“How Christophe Lambert Lied to Get Role in Cult Film ‘Highlander'”

He didn’t have much choice if he wanted to get the role… Christophe Lambert could indeed have missed out on this role in a cult film if he hadn’t lied. You don’t have long to see this feature film on Prime Video.

Released in 1986, Highlander is still considered a cult film today. The film was also recently released in a restored version across the Channel. Available in France on Prime Video, Highlander leaves the streaming platform on June 1, 2023. If Christophe Lambert was at the height of his career at the time after playing in Greystoke, the legend of Tarzanthen in the drama Lyrics and music as well as in the thriller Subwaythe Franco-American actor then hid a big secret that was difficult to admit in order to be able to play internationally: he did not speak English! “My French side was very difficult to make up at the time. Before filming, I spoke school English, perfected by my stays in London”confided Christophe Lambert in an interview with The Obs. His work in Greystoke, the legend of Tarzan had given him the opportunity to play his scenes without much dialogue, which is why this “handicap” had gone unnoticed.

Christophe Lambert lied to play in Highlander

“My agent had me sign the film before the studios noticed that I spoke English like Inspector Clouzot. To play a Scotsman, you imagine the scene… The producers almost fell from their chairs“, remembers the actor, who adds: “So I worked hard on this famous accent. Since then, the first question an American asks me when he meets me is to ask me where I come from”.

Despite everything, a convincing performance in Highlander

The directors ofHighlander were therefore stunned to discover shortly after hiring him that Christophe Lambert was unable to speak fluent English. Yet whoever played the immortal Connor Macleod not only managed to finish the film intact, but he also managed to give a convincing performance as an English speaker. “After two and a half months of preparation, I ended up speaking fluently”he welcomes. “There was still the accent, which had to be shaped in a way to blur my origins. What they call the mid-Atlantic accent. I really perfected that technique on ‘Highlander'”says Christophe Lambert again.

Article written in collaboration with 6Medias