| “ | I am Duncan MacLeod, born four hundred years ago in the Highlands of Scotland. I am Immortal and I am not alone. For centuries we have waited for the time of the Gathering, when the stroke of a sword and the fall of a head will release the power of the Quickening. In the end, there can be only one. | „ |
| ~ Original opening narration. |
Duncan MacLeod is one of the two main protagonists (alongside Connor MacLeod) of the Highlander franchise. He serves as the protagonist of the Highlander TV series, and subsequently the co-protagonist with Connor MacLeod of the film Highlander: Endgame and protagonist of Highlander: The Source.
He was portrayed by Adrian Paul in his breakthrough role.
Biography[]
Duncan, like all Immortals, was a foundling of unknown origin, brought up by Highlander couple Ian MacLeod and Mary MacLeod in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. After being killed in battle with a rival clan, he revived as an Immortal and was rejected by his father. He subsequently encountered an immortal hermit, who have Duncan his first Quickening by decapitating himself with Duncan's sword. Duncan then met his legendary cousin Connor MacLeod, who taught him the rules of Immortality. He became a skilled swordsman and a wanderer, encountering other Immortals, sometimes befriending them, sometimes becoming enemies. Among his closest friends were the charming rogue Hugh Fitzcairn, with who he learned to read, and the thief Amanda, with whom he had an on-off relationship.
Although at home in English society among other places, Duncan supported the Jacobite uprising in 1745. However, he refused to let his friend Warren Cochrane lead another rebellion with Bonnie Prince Charlie years later, knowing it would only get good Scotsmen killed. He fought with the British at Waterloo where he first met the immortal priest Darius, who urged him to turn his back on violence. Duncan appreciated Darius' ideals but could never embrace them. Nevertheless, he worked as a medic during the First World War.
In the late 20th century, Duncan began a relationship with Tessa Noël. He told her of his immortality and they ran an antique shop together. During an encounter with the vicious immortal Slan Quince, Duncan met both Connor again and the street kid Richie Ryan, who he took under his wing. He fought many Immortals, including Grayson, an old pupil of Darius. Reuniting with Darius in Paris, he saw his old friend murdered on holy ground by mortals, led by James Horton. Duncan saved Fitzcairn from the group and followed them back to Seacouver, where he learned they were a renegade faction of a group known as the Watchers, who observed Immortals. Even though they were meant to keep their distance, Duncan ended up befriending his own Watcher Joe Dawson.
Not long after, Tessa and Richie were killed during a mugging, triggering Richie's latent immortality. Duncan sold the antique shop and bought a dojo, keeping its owner Charlie DeSalvo on as manager: The two were good friends but Duncan kept his immortality secret. He found Horton a permanent thorn in his side, at one point teaming up with Duncan's other old enemy, Xavier St Cloud.
In his final scheme, Horton had a criminal, Lisa Halle, undergo plastic surgery to resemble Tessa and begin a relationship with him, after which Horton killed her. Duncan killed Horton soon after but had been forced to go through the grief of losing Tess again.
Duncan began a relationship with doctor Anne Lindsay and was forced to reveal his immortality to her when she witnessed him fall to his apparent death in a fight with Kalas. Duncan found Kalas was after Methos, the oldest living immortal, who he met and befriended. Kalas also managed to kill Fitzcairn before Duncan finally defeated and beheaded him in a duel on top of the Eiffel Tower. Anne was unable to accept Duncan's lifestyle, and the fact it meant she would have to want him to kill others, but they remained friends and he gifted a house he had renovated to her and her newborn daughter.
Duncan discovered his friend Jim Coltec had absorbed a Dark Quickening, turning the once gentle and noble man into a psychopath. Duncan was forced to kill Coltec but in the process absorbed the Dark Quickening himself. He nearly killed Richie, with Joe having to save the younger immortal, and did kill his friend Sean Burns. Burns' quickening helped him regain some of his sanity and Methos guided him in symbolically fighting and defeating his evil self.
Duncan faced twin threats when head Watcher Jack Shapiro placed Joe on trial for revealing the Watchers' existence, at the same time that Duncan's Immortal friend Jacob Galati began killing Watchers as revenge for his wife's murder by Horton. Duncan failed to stop Shapiro executing Galati but managed to end his plans to wage war against Immortals. He restored his friendships with Richie and Joe during an encounter with Haresh Clay, the immortal who had killed Duncan's friend Ashe centuries earlier.
Contacted by the ancient immortal Cassandra, Duncan learned of the Four Horsemen, a group of ancient immortals led by the brutal Kronos. Duncan discovered Methos had been Kronos' lieutenant and his friend joined Kronos in locating the other immortals, Silas and Caspian. Duncan finally managed to kill Caspian then, as he challenged Kronos, Methos switched sides and similarly challenged Silas. Duncan and Methos both beheaded their opponents, sharing a Double Quickening.
Duncan was confused to hear a prophecy that he was fated to defeat the demon Ahriman. He was beset with visions of Ahriman, one of which caused him to accidentally kill Richie. With help from Joe, he finally defeated Ahriman by finding the peace within himself and refusing to fight. Richie's death would weigh heavily on him and he was reluctant to face other immortals. When an old enemy, Liam O'Rourke, took Joe and Amanda hostage, Duncan was prepared to let O'Rourke take his head without a fight. Only Fitzcairn showing him a vision of the world without him convinced Duncan to fight and defeat O'Rourke.
In the movie Highlander: Endgame, Duncan was reunited with Connor as they discovered an immortal, Jacob Kell, breaking all the rules, using gangs of immortals to team up on other immortals and kill them on holy ground. Duncan was forced to kill Connor in order to use the strength of his Quickening to defeat and kill Kell. Afterwards, he reunited with his lost love, Kate.
In the non-canon Highlander: The Source, in a post-apocolyptic future, Duncan became caught up in the quest for the Source of the Immortals. As he and his companions neared it, they became mortal and Duncan finally entered the Source, learning his latest love Anna was pregnant with his child.
