Adrian Paul

Adrian Paul Hewett (born 29 May 1959) is an English actor best known for the titular role of Duncan MacLeod on the television series '' Highlander: The Series''. In 1997, he founded the Peace Fund charitable organisation.

Early life

Paul was born in London, the first of three brothers, to an Italian
mother and a British father. Paul first became a model, then a dancer and choreographer. As a teenager, he was a capable football player and made several appearances for Cray Wanderers in the London Spartan League between 1976 and 1978. In 1985, Paul moved to the United States to pursue careers in dance and modeling.

Paul spent time in the theatre, appearing in numerous plays, and has stated that these, along with an early television appearance on ''Beauty and the Beast'' (1987), helped to shape his acting abilities.

Career

Paul's first role was on the ABC television series '' The Colbys'' in 1986, as ballet dancer Nikolai "Kolya" Rostov. This was followed by guest appearances on various television shows, including the aforementioned ''Beauty and the Beast'' (1987), two episodes of '' Tarzán'' (1991), ''Murder, She Wrote'' (1992), '' Relic Hunter'' (1999), and as himself in ''WWE SmackDown'' (1999). He also appeared in a January 2003 episode of '' Charmed'' and in the Off-Broadway play ''Bouncers'' (1987), as well as in the television films ''Shooter'' (1988) and ''The Cover Girl Murders'' (1993), the latter of which starred Lee Majors.

Paul's first film appearance was in the 1988 film ''Last Rites'', which starred Tom Berenger. He starred in the remake '' Masque of the Red Death'', a re-telling of the Edgar Allan Poe tale. He also appeared in Sheena Easton's "Days Like This" music video as her love interest and Duran Duran's "My Own Way" music video as a dancer.

In 1989, he appeared in a regular role in the second season of the television series '' War of the Worlds'' as John Kincaid, three episodes of the 1991 ''Dark Shadows'' remake as Jeremiah Collins, and made a pilot for CBS Television for a series called ''The Owl'' (1991). In 2001, he starred in '' Tracker''.

In 1992, Paul was cast in his most widely known role of Duncan MacLeod in the syndicated television series '' Highlander: The Series'', which first aired in October 1992. He would portray the role on and off for the next 15 years, also starring in the big screen sequel '' Highlander: Endgame'' (2000), and the television film '' Highlander: The Source'', released on the Sci-Fi Channel on 15 September 2007.

Other films in which he has starred or co-starred are ''Dance to Win'' (1989), '' Love Potion No. 9'' (1992), ''Dead Men Can't Dance'' (1997), ''Susan's Plan'' (1998), '' Merlin: The Return'' (1999) as Lancelot, ''Convergence'' (1999), '' The Void'' (2001), '' The Breed'' (2001), '' Storm Watch'' (2002), ''Nemesis Game'' (2003) '' Throttle'' (2005), and '' Phantom Below'' (2005). In 2006, he co-starred in the horror film ''Séance'' and in ''Little Chicago''. A year later, Paul appeared as Ananias Dare in the Sci-Fi Channel original film ''Wraiths of Roanoke'' (2007).

Also in 2007 Adrian Paul played the lead role in a TV movie ''Tides of War'' where he plays the role of Commander Frank Habley, a gay officer in charge of a submarine that infiltrates North Korean waters where he instinctively discovers a secret stealth North Korean submarine and destroys it. The fleeting moments of Commander Habley and fellow officer Tom Palatonia's relationship, played by Mike Doyle come to an abrupt end due to a fire aboard the submarine where Tom is killed while fighting the blaze. ''Tides of War'' also costars Matthew St. Patrick of '' Six Feet Under'' fame as Lieutenant Commander Steven Barker.

In 2008, Paul began voice acting the character of Patrick O'Brien in the animated ''War of the Worlds'' television show. He starred as Sir Francis Drake in the Sci-Fi Channel original film ''The Immortal Voyage of Captain Drake'' (2009), the futuristic thriller '' Eyeborgs'' (2009), and the thriller-drama '' The Heavy'' (2010). In 2012, Paul did a character voice-over in the Malaysian animated science fiction film '' War of the Worlds: Goliath''. Paul starred in the 2013 science fiction film '' AE: Apocalypse Earth'', a post-apocalyptic action-adventure film.

In 2015, he made a guest appearance as Commandant Leitner in '' Strike Back''. In March 2019, he joined the CW series ''Arrow'' in a recurring role, playing a villainous character named Dante.

Personal life

Paul married actress Meilani Figalan in 1990. The couple divorced in 1997. Paul married long-time girlfriend Alexandra Tonelli in 2009. They have three children, a daughter born in 2009, and two sons born in 2012 and 2020.

Since the late 1980s, he has studied a range of martial arts, including Taekwondo, Choy Li Fut, and Hung Gar Kung Fu, and has been featured on the covers of ''Impact'' (three times), '' Inside Kung Fu'', ''Karate International'' (four times) and ''Martial Arts Insider''.

Filmblips

Paul is also involved in the development and production side of the entertainment industry. In 2008, he joined with Zoltan Furedi and founded Filmblips, an independent film and television media production company.

Radio show

Adrian Paul is the co-host of Peace Fund Radio with Ethan Dettenmaier on Brigade-Radio-One.

Filmography

Film

Television

Music videos

Stage

References

External links

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Adrian Paul 2011 interviewTwitterPeace Fund Radio

{{DEFAULTSORT:Paul, Adrian
1959 births
English male film actors
English male television actors
Living people
Male actors from London
British people of Italian descent
20th-century English male actors
21st-century English male actors
Cray Wanderers F.C. players
British expatriate male actors in the United States
Association footballers not categorized by position
English footballers