Adrian Paul

Last updated

Adrian Paul
Adrian Paul (16619451655).jpg
Paul in 2015
Born (1959-05-29) 29 May 1959 (age 64)
London, England, United Kingdom
OccupationActor
Years active1981–present
Spouses
Meilani Paul
(m. 1990;div. 1997)
Alexandra Tonelli
(m. 2009)
Children3

Adrian Paul Hewett (born 29 May 1959) [1] is an English actor best known for the title role of Duncan MacLeod on the television series Highlander: The Series . [2] [3] [4] [5] In 1997, he founded the Peace Fund charitable organisation. [6]

Contents

Early life

Paul was born in London, [1] the first of three brothers, to an Italian mother and a British father. He attended St Mary's Grammar School (as was) in Sidcup, Kent, where in his time in 6th Form, he established something of an empire based in the school library selling first so-called "stales" from the baker's in Sidcup High Street, progressing to a selection of biscuits. 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. [7] 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 . [8]

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. [9] [10] [11] He would portray the role on and off for the next 15 years, also starring in the big screen sequel Highlander: Endgame (2000), [12] [13] 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 Paul played the lead role in the TV movie Tides of War as 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), [14] 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. [15]

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. [16]

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. [17]

Filmography

Film

YearTitleRoleNotes
1988 Last Rites Tony
1989Dance to WinBilly James
Masque of the Red Death Prospero
1992 Love Potion No. 9 Enrico Pazzoli
1997Dead Men Can't DanceShooter
1998 Susan's Plan Paul Holland
1999ConvergenceBrady Traub / Young Brady
2000 Highlander: Endgame Duncan MacLeod
Merlin: The Return Lancelot
2001 The Breed Aaron Gray
The Void Professor Steven Price
2002 Storm Watch Neville
2003 Nemesis Game Vern
Alien Tracker ColeAlso executive producer
2004 Moscow Heat Andrew Chambers
2005 Throttle Gavin Matheson
Little ChicagoFrank Newcome
2006 Séance Spence
2009 Eyeborgs Robert J. "Gunner" Reynolds
The Heavy Christian Mason
Nine Miles Down Thomas "Jack" Jackman
2011Cold FusionColonel Jack Unger
2012 War of the Worlds: Goliath Patrick O'BrienVoice role
2013 AE: Apocalypse Earth Lieutenant Frank Baum
Dante's Hell Animated Ulysses Voice role
2014 Black Rose Matt Robinson
Apocalypse Pompeii Jeff Pierce
Outpost 37 General DaneVoice role
2015TouchedBrad
Kids vs Monsters Greg Lovett
2016The Secrets of Emily BlairRoizman
2017The Fast and the FierceColeman
Christmas Crime Story David Carlisle
2018Snap ShotAlden Flower
2019 Wild League James Parker
TBAWildfire: The Legend of the Cherokee Ghost HorseParker NicholsPost-production [18]

Television

YearTitleRoleNotes
1986–1987 The Colbys Nikolai "Kolya" Rostov19 episodes
1988 Shooter IanTelevision film
Beauty and the Beast Dmitri BenkoEpisode: "Ashes, Ashes"
1989–1990 War of the Worlds John Kincaid20 episodes
1991 Dark Shadows Jeremiah Collins3 episodes
The Owl The OwlTelevision film
1992 Murder, She Wrote Edward HaleEpisode: "Danse Diabolique"
Tarzán Jack Traverse2 episodes
1992–1998 Highlander: The Series Duncan MacLeod117 episodes
1993The Cover Girl MurdersPatriceTelevision film
1995 Phantom 2040 GunnarVoice role, 2 episodes
2001 Relic Hunter Lucas BlackmerEpisode: "Vampire's Kiss"
2001–2002 Tracker Cole / Daggon22 episodes, also executive producer
2003 Charmed JericEpisode: "Y Tu Mummy También"
2005 Phantom Below Commander Frank HableyTelevision film
2007 Highlander: The Source Duncan MacLeodTelevision film
Wraiths of Roanoke Ananias DareTelevision film
2009The Immortal Voyage of Captain DrakeSir Francis Drake Television film
2013 Deadly Descent: The Abominable Snowman Mark ForsterTelevision film
The ConfessionDylan BennettTelevision film
2015 Strike Back Commandant LeitnerEpisode: "5.9"
StormageddonBrian McTeagueTelevision film
201712 to MidnightFather TemplainEpisode: "Red Sneakers"
2019 Arrow Dante 3 episodes
2022 S.W.A.T.Peter GallowayS5/E18 - "Incoming"

Music videos

YearSongDirector(s)Notes
1981"My Own Way" Russell Mulcahy
1988"Eyes of a Stranger" Wayne Isham
1988"Days Like This" Brian Grant

Stage

ProductionYearRoleTheatreNotes
Bouncers1987Ralph Minetta Lane Theatre

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References

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  2. Donna Lettow (26 September 2009). Highlander(™): Zealot. Grand Central Publishing. p. 184. ISBN   978-0-446-56564-6.
  3. Mary M. Lay; Janice J. Monk; Deborah Silverton Rosenfelt (2002). Encompassing Gender: Integrating International Studies and Women's Studies. Feminist Press at CUNY. p. 102. ISBN   978-1-55861-269-3.
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  6. "Our Team". PEACE Fund. Retrieved 27 January 2017.
  7. "Cray Wanderers – A Complete Statistical Record". Cray 150 Publications. 2014. Retrieved 31 October 2014.
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  9. Gardner Dozois (15 May 1998). The Year's Best Science Fiction: Fifteenth Annual Collection . St. Martin's Press. p.  58. ISBN   978-0-312-19033-0.
  10. Paul Green (14 October 2009). Encyclopedia of Weird Westerns: Supernatural and Science Fiction Elements in Novels, Pulps, Comics, Films, Television and Games. McFarland. p. 112. ISBN   978-0-7864-5800-4.
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  15. Petski, Denise (4 March 2019). "'Arrow': Adrian Paul To Recur As Dante in CW Series". Deadline Hollywood .
  16. "Adrian Paul". www.ma-mags.com. Retrieved 25 March 2017.
  17. "About us". Filmblips. Retrieved 27 January 2017.
  18. "Adrian Paul and Cara Jade Myers Join Cast for Hannover House Feature, "Wildfire: The Legend of the Cherokee Ghost Horse"". finance.yahoo.com. 3 September 2021. Retrieved 22 January 2023.