Connor MacLeod

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.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).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?"[1] 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."[2] 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.[1] 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."[3] 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.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.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.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.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.Years after Connor wins the Prize, the ozone layer is destroyed by industrial pollution, causing the deaths of many (it is implied MacLeod's wife Brenda died as a result of this as well but this is not clear).The now-mortal Connor uses his considerable wealth to supervise the creation of the Shield, an energy barrier protecting Earth from solar radiation while the ozone layer can have time to heal.The flashback scenes of Zeist are now said to take place on Earth in a society that existed but was lost before recorded history, a forgotten time when people utilized both magic and advanced technology.The winner may then remain in the future as a mortal being to live out their days or return to the past with their immortality intact and their freedom restored by amnesty.To better explain why Connor became so personally involved in the creation of the Shield, a new scene shows Brenda on her deathbed asking him to promise her he'll find a way to save humanity from the deadly solar radiation.The film begins by revealing that after the death of his first wife Heather in the late 16th century, Connor travels to Japan to meet the immortal sorcerer Nakano, a master of illusion and old acquaintance of Ramírez.As MacLeod escapes, the cave is destroyed and buried, and Kane and his two soldiers are frozen by the magic, effectively removing them from the Game and preventing them from joining the Gathering in 1985.Further flashback scenes reveal MacLeod falling in love with Sarah Barrington in 18th century France, but she marries someone else and starts a family after she mistakenly believes Connor died during the French Revolution.In this timeline, the events of the original film still happened with one major change: Connor did not win the Prize when he killed Kurgan because there were still several immortals remaining on Earth.Christopher Lambert declined to reprise his movie role for a weekly series, and so the show cast Adrian Paul to be the protagonist.In the first episode, the two meet troubled youth Richie Ryan, who witnesses the arrival of the evil immortal Quince and Duncan's clansman Connor.After defeating Quince, Duncan believes he must separate from Tessa and romantic attachment in order to keep her safe from the violence of his immortal life, but Connor disagrees.It is mentioned that many Watchers were relieved when Connor killed the Kurgan, fearing humanity would suffer greatly if the villain survived long enough to win the Prize.Highlander: The Animated Series aired from 1994 to 1996, presenting a new continuity and taking place on 27th century Earth, roughly 700 years after the planet suffers apocalyptic devastation from a meteorite impact.In the fifth episode of the animated series, entitled "The Sound of Madness", a flashback reveals that Connor MacLeod (Lorne Kennedy) and Don Vincente Marino Ramírez were friends in the 20th century and both became Jettators soon after the meteorite fell.When Kortan says he desires conquest and will not take the vow of non-violence, Connor (wearing his trench coat from the original movie) duels the villain, but loses.