Jeffrey Combs was born on September 9th, 1954 in Oxnard, California. He grew up in Lompoc, California with a plethora of siblings both older and younger. He attended the Pacific Conservatory of the Performing Arts in Santa Maria, and the Professional Actor’s Training Program at the University of Washington in Seattle. He spent about four years in regional theater performing at the Old Globe Theatre in San Diego, the Arizona Theatre Company in Tucson, the California Shakespearean Festival, the Mark Taper Forum in Los Angeles and the South Coast Repertory in Costa Mesa among others. In 1980 he moved to Los Angeles, where he lives with his family. As a horror film leading actor, Combs is probably best known for portraying Herbert West in the cult horror film Re-Animator (1985). Re-Animator was based on H.P. Lovecraft‘s famous novel brought together by Stuart Gordon and Brian Yuzna, the producer and financier of the film. Combs stayed in the realm of cult films with both Gordon and Yuzna to return when making From Beyond (1986), and Bride of Re-Animator (1989) also from Lovecraft novels. He has also been in some supporting roles in _Pit and the Pendulum, The (1990) (V)_, the strange FBI Agent with Michael J. Fox in The Frighteners (1996), I Still Know What You Did Last Summer (1998) and the remake of the William Castle thriller, House on Haunted Hill (1999).
Trivia (22)
Played five different clones of the same character (Weyoun) on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (1993); he also played two other roles on the show. Also played two roles (so far) on Star Trek: Enterprise (2001), an Andorian and a Ferengi.
Graduated from Lompoc High School in 1972
Has starred in 5 movies based on H.P. Lovecraft stories.
Auditioned for the role of Commander Riker on Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987). Although he didn’t get the part, Jonathan Frakes, who did get the part, remembered Combs when directing an episode of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (1993) and cast him in a guest role in that episode. The producers liked his performance so much he was later cast in two different recurring roles on the show.
Named “the first Lovecraftian actor” by fans of writer H.P. Lovecraft, for his frequent appearances in movies based on Lovecraft’s writings (including a portrayal of Lovecraft himself, in Necronomicon: Book of Dead (1993)) and also for his involvement in other “HPL projects”.
Out of all the “Star Trek” characters he has played, Weyoun (the officious Vorta ambassador for the Dominion) is his personal favorite.
One of only two actors – along with Vaughn Armstrong – to play three different characters in a single “Star Trek” season (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (1993) Season Six.).
Is one of only two actors – along with Brian Markinson – to play two different, completely unrelated characters in a single episode of “Star Trek”. He played Weyoun and Liquidator Brunt in the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (1993) Season Seven episode “The Dogs of War”.
Is one of only 6 actors – along with Marc Alaimo, Rosalind Chao, John de Lancie, Jonathan Frakes and Tim Russ – to appear in ten different seasons of “Star Trek”: Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (1993) Seasons Three through Seven, Star Trek: Voyager (1995) Season Six and Star Trek: Enterprise (2001) Seasons One through Four.
Is one of only 4 actors – along with J.G. Hertzler, Randy Oglesby and Thomas Kopache – to play seven different characters on “Star Trek.” He played Tiron, Liquidator Brunt, Weyoun and Officer Kevin Mulcahey in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (1993), Penk in Star Trek: Voyager (1995) and Command Shran and Krem in Star Trek: Enterprise (2001).
Has appeared with Brian Thompson in three different productions: Doctor Mordrid (1992), Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (1993) and Star Trek: Enterprise (2001).
Is one of only 6 actors – along with Jonathan Frakes, Brent Spiner, Marina Sirtis, Michael Dorn and Colm Meaney – to appear in the finales of two different “Star Trek” series (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (1993) and Star Trek: Enterprise (2001)). He is also the only one who was not a regular on any “Star Trek” series and the only one to play different characters in each finale: Weyoun in the former and Shran in the latter.
One of only three actors – along with Gary Graham and Matt Winston – besides the regulars to appear in all four seasons of Star Trek: Enterprise (2001).
Is the only actor to play three different recurring characters on “Star Trek”: Weyoun and Liquidator Brunt in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (1993) and Commander Shran in Star Trek: Enterprise (2001). He has also played Tiron and Officer Kevin Mulcahey in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (1993), Penk in Star Trek: Voyager (1995) and Krem in Star Trek: Enterprise (2001).
In the episode of The 4400 (2004) entitled “Wake Up Call”, he hands a character a book by H.P. Lovecraft called “At the Mountains of Madness”. Combs is well known for playing various roles in Lovecraftian movies.
Is the only actor to appear in both of the last new “Star Trek” episodes to air before the deaths of Star Trek (1966) cast members DeForest Kelley and James Doohan respectively: the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (1993) series finale “What You Leave Behind: Part 2” (which originally aired on June 2, 1999, nine days before Kelley’s death on June 11) and the Star Trek: Enterprise (2001) series finale “These Are The Voyages…” (which originally aired on May 13, 2005, over two months before Doohan’s death on July 20).
Star Trek: Enterprise (2001) executive producer Manny Coto and writer Michael Sussman have both stated that had the show been renewed for a fifth season, Combs would have been made a regular cast member.
He is the only actor to appear in both House on Haunted Hill (1999) and Return to House on Haunted Hill (2007).
Married and has two daughters.
Profiled in “Character Kings: Hollywood’s Familiar Faces Discuss the Art & Business of Acting” by Scott Voisin.
May 1st till May 3rd: Attended FedCon 18 in Bonn, Germany, sporting a mustache for an upcoming movie. [May 2009]
Portraying Edgar Allan Poe in a one man play: “Nevermore – An Evening with Edgar Allan Poe”. Playing at the Steve Allen Theater in Hollywood, CA. Running length July – Dec 2009 [November 2009]
Personal Quotes (6)
[on being cast as Herbert West, Re-Animator] God, I had no idea what was to come. All I knew was, I was doing a play in Hollywood, and a casting director came to see it. I did not invite him. As I recall, he said, “I’m casting something you might be right for.” I went in and met Stuart Gordon, did my read, got a callback where I was paired up with the great David Gale. We did a scene. I guess we both got cast. Very low budget, shot in 18 days. Who knew? I am not rich from the movie. Somebody got rich.
From Beyond was a very difficult movie. I’m kind of schizo about it. It involved a lot of makeup. I counted it up once, it was 30 days in that hideous, bald-headed, dog-dick-out-of-my-forehead thing. I hated it. It was so uncomfortable. And yet on the flip side of that, it was shot out of Rome, Italy, and I got to spend a glorious eight weeks in one of the world’s greatest capitals. It was good. I feel like Charles Dickens: It was the best of times, and it was the worst of times. But I also felt like the role in From Beyond was so polar-opposite to what I had done in Re-Animator, where I played a strong, driving personality that pushed the action forward. Here, I was really-for all intents and purposes-being a victim. Someone standing there going, “No!” So I felt like some of the tools in my kit were being taken away from me. That was a bit frustrating, too.
[on being typecast] You get known for something, and then they pigeonhole you. They don’t want to view you as being particularly versatile. They just want you to do that thing you did before. It perpetuates itself. You can certainly say no, but then you’re not working. So a long time ago, I just told myself I’d just turn everything, even if it’s all stuck in a particular genre, I’d try to expand people’s perception of me by what I did within the framework I’ve got going.
Bride Of Re-Animator was cobbled together. I don’t really have all the details, but I think there were some issues with the script they were going to shoot. Someone claimed they had propriety over some of the ideas. So at the last minute, the script that was going to be shot was jettisoned, and the one we shot was thrown together. I feel there were some great moments in that movie. Especially, the sort of idea of building a human being out of parts: I really love that whole classic horror idea. But I think the tone got lost a little. Sometimes movies are on a track to get made and you don’t have time to pull over and do a polish, because the deal is the deal and we’ve got a start date, and the money goes away if we don’t. It suffered from all of that.
Brian Yuzna, who produced Re-Animator, was directing this trilogy of horror stories, and the glue that bound them together was this interweaving story of Lovecraft coming to an exotic, mystical library. He wanted me to play Lovecraft. I kind of resisted. I said, “I don’t look like Lovecraft.” But John Vulich is a great special-effects makeup artist. He really got me looking like him as much as he possibly could with a chin and a nose. I always felt weird portraying Lovecraft in that movie, because Brian, for the project, really wanted Lovecraft to be an Indiana Jones character, and that’s not a particularly accurate portrayal of Lovecraft, if you’ve read any of his biographies. You do what you can with what you’ve got.
[on making The Frighteners] One of the greatest experiences of my career. Peter Jackson is a genius. He makes it look easy and effortless. A visionary. Very collaborative and sharing. No real ego. I remember my [character’s] chest is a bunch of scars, and they came to me with their drawings and [Jackson] said, “What do you think?” Which is unheard of in film. It was one of the highlights of my life to work with him.
