An actor who starred in a fight sequence cut from the original Highlander movie has revealed what happened, 40 years later.

Swordsman Alex King told The Telegraph that he filmed a sword fight with Clancy Brown, who played the towering villain The Kurgan, in 1985 in London. But the sequence was cut from the film — something King, who was in his late twenties at the time, had no knowledge of. His name did not appear in the credits, nor was he invited to attend screenings.

King played an immortal called Yung Dol Kim, who is beheaded in traditional Highlander fashion by The Kurgan after what was described as an “ambitious” fight sequence. Yung Dol Kim, at peace with his fate, kneels for the final blow, smiling as The Kurgan’s sword comes down.

According to The Telegraph, the film’s fight choreographer, swordmaster Bob Anderson (who appeared as a stunt double for Darth Vader's lightsaber battles in The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi) warned that the choreography risked overshadowing even the action scenes starring Christopher Lambert’s protagonist, Connor MacLeod. King, now 69, was a regional level-4 fencing instructor at the time he shot the scene.

Highlander fans will get a kick out of this description of the deleted scene, per The Telegraph:

“I think they were embarrassed,” King said of the decision to cut his fight scene. “How do you tell a guy that you’ve cut him out because his sequence is too good?” King says he felt “too young and inexperienced” to complain at the time, but now says he feels “a little p***ed off with it.” Ultimately, though, he sounds philosophical about what happened. The Telegraph article is behind a paywall, but it’s well worth reading if you’re a fan of the original Highlander movie, and want to know more about King’s journey.

There is of course a new Highlander film in the works, starring former Superman actor Henry Cavill in the title role. The pitch is “John Wick with guns.” There’s no release date yet.

Wesley is Director, News at IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.