ritish-born Adrian Paul did not start his career with a yen for acting, instead making a living first as a model and later as both a dancer and choreographer in Europe. His jet-setting lifestyle eventually led Paul--who speaks English, French and Italian fluently--to the United States, where he earned the role of a Russian expatriate ballet dancer on the TV series The Colbys. Since then Paul has appeared in a variety of television shows, films and plays, including a recurring part in the SF series War of the Worlds. In 1992 he landed the biggest role of his career, playing the immortal swordfighter Duncan MacLeod on the TV show Highlander. Duncan is the kinsman of Connor MacLeod, the character played by Christopher Lambert in the Highlander films, on which Paul's TV series was based. Lambert eventually teamed up with Paul in the TV series, and now Paul is returning the favor by appearing alongside Lambert in the new film, Highlander: Endgame. Paul recently spoke to Science Fiction Weekly about the new movie, his relationship with Lambert and the ever-changing directions his career is taking.
What can you tell us about your new film, Highlander: Endgame?
Well, it has been a long process for me that is culminating a nine-year stint as Duncan MacLeod. I think the movie will bring together all the elements that people loved about the series and the films combined. It will have some good action sequences, an in-depth look at the relationship between Duncan and Connor, great flashback sequences, a romantic look into a side of Duncan that hasn't been explored so far, together with a great bad guy in the form of Jacob Kell, played by Bruce Payne.
Since Jim Byrnes (Joe Dawson) and Peter Wingfield (Methos) also star in Highlander: Endgame, the Watchers from the TV series will undoubtedly be involved in the plot. What other elements from the TV series can we expect to see in the film?
I think the mainstay of the series was the in-depth way we looked into the relationships between characters. This will definitely be in the movie. The sword fights and the quickenings will, I think, surprise a lot of people in their grandeur and complexity.
In Highlander: Endgame, will we finally find out any juicy tidbits about the origins of the immortals?
No. That is and will remain a mystery. The one thing that will be explained a little better is that to become immortal you must have the genes of immortality and then die a violent death; otherwise you would just grow old and die like everyone else.
What was it like working with Christopher Lambert again?
Christopher and I had a great time working on the series, and it was no different on the film. We have a great chemistry that I think will translate to the characters of Duncan and Connor. We both have fun acting, and we are like two kids in a playpen when it comes to creating the story around our characters.
What are the differences between working on the TV show and making the movie?
I think in a lot of respects the movie was harder to do. In the series, for instance, we were strapped for time but we would always know what we were doing week to week. In the film that wasn't the case. This made it very difficult to know which sword fights or which scenes to prepare [for]. Since we had about six or seven action sequences, it was very frustrating to be constantly changing between one or another. Other than that, the only other difference was that the format is different and technically you have to adjust for the fact that the images are 40 feet larger compared to the small TV format. This was a challenge to see if Duncan MacLeod could make it to the big screen.
In the Highlander series, Richie's character (Stan Kirsch) was killed, a move that caused some controversy among fans. How did you feel about that storyline?
I was glad that the writers and producers decided to choose such a controversial character to kill off. I had told them at the beginning of the fifth season that we had to do something drastic for the season finale. I did not know they were going to kill Richie off, but I agreed that it had the most impact on Duncan's character and on the series itself.
Highlander was never a buddy-buddy show. It was a show where anything could happen, and that it did. Stan was and still is a good friend and it was nothing personal. It was the best option at the time.
What was your favorite storyline during the show?
There were many I liked for different reasons. I liked the Methos storyline and the involvement of Kronos played by Valentine Pelka. [He was] one of the better immortal bad guys. I also enjoyed the relationship that Tessa and Duncan shared. It gave a real romantic side to Duncan MacLeod. The other one I enjoyed was the Amanda and Fitzcairn storyline. They gave a levity to the series that it badly needed.
What's the best thing and the worst thing about playing a 400-year-old immortal?
The best thing is that you get to play so many different characters week in, week out. The worst thing is it can't go on forever because, unlike the character, I am not immortal and eventually Duncan MacLeod would show his age.
Tell us about your fan club, PEACE.
PEACE came into existence several years ago through people asking me to start a fan club and my desire to try to spread a little of my philosophy at the same time. It has grown into a worldwide membership of over 5,000 members and is constantly changing. We recently moved from our old Web site address to create two other Web sites with twice as much information. The main Web site at Celebrityblvd.com will contain details about upcoming projects, new photos, video and audio clips, filmography and biography, a martial arts section with audio, and links to the new PEACE fan site and the PEACE Fund site. The new PEACE site will be a personal insight into Adrian Paul. Behind-the-scenes pictures, video and audio clips. A place where fans can ask questions that will be answered weekly. An "A.P. moment" that will be updated monthly. A "reflections of Duncan MacLeod" section that will tell each episode from Duncan's point of view. Together with much, much more. The site is still under construction, and, because it is so large, we are still ironing out some of the kinks.
After directing several episodes of Highlander, do you see yourself doing more directing in the future?
Yes. In fact, I am in discussion right now with a company called Hidef.com to direct their first movie in the digital format using the new 24P cameras with state-of-the-art Panavision lenses. It is something that I would like to do more of in the future, and I will have to see what type of scripts I would be able to do. I think it means starting small, and hopefully people will like the things I do and I will be able to direct larger projects in the future. That said, who knows what the future will bring?
What projects do you have coming up after Highlander: Endgame?
Is there another Highlander movie in our future? Or maybe a new TV series?
I don't know about another Highlander movie. That will depend on how Highlander: Endgame does at the box office. As to a new series, I have not really given that much thought. I haven't given up the idea of doing television. In fact, I would still love to do movies of the week, miniseries and guest spots on interesting shows. However, if I got back into series television I think it would be under an entirely different genre.
