan MacLeod fights the Clan Fraser. An immortal known as The Kurgan allies with Clan Fraser, sensing MacLeod is an immortal and deciding to take his head before the young man learns his true nature and becomes an experienced fighter. Kurgan delivers a fatal wound but is attacked by others of the Clan MacLeod before he can take Connor's head. After he recovers fully healed, Connor's family and lover accuse him of witchcraft and demand he be burned at the stake. Clan chieftain Angus MacLeod decides to simply banish Connor. The exiled man roams the Scottish Highlands, eventually becoming a blacksmith and marrying Heather MacDonald in 1539. In 1541, he meets the immortal Egyptian Juan Sánchez-Villalobos Ramírez, who teaches him his true nature and how to fight. While Connor only wants a family and a quiet life, Ramírez informs him immortals cannot have children and argues it is their duty to make sure evil people such as the Kurgan don't win the Prize. "In the end, there can be only one."ShopusMore's Birth of Connor
While Connor is away one night, the Kurgan duels Ramírez and kills him, then rapes Heather before leaving, thinking MacLeod has moved on from Scotland. After Heather dies of old age, Connor wanders the world, adopting the katana of Ramírez as his own. During World War II, he rescues a young Jewish girl named Rachel Ellenstein from Nazis, adopting her as a daughter. By 1985, the immortal Highlander is living in New York as an antique dealer called "Russell Nash".
In 1985, the Gathering occurs, while Connor meets forensics scientist Brenda Wyatt who uncovers his true nature. When the Kurgan and the Highlander are the last two immortals left alive, Brenda witnesses their final battle. Connor wins the Prize, becoming a mortal man who can have children and gaining the power to know the thoughts and dreams of all human beings. Returning to Scotland with Brenda, he is relieved that the Game is over and hopes to unite the world and help people reach greater understanding of each other.
Highlander II: The Quickening (1991) During filming, the studio took control of the project and the story. Highlander II: The Quickening was released in 1991 and met with negative responses. A director's cut called Highlander II: Renegade Version was released in 1995, altering parts of the story. Both versions contradict parts of the original film.
1991 version – The film reveals that Connor MacLeod and Ramírez were originally born 500 years ago on the planet Zeist and were members of a revolution against the tyrant General Katana. Now depicted as a sorcerer-like figure, Ramírez declares MacLeod the leader of the revolution and then creates a bond between them both via "the ancient power of the Quickening," which he explains is magic. He later says not even death can break this bond. Katana captures the revolutionaries and the priests of Zeist exile them all to the planet Earth where they will become immortal. They can only end their ageless exile by battling each other until the last survivor wins the Prize. The victor may then choose to either return to Zeist or remain on Earth but now as a mortal. It is not explained how the trip to Earth makes someone from Zeist immortal nor why the priests and government of Zeist would choose to give revolutionaries this power instead of simply executing them as enemies of the state. It is said that although Connor won the Prize in 1985 by killing the Kurgan and now ages as a mortal, he has not yet actually declared his choice and thus still has the opportunity to decide to return to Zeist before he dies.