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. In the animated series, he is voiced by Lorne Kennedy. 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 armour 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