Darius (Highlander) - Character Development

Character Development

Darius was originally intended as a mentor for MacLeod. Executive Producer Bill Panzer explains, "Duncan MacLeod needed somebody to talk to, who was Immortal, who was significantly older than he was, and with whom he had some kind of epiphany-like experience in the past." In this respect, Panzer compares Darius to Ramirez, Connor MacLeod's mentor in Highlander. Creative Consultant David Abramowitz recounts, "We wanted to create a character who was once a warrior, who gave up warfare because he realized there were other things in life."

The script of "Band of Brothers" describes Darius as a monk with a "hideously ugly face", but when the producers cast the part, they chose German actor Werner Stocker, who did not fit this description. Abramowitz explains, "Darius, originally in the script, was written as almost to look like the Hunchback of Notre Dame, to be physically ugly and with a glorious soul. And when I got to France, I noticed that they cast this young, handsome German actor named Werner Stocker. I said, 'Wait a minute. What's going on here? He's supposed to be ugly.' And it seemed that the Germans, who were putting up a great deal of money, didn't want the only German actor in the show to be ugly; so he wasn't ugly. And this was one of the cases where politics won out and it didn't hurt anything."

Panzer comments on Stocker's performance as Darius, "He had a kind of tranquility, but yet you believed that he could have been a great and brutal warrior." Abramowitz states, "He had an elegance, presence, and I was happy with the episode ." Associate Creative Consultant Gillian Horvath says, "Werner Stocker brought a lot to that role." The promotional booklet reports that Darius was "played with soulful grace by (...) Stocker. Stocker was an instant hit with fans."

Despite his limited number of appearances, the character of Darius has an important moral influence in the show. Associate Creative Consultant Gillian Horvath remarks, "When he joined the show it was the first time that someone started talking about peace." Horvath explains, "The arrival of Darius, aside from bringing in a great character, represented the first time that someone questioned the basic premise of the show. The basic premise is that 's a hero and he goes around kicking the ass of the bad guys. Now you have this character in Darius who shows up and says, 'Yes, but is it actually a good goal to kick the ass of the bad guys?' Even though Mac has to be a good guy who has to fight the bad guys, you set up this scenario where one of his closest friends has questioned whether beating up bad guys makes you a good guy or whether you should be a man of peace. (...) That underlying question shaped the whole rest of the series." Abramowitz says further, "It was a major moment for MacLeod. And it was the first time for him when he believed that the way of the warrior may not be the only way." Abramowitz summarizes, "Darius was the voice of God on the show, and then God died."

Associate Creative Consultant Donna Lettow says about Darius' character development, "It was always planned that Darius would die in "The Hunters". The original plan for Darius was that he would reappear in flashbacks, much like Fitzcairn does now." Stocker's illness in early 1993 prevented this. Panzer remembers that Stocker "had announced that he had a brain tumor." The season 1 promotional booklet recounts, "Just days before going into production actor Werner Stocker was stricken ill and was unable to work. By now the character of Darius had become an integral part of the story and the writers had to scramble to adjust the story line." Abramowitz recalls, "I got a call at three o'clock in the morning, saying Werner would not be available, we were shooting in a day and a half, and there was fear if we were going to have to shut down. I went into work, wrote twenty-five straight hours, without a break, and got out a script and the show went on and it turned out pretty well." This script bears the date March 15, 1993. The production crew, too, had to adapt to the situation. The promotional booklet reports, "Footage from previous episodes was successfully used to fill in for the absent actor." Stocker died on May 27, 1993. The episodes "Unholy Alliance" and "Unholy Alliance Part Two" are dedicated to him.

The consequences of those unexpected events are described in the promotional booklet : "The season finale went on to mark a huge shift in the Highlander saga, forever altering the future of the series with the introduction of "Hunters" and "Watchers"." The Watchers, a secret organization of mortals watching Immortals without interfering, appears in this episode for the first time and is featured in all subsequent Highlander series and movies, and Watcher Joe Dawson would become one of the main characters of the Highlander franchise.

Also, Darius' death would leave the show without a moral figure. This, Horvath explains, led the creative staff "to create wise, advisor-type characters to fill the void in MacLeod' life left by the death of Darius." Darius was the first thousands-years-old Immortal featured in the show. In this sense, Abramowitz states, "Darius was a forerunner to Methos, which is why we took Methos in a totally different direction."