Duncan MacLeod

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Revision as of 20:49, 30 March 2006

{{ image = | bgcolor=#c0c0ff| fgcolor=#000| name = Duncan MacLeod| alias = Highlander, Mac, Duncan| race = Human, Immortal| gender = Male| hair = Black| eyes = Brown| age = 414| affiliation = Clan MacLeod, Methos, Amanda, Joe Dawson| previous_affiliations = Clan MacLeod, Richie Ryan, Charlie DeSalvo, Tessa Noel, Darius, Hugh Fitzcairn, Connor MacLeod| status = Alive| teacher = Connor MacLeod, Hideo Koto| teacher_of = Richie Ryan, Danny Cimoli, Jean-Philippe de Lefaye III | portrayed = Adrian Paul| first = The Gathering| }} Duncan MacLeod is a fictional character from the Highlander movies and Highlander: The Series, portrayed by actor Adrian Paul.

A successor to Connor MacLeod, the main character of the Highlander movie, Duncan MacLeod served as the protagonist for the six seasons of Highlander: The Series and the fourth Highlander movie. Reportedly, the Series was originally to carry on directly from the movies with Adrian Paul playing the same character Christopher Lambert had played in the movie, but early in development, Adrian Paul requested that a new character be created to avoid direct comparisons with Lambert and to allow him to develop his own character.

History/Biography

Duncan MacLeod was born in 1592 in Glenfinnan, Scotland. A foundling (as all Immortals are), Duncan was adopted by Ian MacLeod, the chieftain of Clan MacLeod, and raised to be its next chieftain. He was fatally wounded in 1622, which activated his latent immortality, and reawakened several hours later with his wounds completely healed. Because his death had been "public," his family believed his resurrection was a sign of black magic, and he was cast out by his clan (after being disowned by his "father") and driven from his home. He wandered for several years, unaware of what he was, eventually encountering another Immortal (Kanwulf the Viking, who attempted but failed to kill him), which only served to confuse him more. Not long after that he met Connor MacLeod, the main character of the first movie, who had undergone a similar ordeal some 65 years earlier (in 1536). Connor became Duncan's mentor, in the tradition of the Immortals, and the two would remain friends and "brothers" until Connor's death.

Duncan's life is explored in the series through flashbacks, which show him at various points in time during his 400-year lifespan. Beginning as a reckless, uneducated and somewhat arrogant man in the 1600s, he is shown to gradually change and mature as he travels and experiences the world until he becomes the wise and compassionate character of present times. During his adventures he meets many other Immortals: some become mentors, some become friends and some become enemies. He is also shown to have many occupations, including soldier (a recurring occupation, common for Immortals), hermit, newspaper editor, WWI ambulance driver and WWII resistance fighter. The series begins with him in "retirement" from The Game, living a quiet life as an antiques dealer, and as the series progresses he becomes the owner and operator of a dojo and a part-time history teacher.

Personality

Duncan (or Mac, as he is known to his close friends), is considered by some (including his mentor Connor) to be one of the prime contenders for the Prize. One of his defining characteristics is his sense of nobility: he protects the weak and innocent and punishes the evildoers. He is referred to by more than one character as a "Boy Scout," and tends to see things in terms of black and white (with much of the drama of the Series resulting from complicated situations in which his sense of morality is tested). He is often criticized (sometimes in jest, sometimes not) for his rigid sense of honor and his determination to intervene in events that often place him personally in danger in order to satisfy his compassionate nature.

Although "rough around the edges" in early flashbacks, Duncan matures into a confident and refined character by the present time. He is well educated, with expertise in many subjects such as history and science, and is a proficient linguist with fluency in many of the languages he has encountered in his travels. He is also a skilled practitioner in many forms of martial arts, a result of studying with several mentors in many parts of the world (some Immortal and some not) and living by the sword for four centuries. The fourth movie reveals that Duncan has (by the Watchers' count) killed 174 other Immortals in his life.

In early episodes, Duncan is seen as somewhat naive, believing he can escape the bloodshed of the Game by ignoring it. After he becomes a mentor to Richie Ryan, he matures into something of a father-figure, with a stronger and more confident (and at times, more jovial) outlook on life. Episodes in the last seasons, especially those after Richie's death, show Duncan as a darker, brooding character who is accutely aware of the fragility of life.

Alternative life

Duncan MacLeod was killed temporarily when he tried to save Joe and Amanda's lives, and he was thrown into another reality where Amanda was evil and got killed, Tessa was alive but unhappy, Fitz had died a long time ago, Joe was a bitter old man, Richie and Kronos were alive as evil immortals, the Watchers were killing the immortals, and Methos was just being evil. Depicted as "It's A Wonderful Life" episode-like, Duncan saw that life was different if he was never been born. Duncan MacLeod saw this and tried to stop all of it. He fought alternate Methos, and killed him. But seconds after Duncan killed alternate Methos, he returned to his original reality where Methos tried to wake him up.

Love interests

Although Duncan was a womanizer, he did share his long life with a few women he had grown to love and admire over the years. Those that were mortal, he remained loyal to their memory and cherished the moments he had with them. He was married with Kate MacLeod a.k.a Catherine Mary Devaney and a native American woman during his life time.

• Tessa Noël: Fans speculated that Tessa was the only woman he actually really loved, despite the fact he had been with many. Tessa was tragically killed during a robbery, and Duncan hardly recovered from this. In an alternate world where Duncan was never born, we see Tessa alive, but leading an unhappy life. This made an internal conflict inside Duncan; accepting her death or seeing her alive and unhappy. In the end, he accepted her death. She was played by Alexandra Vandernoot, a Belgian actress.

• Amanda: A thousand year old immortal and a thief, she and Duncan have had an off and on relationship throughout the years even though she has nearly gotten him killed on countless occasions. Amanda was very manipulative towards him, but she really respected him. She was played by Elizabeth Gracen.

• Dr. Anne Lindsay : She was the first girlfriend of Duncan MacLeod's after Tessa Noël's death; she was a trauma surgeon. She decided to leave Duncan, after seeing him fight another Immortal; according to her, she "saves lives" and can't live with so many deaths. Many fans didn't care for her as the love interest for Duncan MacLeod, but fans didn't hate her either. They simply just didn't care. Some fans speculated that her character didn't have much of chemistry with Duncan, and preferred them just to be friends. She was played by Lisa Howard.

• Cassandra : Known as the Witch of Donan Woods, she got to know Mac when he was just a 12-year-old kid, in the Highlands of Scotland. Four hundred years later, Cassandra met MacLeod again in order to fulfill an ancient prophecy — that only Duncan MacLeod could challenge and defeat the voice of darkness. A 3000-year-old immortal and held a dark secret about the Four Horsemen. She was played by Tracy Scoggins.

• Kate MacLeod : Wife to Duncan MacLeod, she was also an immortal. She was a part of Jacob Kell's clan of immortals, a group despised by immortals because of their lack of regard for the ancient codes. She was also a fashion designer under the name Faith. After Duncan defeated Kell and buried Connor, the two agreed that they would finally wander eternity as husband and wife. She was played by Lisa Barbuscia.

Trivia

• The character 'Duncan MacLeod' was ranked #11 in TV Guide's list of the "25 Greatest Sci-Fi Legends" (1 August 2004 issue).