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Excerpts from "Highlander: Endgame" Presskit

The enthusiasm is shared by the film's compelling supporting cast. Bruce Payne, who plays the devastatingly powerful Kell, had loved the concept of immortals ever since seeing the first HIGHLANDER. "The original HIGHLANDER wasn't just an action movie, but a story with some real depth to it," he observes. "Behind the warrior clashes there was a subplot about men having to face themselves, having to answer for their legacy. I loved that and this script seemed to dive right back into this fascinating mix of thrills and moral inquiry." Kell oversees an entire "posse" of immortals, each alone presenting a formidable foe to the Highlanders. "I loved having a posse," admits Payne. "It reminded me of an artist's salon in the 1930s where you have all these remarkable talents trying to become the favorite, only of course their art is killing one another. Everyone in the posse is trying to get in my favor - and it's all about who will dare to take on the MacLeod's"  

Congratulations Bruce! A well deserved role for you. You have worked hard!

Download the Highlander Endgame Script

What are your final thoughts on your Endgame experience?

I enjoyed working on the film because of the collaboration which took place between all of us... the actors, the director and the technicians. As an actor the first thing you have to contribute to the process is your trust and as far as Highlander: Endgame was concerned... I trusted them fully.

Doug Aarniokoski was asked : Kell was supposed to be more than just a vengeful villain?

I've heard people say that Bruce was way over the top. He's not. He gave one of the most dead-on performances. If you saw the film that we shot. Bruce Payne and I designed his character to be very specific and very motivated in the sense that he was bigger than the universe he was living in. That was his mind-set. To him, there is no Holy Ground. Wherever he walks could be Holy Ground... there is a moment in the third act where he is playing Bonny Portmore on the harmonica. If you take a look at what he was leaning up against during the wide-shot, it is very symbolic of the mind-set that he is in. I won;t get into it anymore than that, but take a look....

Copyright IMPACT Magazine December, 2000

HIGHLANDER: ENDGAME

Let us celebrate the fine work of Bruce Payne. who plays the villainous Jacob Kell in Highlander: Endgame.

A man who obviously loves his work, the English-born actor, whose credits include Warlock III: The End of Innocence and Howling VI: The Freaks, dives into his role with gusto. His facial expressions rival Jim Carrey's in The Mask. When delivering a line, he elongates vowels to make himself clear, as in: "You are on borrowed ti-i-i-i-me!" When he tells his gang members how much they mean to him, you expect him to complete the compliment with Dr. Evil's ode to Mini-Me: "You complete me."

Payne provides a focal point in the ultra-violent, ultra-muddled new Highlander movie. The new film blends characters from the three previous feature films as well as the popular, but defunct, TV series, shot largely in Vancouver. If you're new to the Highlander phenomenon, it was hatched by Scottish writer Greg Widen and involves a secret tribe of immortals from Scotland who gain strength and wisdom (but mostly strength) by fighting and killing one another. The only way to kill a fellow immortal is to behead him.

If there are lessons to be learned from Highlander, they are: 1) don't let power go to your head, or you might lose it; and 2) never laugh at a man in a kilt, unless it's Ashley McIsaac.

The good immortals in the new film are Connor MacLeod (Christopher Lambert, star of the three movies) and Duncan MacLeod (Adrian Paul, star of the TV series). They must battle Kell and his gang of immortal villains, which include Duncan's wife from the 17th century, Kate (Lisa Barbuscia), and a gang of crazies who ride around on motorbikes like punk Shriners. Joel Soisson's screenplay has few talky sections, and so we get a steady diet of swordfights, martial arts duels, gun battles and, of course, beheadings. The emphasis on action comes at the expense of plot, which becomes as murky as the blood that runs from the characters' wounds. Mind you, plot machinations have never been all that important to the Highlander movies, and it would be foolish to expect Pinteresque dialogue. First one to use a metaphor loses his noggin!

While the story, which bounces back and forth in time, is nebulous, certain other things are crystal clear. One of these is product placement. There is a long battle atop a roof where huge red letters for JVC illuminate the action, the corporate logo often getting more camera play than the combatants

Cineastes may find the film lacking, but Highlander fans should not be disappointed. Swordplay, kilts and scenery-chewing from the chief villain -- what more could you ask for from a cult flick?

Marke Andrews

Shot taken from the HL DVD: Bruce joking around behind the scenes.