jeffrey combs star trek voyager

• ENT performers
• Video game performers
• LD performers

Jeffrey Combs

• View history

Most recently, he voiced AGIMUS in the Star Trek: Lower Decks episodes " Where Pleasant Fountains Lie ", " A Mathematically Perfect Redemption " and " A Few Badgeys More ".

• 1 Personal life
• 2.2 Television
• 3.1.1 Appearances as Brunt
• 3.1.2 Appearances as Weyoun 5
• 3.1.3 Appearances as Weyoun 7
• 3.1.4 Appearances as Weyoun 8
• 3.1.5 Appearances as Thy'lek Shran
• 3.2 Video game voice acting credits
• 3.3 Further reading
• 4 External links

Personal life [ ]

Born in Oxnard, California, Combs was raised in Lompoc, California along with many older and younger siblings. He graduated from Lompoc High School in 1972, after which he honed his acting talents at the Pacific Conservatory of the Performing Arts in Santa Maria, California and the Professional Actor's Training Program at the University of Washington in Seattle, Washington.

In 1980, after spending four years performing for regional theater, Combs moved to Los Angeles where he landed roles in the films Whose Life Is It Anyway? and Honky Tonk Freeway , both released in 1981. The latter one starred Terri Garr .

Combs is widely recognized as an actor of science fiction and horror movies. His first experience with both genres came in 1983 when he appeared in the science fiction comedy The Man with Two Brains , a film which also featured fellow Trek guest stars James Cromwell , David Warner , and Earl Boen . A few months later, he was seen in the horror film Frightmare , co-starring Scott Thomson .

Combs has since starred in many movies in the horror and science fiction genres, specifically those based on the works of writer H. P. Lovecraft . His most well-known Lovecraftian role (and, indeed, his most famous film role in general) is that of Dr. Herbert West in the 1985 classic Re-Animator . He reprised this role in two more films, Bride of Re-Animator in 1990 and Beyond Re-Animator in 2003.

Other Lovecraftian films starring Combs include From Beyond (1986, with Ted Sorel ) and Lurking Fear (1994, with Vincent Schiavelli ). Combs' association with Lovecraft was such that he actually played the author in the 1993 horror anthology Necronomicon , which featured Dennis Christopher , Gary Graham , Richard Lynch , and David Warner. His more recent Lovecraftian work was the television horror thriller The Dunwich Horror (2009, with Dean Stockwell ). Combs voiced King Abdul in the animated feature Howard Lovecraft & the Undersea Kingdom (2017) and H.P. Lovecraft himself in the video sequel Howard Lovecraft and the Kingdom of Madness (2018).

Outside of the Lovecraftian universe, Combs portrayed a Catholic Cleric in the 1991 film The Pit and the Pendulum , also starring Stephen Lee . Combs was further notable for playing the title role of Doctor Mordrid in 1992, on which he co-starred with Brian Thompson . Another notable role is that of crazed FBI agent Milton Dammers in the 1996 horror film, The Frighteners , which co-starred Julianna McCarthy .

Combs' other non-Lovecraftian sci-fi and horror films include Robot Jox (1989, starring Gary Graham), Guyver (1991, with Michael Berryman , Dennis Madalone , Brian Simpson , and Spice Williams ), Trancers II (1991, with Richard Lynch), Fortress (1992, co-starring Kurtwood Smith and Tom Towles ), I Still Know What You Did Last Summer (1998, along with Bill Cobbs ), the remake of House on Haunted Hill (1999, starring Famke Janssen ), and Contagion (2002, with Megan Gallagher ). More recent horror movie credits include Abominable (2006, in which he co-starred with Matt McCoy and Phil Morris ), the remake of The Wizard of Gore (2007, with Brad Dourif ), and Dark House (2009, with Diane Salinger and Don Stark ).

Combs has of course ventured in other genres besides horror or sci-fi. He played "Dinosaur Bob" in the 1994 thriller Love and a .45 and appeared as Gilroy in the 1995 gangster picture Dillinger and Capone . This latter film co-starred F. Murray Abraham , Stephen Davies , Catherine Hicks , Clint Howard , Bert Remsen , and Time Winters . Combs was also seen in the thriller Felony (1996, co-starring Charles Napier and David Warner), the crime drama Caught Up (1998, with Tony Todd ), and the thriller Edmond (2005). Additionally, in 1997, Combs and his DS9 co-stars René Auberjonois and Armin Shimerman appeared together in the drama Snide and Prejudice (along with Mick Fleetwood ).

Further film work includes the action film Urgency (2010), the fantasy film Dorothy and the Witches of Oz (2012, with Christopher Lloyd ), the horror film Night of the Living Dead 3D: Re-Animation (2012, with Rhonda Aldrich ), the horror film Would You Rather (2012, with Larry Cedar and Bobby C. King ), the family comedy Elf-Man (2012), the thriller Favor (2013), the horror film The Penny Dreadful Picture Show (2013, with Sid Haig and Brandon Stacy ), the horror comedy Suburban Gothic (2014, with Ray Wise ), the family movie Beethoven's Treasure (2014, with Brian George and Patrick Kwok-Choon ), the horror comedy Art School of Horrors (2015), the fantasy film Age of Stone and Sky: The Sorcerer Beast (2018), and the horror film Holiday Hell (2018).

He also appeared in the science fiction comedy Unbelievable!!!!! in 2018, which features an almost whole Star Trek cast including Chase Masterson , Garrett Wang , Tim Russ , Nichelle Nichols , Robert Picardo , Michael Dorn , Marina Sirtis , Nana Visitor , Walter Koenig , Linda Park , Connor Trinneer , Manu Intiraymi , Dina Meyer , Olivia d'Abo , Julie Warner , Armin Shimerman , John Billingsley , Dominic Keating , Max Grodénchik , Casey Biggs , Brenda Bakke , Patti Yasutake , McKenzie Westmore , Anthony Montgomery , Vaughn Armstrong , Gary Graham , Steve Rankin , Michael Dante , Jack Donner , Michael Forest , Sean Kenney , Gary Lockwood , Barbara Luna , Beverly Washburn , Celeste Yarnall , Bobby Clark , Jasmine Jessica Anthony , Crystal Allen , Menina Fortunato , and Christopher Doohan .

Television [ ]

Outside of Star Trek , Combs has made guest appearances on several other television series. In 1987, he appeared on an episode of Beauty and the Beast , starring Ron Perlman . Also in 1987, he was seen on Houston Knights , working with Madlyn Rhue .

Further expanding his science fiction credits, Combs has worked on The Flash (1991, with Dick Miller ), Babylon 5 (1994, with Andreas Katsulas , Bill Mumy and David L. Crowley ), Perversions of Science (1997, with Jeff Corey , Ron Perlman, and David Warner), and the remake of The Twilight Zone (2003). He also played the recurring role of Kevin Burkhoff on the science fiction series The 4400 (2005-2007).

Other series on which he has appeared include Freddy's Nightmares (1989), Hunter (1991, in an episode with Kenneth Marshall ), Life Goes On (1991, with David Graf and Bill Smitrovich ), The Single Guy (1996, starring Olivia d'Abo and Mark Moses ), Martial Law (2000, with Neal McDonough and T.J. Storm ), CSI: Crime Scene Investigation (2003), and Cold Case (2008).

In 1996, Combs had a role in the television movie Norma Jean & Marilyn . Also starring in this movie were Ashley Judd , Steven Culp , David Drew Gallagher , Alex Henteloff , and John Rubinstein . In 2005, Combs appeared in two made-for-TV horror movies: Voodoo Moon and Hammerhead: Shark Frenzy .

Combs is also a sought-after voice actor, appearing in numerous animated television shows. He has most prominently worked as a voice actor for animation set in the DC Animated Universe, specifically as The Scarecrow in The New Batman Adventures (1997, working on the same episode as Charles Rocket ) and The Question in several episodes of Justice League (2004-2006, alongside Clancy Brown , Robert Foxworth , Virginia Madsen , and Charles Napier). He also voiced the Scarecrow for the video game Batman: Rise of Sin Tzu (2003), which also featured Cary-Hiroyuki , Loren Lester , and Ron Perlman. Combs voiced the Autobot Ratchet in Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman 's Transformers: Prime (2010-2013), Viceroy in Chadam (2010), The Leader in Avengers: World's Mightiest Heroes (2010-2012), Rat King in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2012-2016), and Ratchet in Transformers: Robots in Disguise (2016-2017).

Further television guest work includes episodes of Thundercats (2012, with Kevin Michael Richardson and Corey Burton ), Femme Fatales (2012), Criminal Minds (2014), Ben 10: Omniverse (2014, with Bumper Robinson , Dee Bradley Baker , and Michael Dorn), Gotham (2015, with Becky Ann Baker ), Hulk and the Agents of S.M.A.S.H. (2015, with Fred Tatasciore and Clancy Brown ), Stan Against Evil (2017), and Togtone (2018).

Star Trek [ ]

Combs auditioned for the role of William T. Riker on Star Trek: The Next Generation , but lost the part to Jonathan Frakes . Frakes remembered Combs and cast him as Tiron while directing the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine third season episode " Meridian ". ( "Hidden File 10", DS9 Season 5 DVD special feature )

Combs has since earned himself quite a number of appearances on Star Trek , guest starring in thirty-one episodes of Deep Space Nine , one episode of Star Trek: Voyager , and eleven episodes of Star Trek: Enterprise . In " The Dogs of War ", Combs played both Weyoun and Brunt , becoming one of only a handful of actors ever to play two unrelated characters in the same episode, and the only one credited for playing both characters in that episode. He did it a second time while playing Weyoun and an unnamed holosuite guest in " What You Leave Behind ", the final episode of Deep Space Nine . He has also appeared in two Star Trek series finales: " What You Leave Behind " and " These Are the Voyages... ".

He is one of only five actors to play seven or more different characters in the Star Trek franchise, the others being Randy Oglesby , J.G. Hertzler , Vaughn Armstrong , and Thomas Kopache .

The species that he played on Star Trek include three Ferengi , a Vorta , a Norcadian , and an Andorian . He also played an imaginary Human in " Far Beyond the Stars ". The name of Tiron's race was never revealed. Combs has said that out of all the Trek roles he has played, Weyoun is his favorite character. [1]

When interviewed in Star Trek Monthly  issue 43 in 1998 about his two recurring roles on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine , Combs said that he preferred Weyoun chiefly because he had much more "freedom" to define the character with each appearance, whereas playing Brunt (or any Ferengi character) was simply a matter of following Armin Shimerman 's example.

Manny Coto has also said, had Star Trek: Enterprise been given a fifth season , the recurring character of Shran may have joined Enterprise as an "auxiliary or an advisor". [2] [3] As of 2018, Combs remarked, he never heard of such a proposal. ( "Behind the Masks" panel at Destination Star Trek Birmingham, 21 October 2018 )

Star Trek appearances [ ]

Appearances as Brunt [ ]

• " Family Business "
• " Bar Association "
• " Body Parts "
• " Ferengi Love Songs "
• " The Magnificent Ferengi "
• " Profit and Lace "
• " The Dogs of War "

Appearances as Weyoun 5 [ ]

• " Ties of Blood and Water "
• " In the Cards "
• " Call to Arms "
• " A Time to Stand "
• " Behind the Lines "
• " Favor the Bold "
• " Sacrifice of Angels "
• " Statistical Probabilities "
• " Tears of the Prophets "
• " Image in the Sand "
• " Shadows and Symbols "

Appearances as Weyoun 7 [ ]

• " Treachery, Faith and the Great River "
• " Penumbra "
• " 'Til Death Do Us Part "
• " Strange Bedfellows "

Appearances as Weyoun 8 [ ]

• " The Changing Face of Evil "
• " Tacking Into the Wind "
• " What You Leave Behind "

Appearances as Thy'lek Shran [ ]

• " The Andorian Incident "
• " Shadows of P'Jem "
• " Cease Fire "
• " Proving Ground "
• " Zero Hour "
• " Kir'Shara "
• " Babel One "
• " The Aenar "
• " These Are the Voyages... " (hologram)

Video game voice acting credits [ ]

• Star Trek: Deep Space Nine - Dominion Wars as Weyoun
• Star Trek: Elite Force II as Commander Suldok
• Star Trek Online as Weyoun and Brunt (also Thykir Shran, a relative of Thylek Shran)

Further reading [ ]

• "Jeffrey Combs", Star Trek: The Magazine  Volume 1, Issue 17 , pp. 14-16, 18-21, September 2000
• Star Trek's Mr. Everywhere - A Jeffrey Combs interview, Part 1 at StarTrek.com
• Star Trek's Mr. Everywhere - A Jeffrey Combs interview, Part 2 at StarTrek.com
• An Interview with Jeffrey Combs - Part 1 at StarTrek.com
• An Interview with Jeffrey Combs - Part 2 at StarTrek.com
• An Exclusive Interview with Jeffrey Combs (X) at StarTrek.com

External links [ ]

• JeffreyCombs.com – official site
• Jeffrey Combs at StarTrek.com
• Jeffrey Combs at the Internet Movie Database
• Jeffrey Combs at Memory Beta , the wiki for licensed Star Trek works
• Jeffrey Combs at Wikipedia
• 1 Abdullah bin al-Hussein

Jeffrey Combs' Versatile Star Trek Roles

Jeffrey Combs has portrayed various compelling characters in the Star Trek universe. Here are all the roles Combs has played.

While some actors are constantly typecast in the same roles or genres, others have received both critical and public nods for having played very diverse characters in the entertainment industry. Names like Johnny Depp, Meryl Streep, or Emma Thompson come to mind. A franchise as popular as Star Trek , with its twelve shows and thirteen movies, is widely known for recasting such prolific actors in various human and alien roles, sometimes even in the same episode.

One recurring, fan-favorite Trek performer is Jeffrey Combs, whose portfolio includes horror classics Frightmare , Re-Animator , and The Frighteners , the voice of Scarecrow in The New Batman Adventures , and the voice of Question in Justice League Unlimited .

Combs played nine different characters across four Star Trek shows: Deep Space 9 , Enterprise , Voyager , and most recently, the adult animated series created by Mike McMahan, Lower Decks .

Related: Jeffrey Combs' Best Performances, Ranked

Tiron—DS9

Combs may have auditioned for the role of William Riker, which he lost to Jonathan Frakes, but his first Trek character was Tiron, in the DS9 season 3 episode “Meridian,” in 1994. Tiron was a pale humanoid alien with a green coloration on his forehead. He is very wealthy, entitled, and a little on the creepy side, as he became so obsessed with Major Kira Nerys (Nana Visitor) that he commissioned a holosuite featuring a hologram in her likeness.

Weyoun 4 to 8—DS9

Weyoun is Combs’ personal favorite role in the franchise, probably because he got to play 5 versions of him, starting with the Season 4 episode To the Death , and ending with the series’ heartbreaking finale, What You Leave Behind . Weyoun was a Vorta, a genetically engineered race that was created solely to serve the diplomatic interests of the Founders/Changelings.

Whenever one Weyoun died, he was immediately replaced by his clone. Combs’ Weyoun 4 was killed by his own Jem’Hadar soldiers after questioning their allegiance. Weyoun 5 was obliterated in a transporter malfunction, though it was probably not an accident. As for Weyoun 6, he was considered a defective model, because he was the only clone to ever question the devastating Dominion War that was instigated by his masters. And so, he ended up killing himself by triggering his brain implant. Weyoun 7, on the other hand, simply had his neck snapped by an irritated Worf (but don’t Klingons always feel irritated?). And last, Weyoun 8 was shot by the space station’s mysterious Cardassian tailor, Garak.

“I played him as if he prided himself on how eloquent and elegant he could be, and on his ability to manipulate and cajole. He considered himself really adept at the political game.” (Jeffrey Combs in Star Trek Monthly issue 17, pp. 17-18)

Related: Star Trek: Supporting Characters That Deserve Their Own Movie

Brunt—DS9

Combs donned the prosthetic head (gigantic ears included) of a very annoying Ferengi on DS9 : the overzealous Commerce Authority auditor, Brunt. His first appearance was in the Season 3 episode Family Business , in which he investigated the bar manager, Quark, and his mother, Ishka. After being a thorn in Quark’s side on several occasions, Brunt attempted to have Quark’s brother, Rom, removed from his new office as Grand Nagus, but ended up losing his license instead.

When Combs played both Weyoun and Brunt in the DS9 episode Dogs of War , he was branded as the first Trek actor to portray two different recurring characters in the same episode.

Shran—Enterprise

The dynamic of the blue-skinned Andorian commander Thy’lek Shran and the Enterprise captain Jonathan Archer is one of the most iconic on television. What started as a hostile interaction (kidnapping and torture included) would soon transform into mutual respect. Through the seasons, the duo would do each other life-saving favors against Vulcans spies, hostile Andorians, and the evil Xindi race.

Unlike most of Combs’ Trek roles, Shran was passionate, compassionate, and honorable. Combs would also go on to voice Starfleet captain Thy'kir Shran, the commander’s great-grandson aboard the U.S.S. Sebrova, in the Star Trek Online roleplaying game.

Suldok—Elite Force II

Combs may not have portrayed a Romulan on TV (yet), but he did voice the main Romulan villain in the 2003 PC game Star Trek: Elite Force II . Suldok was an anti-Federation commander who developed a military coup against the Romulan Empire via genetically engineered bugs.

Kevin Mulkahey—DS9

In the Star Trek: Deep Space 9 episode Far Beyond the Stars , set in an alternate 1953 Harlem, Combs assumed the role of Kevin Mulkahey, a racist and violent police detective who beat up criminals, writers, and even other police officers. Unlike most of his charismatic alien villains, Combs’ human character was detestable from the get-go.

Penk—Voyager

Combs’ only appearance on Star Trek: Voyager was as the ringmaster Penk, in the Season 6 episode Tsunkatse . Penk was a humanoid in the Delta Quadrant who was in the business of kidnapping unsuspecting candidates of various races to supply them for the Norcadians’ popular, bloody, galactically broadcasted “gladiator” game, Tsunkatse. This episode featured Dwayne Johnson as the Pendari Champion who was pitted against Seven of Nine (Jerri Ryan).

Krem—Enterprise

In Star Trek: Entreprise ’s season-1 episode, “Acquisition,” Combs portrayed the Ferengi Krem, who boarded the Enterprise NX-01 with his companions in an attempt to sabotage it and snatch it away. Krem was a rather laidback and complacent character who, with the help of Captain Archer, became aware that Ulis, his cousin in the raiding crew, had been exploiting him and paying him less than what he was due. He would eventually betray Ulis and help Archer take back his ship.

AGIMUS—Lower Decks

Jeffrey Combs devotees have most likely recognized his voice in the animated series Star Trek: Lower Decks as AGIMUS, a controlling, megalomaniac sentient computer with a flaring red button. When the Yosemite shuttle transporting him to the Daystrom Institute of Advanced Robotics crashed, he became stranded on an unfriendly planet with two main characters, Mariner and Boimler, whom he then attempted to manipulate and pit against one another. After they were rescued, AGIMUS expressed his desire to forsake his evil ways and join Starfleet, but was taken to the Self-Aware Megalomaniacal Computer Storage.

Holosuite Guest—DS9

In the finale of Deep Space Nine , Jeffrey Combs made a fleeting appearance as an elegantly dressed human in a 1960’s holosuite program. It was unclear whether that man was supposed to be a background hologram character or an actual station officer. Perhaps that intriguing, silent character was the producers’ way of expressing their final appreciation for the actor's talent on the show.

Veterans other than Jeffrey Combs who have taken on multiple roles in the Star Trek franchise include Majel Barrett Roddenberry (Nurse Chapel, Lwaxana Troi, Starship computer voice) and Vaughn Armstrong (as a human, Klingon, Cardassian, Romulan, Vidiian, Borg, Kreetassan, and an Alpha Hirogan).

Every Star Trek Species Played By Jeffrey Combs

• Jeffrey Combs has played multiple characters from various alien species in Star Trek, including Romulan Commander Suldok and Vorta villain Weyoun.
• Combs' performances balance the strangeness of Star Trek's alien species with laugh-out-loud comedy, showcasing his versatility as an actor.
• His portrayal of characters like Weyoun and Thy'lek Shran demonstrate his ability to bring depth and complexity to complex characters beneath heavy alien make-up.

For decades, prolific guest actor Jeffrey Combs has played multiple characters that hail from the canon of classic Star Trek alien species. The fan favorite guest actor has played nine different characters across four separate Star Trek shows. Including the Romulan Commander Suldok from the video game Star Trek: Elite Force II , Jeffrey Combs played ten characters in Star Trek . Combs got his Star Trek big break thanks to Jonathan Frakes, who cast him as Tiron in the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine episode "Meridian". Interestingly, Combs had previously auditioned for the role of Commander William T. Riker in Star Trek: The Next Generation .

After playing Triton, Jeffrey Combs was cast as Brunt, arch-nemesis to Star Trek: Deep Space Nine 's Quark (Armin Shimerman), before joining the cast of DS9 in season 4 as recurring Vorta villain, Weyoun. Incredibly, Jeffrey Combs played both Brunt and Weyoun in Star Trek: DS9 season 7, episode 24, "The Dogs of War." It was a rare occasion where an actor played two unrelated characters in the same Star Trek episode, an honor that Jeffrey Combs shares with Star Trek: The Next Generation 's Patrick Stewart, who played Captain Picard and Henry V 's Michael Williams in "The Defector".

Every Star Trek Species Played By Voyager's Tim Russ

Unknown alien species, tiron in star trek: deep space nine.

Jeffrey Combs' first Star Trek role was as Tiron in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine season 3, episode 8, "Meridian" . Obsessed with Major Kira Nerys (Nana Visitor), the alien tasked Quark with creating an erotic holo-simulation of the Bajoran. The comedy subplot climaxed with Tiron walking into a holosuite to discover a sexy hologram of Quark waiting for him on the bed. It was an early demonstration of how Jeffrey Combs could balance the strangeness of Star Trek 's alien species with laugh-out-loud comedy. Combs' performance relied on the chemistry between him and Armin Shimerman, a relationship that would further develop as DS9 went on.

Brunt in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine and Krem in Star Trek: Enterprise

When Star Trek: Enterprise decided to do a Ferengi episode in season 1, they cast Jeffrey Combs as Krem, one of the Enterprise NX-01's hijackers. The episode also featured Star Trek: Voyager 's Ethan Phillips who, like Combs, had previously played a Ferengi in Star Trek . Jeffrey Combs' Brunt made his debut in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine season 3, episode 23, "Family Business" , one of the Star Trek: DS9 episodes directed by Rene Auberjonois . Auberjonois had previously worked with Combs and decided to cast him as Liquidator Brunt.

Although Combs had recently appeared in DS9 as Tiron, the producers decided that " no one will notice " (via Star Trek.com ) because he was in completely different make-up. Despite the vicious rivalry between their characters, Jeffrey Combs and Armin Shimerman became firm friends on set and remain so to this day, performing together on the end credits of the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine documentary, What We Left Behind , alongside Damar actor Casey Biggs, and Rom actor Max Grodenchik.

Weyoun 4, 5, 6, 7 & 8 in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine

Jeffrey Combs' Weyoun was the most notable of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine 's clone species, the Vorta . A trusted advisor to the Female Changeling (Salome Jens), Weyoun played a pivotal role in Star Trek: DS9 's Dominion War . The role of Weyoun was specifically created for Jeffrey Combs after the impression he made on the DS9 production team as Brunt. Unsurprisingly, Weyoun is Jeffrey Combs' favorite Star Trek role as the actor commented in the Hidden File 02 special feature on the DS9 season 7 DVDs. Combs reflected on Weyoun by discussing what he loved about the character:

I began to see how sort of royal and regal he was, and there was something kind of Japanese, but also he was the courtier in the court, he was the foppish, coiffed, graceful diplomat who would go from one party to another and make them all run smoothly.

Jeffrey Combs played five different incarnations of Weyoun, maintaining the character's over-confidence and regal air. One of Combs' best performances was as the troubled Weyoun 6 in the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine episode "Treachery, Faith, and the Great River". This particular Weyoun was deemed " defective " by his peers due to his guilt over the scale of the Dominion War, and his belief that the entire conflict was a mistake. Weyoun 6 sacrificed his life to save Odo, who, as a Founder, was one of the Vorta's supposed "gods".

Star Trek: DS9s Vorta & Dominion Role Explained

Officer mulkahey in star trek: deep space nine, season 6, episode 14, "far beyond the stars".

Avery Brooks' masterpiece as both director and star featured Jeffrey Combs as the human Officer Kevin Mulkahey , who, along with his fellow cops, doles out racist and physical abuse to Benny Russell (Brooks). Given that the events of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine , season 6, episode 14, "Far Beyond the Stars" are a vision from the Prophets, it's arguable that Detective Mulkahey isn't really human. However, Mulkahey is an illusory vision of something that's all too real; a racist police officer. Combs decided to play Mulkahey as a completely different character from Weyoun, which is key to the success of his stomach-churning performance.

Jeffrey Combs also made an uncredited cameo as one of Vic Fontaine's holographic customers in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine 's finale.

Tsunkatse Coordinator

Penk in star trek: voyager, season 6, episode 15, "tsunkatse".

Jeffrey Combs only made one appearance in Star Trek: Voyager , playing the Tsunkatse coordinator Penk . Combs' Voyager character was responsible for sourcing alien fighters for the Norcadian's bloodsport. Penk kidnapped Seven of Nine (Jeri Ryan) and Lt. Commander Tuvok in Voyager season 6, episode 15. The episode is notorious for the network insisting on the casting of WWE superstar, Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson. However, the involvement of Jeffrey Combs ensured that "Tsunkatse" still had something to entice Star Trek fans.

J.G. Hertzler who had played General Martok opposite Jeffrey Combs in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine also appeared in "Tsunkatse" as a Hirogen hunter.

Thy'lek Shran in Star Trek: Enterprise

Jeffrey Combs played the Andorian commander, Thy'lek Shran in all four seasons of Star Trek: Enterprise . Shran had a love/hate relationship with Enterprise 's Captain Jonathan Archer (Scott Bakula), which made them the unlikeliest of friends. Thy'lek Shran was a key figure in the foundation of Star Trek 's United Federation of Planets , as depicted in the Enterprise finale. If Enterprise hadn't been canceled with season 4, showrunner Manny Coto planned to make Shran a semi-permanent fixture aboard the Enterprise NX-01, but sadly, this never came to pass.

Much like Weyoun in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine , Jeffrey Combs was offered the role of Shran without an audition. Combs' skills at portraying complex characters underneath heavy alien make-up convinced Brannon Braga that he would be perfect to play Shran. In 2011, Jeffrey Combs told the official Star Trek website that Shran was the character that he would most like to reprise. A new Shran story is yet to surface in the modern franchise, but Enterprise 's Andorian wasn't the last character to be played by Jeffrey Combs.

Artificial Intelligence

Agimus in star trek: lower decks.

Megalomaniac computer AGIMUS is Jeffrey Combs' most recent Star Trek role . To date, AGIMUS has appeared in two episodes of Star Trek: Lower Decks , and has gone on a real redemptive arc. While AGIMUS started out trying to subjugate planets, he was changed by his relationship with the repentant Peanut Hamper (Kether Donohue). AGIMUS was last seen giving Lt. Bradward Boimler (Jack Quaid) valuable intel on the missing starships, showing that he had indeed changed. It was typical of Jeffrey Combs to give real character depth to a Star Trek character as potentially two-dimensional as an evil computer.

All of Jeffrey Combs' Star Trek performances are available to stream on Paramount+.

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, also known as DS9, is the fourth series in the long-running Sci-Fi franchise, Star Trek. DS9 was created by Rick Berman and Michael Piller, and stars Avery Brooks, René Auberjonois, Terry Farrell, and Cirroc Lofton. This particular series follows a group of individuals in a space station near a planet called Bajor.

Star Trek: Enterprise

Star Trek: Enterprise acts as a prequel to Star Trek: The Original Series, detailing the voyages of the original crew of the Starship Enterprise in the 22nd century, a hundred years before Captain Kirk commanded the ship. Enterprise was the sixth series in the Star Trek franchise overall, and the final series before a twelve-year hiatus until the premiere of Star Trek: Discovery in 2017. The series stars Scott Bakula as Captain Jonathan Archer, with an ensemble cast that includes John Billingsley, Jolene Blalock, Dominic Keating, Anthony Montgomery, Linda Park, and Connor Trinneer.

An archive of Star Trek News

Jeffrey Combs

Trek Nation: Enjoy the fans! Thanks very much for this.

You may have missed

Several S&S Trek Books On Sale For $1 This Month

• Star Trek: Lower Decks

Another Classic Trek Actor On Lower Decks This Week

Classic Trek Games Now On GOG

• Star Trek: Prodigy

Star Trek: Prodigy Opening Credits Released

• The Inventory

Star Trek 's Jeffreys Combs, Ranked

Star Trek is filled with fantastic guest actors, but there are perhaps few more prolific, as prominent, or as downright varied as Jeffrey Combs.

Related Content

Combs is a prolific actor, having starred in classics like Re-Animator and The Frighteners , plus voice acting roles in comic book television shows like The New Batman Adventures , Spider-Man , and Justice League Unlimited, where he voiced the Vic Sage version of DC Comics’ the Question .

But Combs’ work on Star Trek is in a league of its own. He appeared in over 40 episodes across three series ( and several games ), as nine different characters. Some of those characters are even the best of their Trek shows! To celebrate the varied talents of Star Trek ’s everyman, we’ve ranked his definitive performances.

9) Unnamed Holosuite Guest, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine

Okay, it’s slightly cheating to put this blink-and-you’ll-miss-it appearance in Deep Space Nine ’s finale here. Combs wasn’t even actually credited for the performance, even if it is clearly him without his Weyoun makeup waltzing around in the background of the big farewell party. But it’s an appearance that marks an important record for Combs: only three actors in Trek history, Combs included, have played two unrelated roles in the same episode. With this appearance as both the Holo-guest and Weyoun, Combs is the only one to have actually done it twice . Legendary.

8) Tiron, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine  

Combs’ first-ever DS9 role was definitely a weird one, playing a weird perv with the hots for Kira, consorting with Quark to create an illict holographic recreation of her for him to... well, do what most people do in Quark’s holosuites. A bad time all around! At least Tiron’s creepiness got us one of the most unrelentingly weird shots in the entire Trek franchise though, when Odo and Kira sabotage Tiron’s holoprogram so the sexy femme fatale he encounters is actually Quark himself .

7) Krem, Star Trek: Enterprise

Combs’ second stab at playing at Ferengi—poor, nice-but-dimwitted Krem wasn’t exactly your most traditional Ferengi—was outsmarted by Archer after Krem’s captain seized control of the Enterprise. But after seeing him play one of the most doggedly duplicitous Ferengi around on DS9 , it was nice to see Combs have a bit more fun here.

6) Commander Suldok, Star Trek: Elite Force II

As if appearing in so much Trek TV wasn’t enough, Combs also had quite the little run on Trek games. He voiced Weyoun in the Deep Space Nine Real-Time Strategy title Dominion Wars , and returned as both the Vorta and Brunt for Star Trek Online ’s Deep Space Nine themed expansion, Victory is Life . But he lent his performance to another entirely original role in the follow up to the surprisingly excellent shooter Elite Force .

Playing a sinister Romulan commander who was a major antagonist in the sequel—the head of a secret sub-faction of Romulans who wanted to harness the power of a mysterious alien race to restore the Star Empire to its full glory—Combs got to play a slightly less nuanced villain in Suldok compared to his turn as the Weyouns. It’s a role he flourished in nonetheless.

5) Kevin Mulkahey, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine

A brief role and a rare chance to see Combs outside of alien makeup, but a heady one to tackle: Mulkahey appears in the incredible, iconic episode “Far Beyond the Stars.” He played the cruel NYPD officer who harasses Avery Brooks’ quiet sci-fi writer Benny Russell, climaxing with a horrifying beating after Russell is racially profiled at a crime scene. A far more blatant villainy than Weyoun’s fervent subservience, it’s a brief but chilling turn.

4) Penk, Star Trek: Voyager

Sure, “Tsunkatse” might be known for its more famous guest appearance (god bless space-wrestling Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson), but do not forget Penk, the seedy proprietor of the titular bloodsport! He’s the one who kidnapped Seven of Nine and Tuvok to do battle against the Rock in the first place. It’s a nice, goofily villainous turn from Combs, even if he’s upstaged by his beefier guest star.

3) Brunt, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine

As you might have gathered over the course of this list, Combs was very good at playing Trek baddies. But Brunt—the devastatingly tricksy Ferengi Commerce Authority agent—was one of his best, not because he was brazenly villainous or fascinatingly cruel, but because he served as the perfect foil to Quark on Deep Space Nine . Quark’s whole thing was that his wits and luck could get him out of most tricky situations on the Promenade, but confronting him with his own people—and an exemplary of unstoppable force in Brunt—always made for an incredible time. Combs got to mix antagonism, smarts, and the occasional comedic goofballery with this character and every time he showed up to ruin Quark’s day made ours.

2) The Weyouns, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine

Yes, yes, technically Combs played like, five different Weyouns over the course of Deep Space Nine . That’s what you get for being the face of a cloned race! Weyoun’s fifth clone is the one we saw the most across Deep Space Nine (there were Weyouns 4-8 across the show) that gave us the definitive snivellingly, cruel, and subservient Dominion advisor, a role Combs clearly relished. But the character’s nature as a cloned being who shared memories across his forms meant that every once in awhile the actor got to shake things up in some fascinating ways. Special shoutout to Weyoun 6 in “Treachery, Faith and the Great River,” a defective clone who actually developed a moral core of his own, rejecting the Dominion’s war with the Alpha Quadrant. It was a truly tragic and powerful turn by Combs that got to explore an entirely different approach to Weyoun.

1) Thy’lek Shran, Star Trek: Enterprise

I don’t particularly dislike Enterprise in the way some Star Trek fans do—it’s fine! Messy! But fine. That said, it is definitely elevated whenever Shran, the lovably irascible Andorian captain, shows up on screen . Shran’s inability to just not butt heads with everyone at all times brought a much-needed bit of spice to Enterprise , a catalyst for conflict that could be in equal parts admirable and infuriating. Sometimes, just like Archer, you’d want to smack him clean across that sky-blue face of his. Others, you’d hoot and holler as he came to kick ass and save the day (as long as it means the Andorians were coming out on top, most of the time). Sure, Weyoun is the meatier, more varied role of Combs’ Trek characters. But Shran is where Combs really just got to have some fun, and it’s a delight to watch unfold.

For more, make sure you’re following us on our Instagram @ io9dotcom .

Advertisement

Star Trek: Voyager (TV Series)

Tsunkatse (2000), full cast & crew.

Directed by 

Writing credits  , cast (in credits order) complete, awaiting verification  , produced by , music by , cinematography by , editing by , casting by , production design by , art direction by , set decoration by , costume design by , makeup department , production management , second unit director or assistant director , art department , sound department , special effects by , visual effects by , stunts , camera and electrical department , casting department , costume and wardrobe department , editorial department , music department , script and continuity department , additional crew .

Release Dates | Official Sites | Company Credits | Filming & Production | Technical Specs

Contribute to This Page

• Full Cast and Crew
• Release Dates
• Official Sites
• Company Credits
• Filming & Production
• Technical Specs
• Plot Summary
• Plot Keywords
• Parents Guide

Did You Know?

• Crazy Credits
• Alternate Versions
• Connections
• Soundtracks

Photo & Video

• Photo Gallery
• Trailers and Videos
• User Reviews
• User Ratings
• External Reviews
• Metacritic Reviews

Related Items

• External Sites

Related lists from IMDb users

Recently Viewed

• Star Trek Online
• Voice Acting
• Victory is Life

Jeffrey Combs

• VisualEditor
• View history

Jeffrey Combs' is an American actor known most notably the characters Brunt and Weyoun from Star Trek: Deep Space Nine and Thy'lek Shran from Star Trek: Enterprise . In addition to these reoccurring characters he has also made numerous guest appearances in Deep Space Nine, Voyager and Enterprise. He is one of only five actors to have played more than seven characters on Star Trek, the others being Randy Oglesby, J.G. Hertzler , Vaughn Armstrong and Thomas Kopache. He has reprised the roles of Brunt and Weyoun in Star Trek Online .

• 1 Biography
• 2.1 Missions Involved
• 4 External links

Biography [ | ]

Jeffrey Combs was born on September 9th, 1954 in Oxnard, California. He featured in a number of cult horror films including Re-Animator (1985), From Beyond (1986), Re-Animator 2 (1989), Pit and the Pendulum, The Frighteners (1996), I Still Know What You Did Last Summer (1998) and House on Haunted Hill (1999).

Star Trek Online [ | ]

Jeffrey Combs has appeared in-game since the June 5, 2018 as part of Victory is Life .

Missions Involved [ | ]

Additionally, Jeffrey Combs voiced the sector space exploration narrations for the Gamma Quadrant .

See also [ | ]

• Voice acting

External links [ | ]

• Jeffrey Combs on Wikipedia
• Jeffrey Combs on Memory Alpha
• 2 Playable starship
• 3 Delta Recruitment

• April 18, 2024 | Lost Original USS Enterprise Model From ‘Star Trek’ Returned To Gene Roddenberry’s Son
• April 18, 2024 | Recap/Review: ‘Star Trek: Discovery’ Gets The Timing Right In “Face The Strange”
• April 17, 2024 | Watch: Things Get “Odd” In ‘Star Trek: Discovery’ Trailer And Clip From “Face The Strange”
• April 17, 2024 | Alex Kurtzman On Streaming TV Challenges And How Shorter Star Trek Seasons Helps Avoid “Filler” Episodes
• April 16, 2024 | Watch: Did This Moment On ‘The View’ Just Accidentally Hint Whoopi Goldberg Is In The Next Star Trek Movie?

Interview: Jeffrey Combs And Casey Biggs On Their ‘Star Trek: Deep Space Nine’ Bickering Bromance

| June 3, 2020 | By: Anthony Pascale 18 comments so far

This weekend, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine  actor Casey Biggs (Damar) will join actor Jeffrey Combs (DS9: Weyoun and Brunt, ENT: Shran, in addition to other Trek roles) in Creation Entertainment’s Virtual Fan Experience , doing a live panel and Q&A. These two actors and longtime friends shared many scenes together on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine; when TrekMovie had a chance to talk to them, their fun chemistry was on display right from the start.

Hello Casey welcome to the TrekMovie conference call.  I believe that is Jeffrey now joining us.

Jeffrey Combs: Yes.

Casey Biggs: Hey, you rat bastard.

Jeffrey Combs: First of all, I would like to say right off the top, I don’t usually share my time with interviews with anybody.

Casey Biggs: That’s because nobody can afford me.

Jeffrey Combs: Did we work together? What episode were you in?

Casey Biggs: You were my understudy!

Jeffrey Combs: Oh the one time I was an understudy. That was you? You should have quit.

Casey Biggs: I never miss a performance. [laughs]

Jeffrey Combs: Yeah, I noticed! [laughs]

Casey Biggs: So, what are we doing here?

Well, you guys have been paired up for a virtual event this weekend. I think we can see now why Creation did that. Looking back at your histories on Deep Space Nine , you guys had this fun rivalry.

Casey Biggs: The “Bickerson Brothers.”

Jeffrey Combs and Casey Biggs at STLV (Photo: Wikicommons)

The writers were putting you two together all the time. Were they picking up on something you guys were developing on your own?

Casey Biggs: We just have great chemistry, don’t we Jeff?

Jeffrey Combs: We did have. Case and I are both peers, same age, went through theater training together. So, we kind of had a harmony there and understanding of how to work a scene and support each other. It was pretty damn seamless and easy, wasn’t it Case?

Casey Biggs: They saw we had good chemistry together to begin with, and they were both really great characters in their respective universes. What happened when we came together, we just worked really well off each other.

Jeffrey Combs: Case and I understand that to make a scene interesting or a character interesting, there always has to be some kind of conflict. A problem to deal with or solve to put up with. They knew that. They were constantly having me say things that annoyed the shit out of Casey, and vice versa. So, we knew not only how to play our own, but react to what the other is doing.

Casey Biggs: Yeah. And they gave Damar a sense of humor. One of my favorite lines is, “You better be careful, or I will be talking to Weyoun number nine.” [both laugh]

Jeffrey Combs: Yeah, they were wonderful writers. And that is because they really took a lot of cues from dailies. Not just how things were played. And they were constantly on the lookout for “What can we use? Oh, that’s good. That’s good music, let’s play more of that.”

Casey Biggs: That’s like with me. They liked the way I looked in Quark’s bar, so they made me an alcoholic for two years… What you have to know is, all you have to do is give me and Jeffrey the ball, and we will run with it.

Jeffrey Combs: I remember one scene we had and the director said, “Okay you guys, I really don’t know how I want to block this.” And Casey and I just said, “We know! We know how to block it.” [both laugh]

Casey Biggs: What was interesting is in the sixth season I was doing a play in New York and I took the part, but they didn’t tell me I was written in for like thirteen episodes. I told them they should have told me as I took another job. So, they would fly me on my day off on Monday from New York to L.A., and Jeff and I would shoot all our scenes in one day and fly back to New York to do the show. That was lucky because you knew they loved you to fly you. They could have easily killed me off.

Jeffrey Combs: That’s really unusual. That is budget stuff right there. They were lovely to us. They were very supportive if something came up. They were very flexible.

Casey Biggs: Well, they were lovely to Jeff. If any role came up, they gave it to him. How many characters did you play?

Jeffrey Combs: Bribery works! I keep trying to tell you.

Damar has a drink of kanar while Weyoun looks on in “Strange Bedfellows”

Both of you started mid-series on Deep Space Nine . Did either of you have a clue you would be back so often? Jeffrey you even began as Tiron, a one-off alien.

Casey Biggs: No, I thought I was literally just one episode.

Jeffrey Combs: With the Tiron character I thought, good I now auditioned two or three times and finally got it, so good I got a one-er here. Let’s do this one thing. I didn’t realize that fate and synchronicity played a part here. It just so happens that my friend René Auberjonois—I love him to death, to the ends of the Earth and beyon—he was getting ready to direct his very first episode, it was a Ferengi episode. I had done theater with him and he suggested that I play Brunt. The producers sort of resisted that, but they said, “Yeah, sure.” That started a recurrence with Brunt and then they came to me with Weyoun. Without these little happy accidents, we wouldn’t be talking at all.

Casey Biggs: With me, Ira Behr, the executive producer, he was obsessed with the Alamo. And I had starred in the very first dramatic IMAX film and it was about the Alamo [1988’s Alamo: The Price of Freedom ]. The moment I walked in the room I had the job, but I didn’t know that. Ira told me he went home and told his wife, “You are not going to believe who came in today! Casey Biggs!” I had no idea.

Jeffrey Combs: For Tiron, that was directed by Jonathan Frakes. So, he cast me. There you go.

Casey Biggs: Did you know him before that?

Jeffrey Combs: We had mutual friends in town. Get this, I had auditioned, and we had been paired up. At one point in the past, long before TNG when we were young puppies, had been paired up to do an improv for a movie. Usually, you go in and read your stuff and go, but this was a different thing: “You guys are robbing a car and action!” That was our touchstone.

Casey, you mentioned playing a drunk. Firstly, what was it like drinking all that syrup? And more importantly, how did you approach playing a drunk on Star Trek, which is a bit unusual for the show.

Jeffrey Combs: Let me answer that. First of all, it is called “typecasting.” And second of all, he loved that shit.

Casey Biggs: Oh yeah, you aren’t even a good enough actor to drink that and pretend you like it. [both laugh] That’s why I am a better actor, I looked like I liked it, but it was terrible! I hated it. Like I said, I had one scene in Quark’s bar and say, “Give me the kanar…no no, the good stuff.” And then I got into a fight with Quark, and they liked that chemistry with me and Quark and all that. And literally, almost every flipping scene I was in after that, I was drinking that shit. Until—and René directed that episode as well—when I stopped. Remember Jeff, you were in that scene.

Jeffrey Combs: I do. I was there to tell you that your wife and your son had been killed.

Casey Biggs: And the funny part was before that episode I didn’t even know I had a wife or son.

Jeffrey Combs: [laughs] Exactly! They do sort of pull those things on you. As an actor you go, “Wait, I have a daughter!” You would have played it.

Casey Biggs: I could have played scenes differently.

Jeffrey Combs: The point is, they didn’t know that.

Casey Biggs: They take a lot. Hans Beimler is the one that supposedly created my character and he said it just getting bigger and bigger because they were taking stuff. They would take stuff from Jeff and from me and see how far they could take it in the characterization of it. Both his arc and my arc were fabulous. Didn’t the first Weyoun get killed off and they suddenly said, “Why did we kill him off?”

Jeffrey Combs: That was a mistake. They thought it was an episode about the Jem’Hadar and after the episode, they went, “Why did they kill that character?” So, in desperation, they came up with cloning. That allowed them to bring me back. Bless whoever said, “We can clone him.”

You are both playing antagonists on the show. Were you trying to play it as the guy we love to hate, or more of the proverbial villain who thinks he is the hero of the story? Or something else?

Jeffrey Combs: For me, I looked at it this way. The Vorta are genetically altered to be the most sublime and friendly liaisons, diplomats, and easy-going. You have nothing to worry about. I am your friend. They can’t help it. They have been genetically altered to be that. I just love the idea that I was playing a character that a lot of people would say is doing bad things, but I love the idea I am playing it the other way. I’m pleasant! It’s all going to be fine. You have nothing to worry about! That to me is far more frightening than someone who is scowling and intimidating and in your face because it is much more insidious. The façade of goodwill, even though you know he will stab you in the back, is interesting. I had an acting teacher and he would say, “There is nothing more interesting than playing the opposite.”

Casey Biggs: Yeah, you always want to play the opposite. Training-wise, you always look at the opposite. With my situation, Damar was Dukat’s right hand. So, I was always trying to be the patriot. The best thing to play is the reluctant hero. Goddammit, I got to, I don’t wanna, but I have do it. That’s just wonderful fodder. For a while there, we thought it was our show, because we had taken over the station. That was great. They were all off on some shuttle. That was fun.

Casey Biggs as Damar with Marc Alaimo as Gul Dukat

Both of you played on multiple Star Trek shows. Jeff, you also played on Voyager . And both of you were on Enterprise …

Casey Biggs: They sort of lied to me about that. They did. They said, “We’ve got this great character, would you do it?” And I really didn’t want to get into makeup and stuff, and they said, “No, it is going to be a whole new character and a new race.” I had one episode and they were done with it…I was thinking it was great, they were bringing in a new race and I was going to be a foil for [Captain Archer].

So, how would you guys contrast the atmosphere on the set between DS9 and the other Trek shows?

Jeffrey Combs: I think Casey would agree with me when I say it is kind of like you are on the Ford assembly line putting cars together. Star Trek is such a well-run franchise. It had such a system in place. In many aspects, it was very familiar. Morale is always different, but it seemed to be familiar too. A lot of familiar faces on the different sets. It was always kind of different, but at the same time familiar. The weird part is you walk onto a soundstage and you worked on that soundstage for many episodes and it is now all gone, but it is all new. You have to adjust to that surrealness.

Casey Biggs: I would say the big difference between the two of them I was on, for DS9 they were all renegades. If you know Ira Behr, he is a freaking renegade. And Avery is a renegade. We were the dark horse of the series, so they can do whatever they wanted. I don’t know about you Jeff, but on Enterprise I felt those guys were scared. Because they hadn’t figured out their formula yet. They called Ira in to say, “How can we fix it?” And Ira being Ira said they had to change everything.

Jeffrey Combs: When I think of Enterprise , I think of the camaraderie I had with the cast. They were a good group of people and Scott [Bakula] was tremendous. Scott was a very much of a quarterback on the field. He was definitely in the best possible way, looking out for everything and making sure it was all as good as it could possibly be.

Jeffrey Combs as Shran in Star Trek: Enterprise

Jeffrey, Manny Coto has said when he planned for what could have been the fifth season of Enterprise he was planning on bringing you in more, possibly even as a regular. Did you ever talk to him about that?

Jeffrey Combs: I never talked to him about that. I know that when Manny came on as show and became showrunner in the fourth and last season the tone of the show and the number of episodes I was in upticked for sure. So I know he was appreciating what I was doing. I think he said that in an interview after the show was canceled. I don’t know what to do about it. It’s kind of a compliment but it also hurts. It’s the one that got away.

Casey, you mentioned how you were introduced as Dukat’s right hand. Unlike Jeff with Weyoun, you were walking into a known race. Did you study Marc Alaimo’s performance, did you try to differentiate yourself as a different kind of Cardassian?

Casey Biggs: Well the funny thing was, in my first appearance I had five words. “They’re in range sir, fire.” Then the director came up to me as I was sitting there pretending to push buttons and he says to me, “They have big plans for this character.” I thought, don’t tell me that, I have four pounds of rubber on my face. But Marc was very good at it. Marc defined it.

Jeffrey Combs: It was a role of a lifetime for Marc Alaimo. A pinnacle performance. Nobody is better than Marc Alaimo as Gul Dukat…I guess it was a similar thing for me when I was playing a Ferengi. That had been a path that had been trodden down and all you have to do follow along Armin [Shimerman] and Max [Grodénchik’s] footsteps. They kind of cleared the brush away.

Casey Biggs: And the wonderful thing was, with one of the first shows I did, Armin said, “Come on, you want to rehearse?” Not a lot of people do that on television.

Jeffrey Combs: In my very first episode he was the only one who came to me and said, “Listen, welcome, any time you want to run lines, I don’t care how many times, come find me. Glad you are here.” It’s like your first day of school and you don’t know anybody, and for someone to come up like that really does release a lot of the anxiety. You felt like you had an ally, and you did with Armin.

Casey Biggs: Tell the story about when you went up to Alaimo when you were Brunt.

Jeffrey Combs: I had been with Alaimo as Weyoun, but Alaimo didn’t know I was playing Brunt. So I come to the studio one day and get into my Brunt makeup and Marc is shooting a scene. I decide to mess with him and on a break, I come up to him at the craft table in my Ferengi makeup and say, [funny voice] “Mr Alaimo, I am such a big fan of yours!” He is trying to talk to Ira, who knew I was going to do this. And here is what he thinks is an extra just messing with him and I won’t go away. I was the most annoying fan who wouldn’t go away. About the moment he was going to kill me, I said, “Marc, it’s me.” Marc may have a sense of humor some times, but you never know when it is going to be there.  

Jeffrey Combs as Brunt in DS9’s “Family Business”

You guys are often paired together at in-person cons, but this will be your first joint virtual appearance. How are you going to spark this chemistry without being together?

Jeffrey Combs: Oh, we don’t have a problem with that. We’re good.

Casey Biggs: You know we have been doing this Rat Pack thing for about ten years. We all trust each other so well, we never know what is going to come out of our mouths on the stage. That makes it fantastic. I don’t think we will have any issues doing it virtually… I’ll get in a foxhole with Jeff anytime.

Jeffrey Combs: Yeah, we are old pals. Golden memories and it keeps going. We’re good.

Combs, Biggs and Max Grodénchik in a Rat Pack performance at STLV (Photo: Star Trek Rat Pack Unofficial Fan Account)

Briggs and Combs together again this Sunday

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine  actor Casey Biggs (Damar) will join actor Jeffrey Combs (DS9: Weyoun and Brunt, ENT: Shran, and more Trek roles) are featured in this weekend’s Creation Entertainment Virtual Fan Experience, doing a live panel and Q&A. The panel is on Sunday, June 7 at 1 pm ET. The live event uses StageIt, with tickets priced as “pay what you can.”  They will both also be doing a limited virtual meet and greet on June 10 with 10 slots being auctioned off. You can bid at  auctions.creation.com .

Keep up with all the Star Trek interviews at TrekMovie.com .

Related Articles

Discovery , Interview

Interview: Wilson Cruz On How “Jinaal” Sets Up The Rest Of The Season For Culber On ‘Star Trek: Discovery’

Interview: Wilson Cruz, Mary Wiseman And Blu Del Barrio On ‘Star Trek: Discovery’ Season 5

Interview: Sonequa Martin-Green Talks Burnham’s Journey Into The Final Season Of ‘Star Trek: Discovery’

‘Star Trek: Discovery’ Season 5 Interview: David Ajala And Doug Jones On Saying Goodbye To Book And Saru

Lovely interview.

Thanks TrekMovie for this.

I finally watched DS9 last year and I must say it was all it was hyped up to be(and maybe a bit more). It was thrilling from start to finish and certainly what made it very special in the annuls of Trek shows is all the interesting supporting characters it had like like Weyoun, Damar etc. I can’t think of a more three dimensional villain than Gal-Dukat in Trek history, the character had so many layers. I always sat very forward in my couch when he was on the screen expecting something special to happen(and boy it did most of the time!)

That was fun! Good article.

Nice to hear that Hans Beimler created Damar, since his namesake/grandfather was also a famous resistance fighter.

“Kann dir das Wort drauf geben “Vencerá la libertad!” Und du wirst weiterleben in uns und unserm Streben Hans Beimler, Kamerad.”

(Ernst Busch, Excerpt Hans Beimler Lied)

great interview… ds9 had so many great characters… you could do 20 more of these interviews and not repeat yourselves… the show is so fresh for me as im wrapping up a rewatch… and coincidentally last night saw the episode where damar says the line about weyoun number 9…

Top quality article here Trekmovie. Credit where it’s due, this was thoroughly enjoyable. Thank you.

I remember Shran from Enterprise. I’m still in the middle of rewatching DS9 at the moment.

Sisko is still my favorite.

Sisko might be the best captain in Star Trek. But as personalities Brooks as well as Bakula impressed me most of all the Star Trel leads.

I dunno but Brooks had a tendency to overact at times. When he was the bond villain in that episode ”our man bashir” I thought that was perfect casting because he liked to ham it up.

i wouldnt call it overacting… have you ever seen him interviewed? he’s whacked… not in a bad way. that’s kind of how he is… as with many actors the character and the actor merge… stewart gave an interview recently talking about the same thing with him… and i loved brooks as sisko… that’s why he stands out he was so emotional and powerful and expressive

Trekmovie mods, thank you for this interview. Entertaining and informative stuff — and great fun to read.

I do keep saying Jeffrey Combs and Casey Biggs should be cast in the impending new Trek shows. For example, Combs as the Federation’s Secretary of State or POTUFP’s Chief of Staff; Biggs as a Starfleet captain or admiral, or the head of Starfleet Intelligence. Plenty of other options too. Just make sure the roles are substantial and the writing & dialogue are excellent.

Totally agree Jai,

Both these actors would be great in a recurring role. Much as I’m keen to see new and diverse actors in Trek, both these actors have shown that they could make creative contributions.

Not sure if they’d be interested to get into the new and heavier prostheses. Perhaps they both would welcome a part as humans for a change.

Making the trip to work in Toronto/Missisauga doesn’t sound like something either would shy from though (and all but Picard will be produced in the GTA).

So, perhaps something meaty, where their characters can interact occasionally, but light on the prostheses would work.

Both of these actors make any show they are on good! It could be an awful script with a boring plot and either of these guys would make it shine somehow :)

Damar was a hell of a character. Very well written. Made a huge development but in a very believable way – staying true to Damar’s core values while even though loyalities were shifting dramatically.

And the same is true for Weyhoun.

Never were just evil villians. They were personalities with understandable motivations.

I totally agree! Well said.

It’s crazy, I rewatched a portion of the documentary What We Left Behind a week ago and just so happen to watch Biggs and Combs parts in the doc. The irony that both roles started so small like Damar (who literally had just one line when he appeared as Biggs said) to Weyoun dying in his first episode didn’t even hint that both roles would be so pivotal to the entire show later. And yes, I love the chemistry between the two characters.

Again, this is why DS9 is held up in such regard today. Both roles were so complex and layered and you got amazing arcs out of them. It was clear Weyoun was going to be a fan favorite when he showed up and was so quirky and fun to watch but Damar really surprised people I think. I thought when he killed Gul Dukat’s daughter the character wasn’t going to last much longer or stay in evil henchman role from that point on. It was amazing the turnaround they gave him that I doubt anybody saw coming.

And another great interview Trekmovie! It’s amazing we are getting SO many interviews these days from actors in past shows from DS9 to ENT and a reminder how loved all these characters and shows still are.

Great interview, it was interesting and fun to read. Love this charakters and actors.

Ahhh the good old days when Star Trek characters had actual depth, personality and arcs… even the baddies!

• More to Explore
• Series & Movies

The Many Lives of Jeffrey Combs

From Shran to Weyoun to Agimus...

<!--/*--><![CDATA[/* ><!--*/ <!--td {border: 1px solid #ccc;}br {mso-data-placement:same-cell;}--> /*--><!]]>*/Jeffrey Combs has roles spanning the Star Trek Universe, and we're celebrating his return in Star Trek: Lower Decks by revisiting some of his iconic moments.

Screen Rant

Ds9 proves star trek: voyager producer was wrong about season 3's prison episode.

Star Trek: Voyager producer Ken Biller had trouble with a season 3 episode, but DS9 proved there was no need to struggle with a similar premise.

• Both Star Trek: DS9 and Voyager showcase similar prison episodes, but DS9's story was more effective
• Voyager producer Kenneth Biller initially struggled with making Harry Kim and Tom Paris' mental deterioration believable in Voyager's "The Chute."
• Voyager used alien technology as a plot device to explain their mental state effectively but could have looked to DS9 for guidance.

One episode of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine proved that Kenneth Biller was wrong about the challenges of Star Trek: Voyager 's season 3 prison episode. Voyager and DS9 were sister shows in the Star Trek timeline , running concurrently with each other for several seasons. Although there was a lot of similarity between the two show's creative teams, producer and writer Ken Biller only worked on Voyager during the 1990s era of the Star Trek franchise.

One early Voyager episode that Biller worked on was season 3, episode 3, "The Chute," a dark story revolving around Tom Paris' (Robert Duncan McNeill) and Harry Kim's (Garrett Wang) time in a brutal alien prison. After being falsely accused of a terrorist attack, Kim and Paris were held in the prison while the USS Voyager's crew worked on a way to save them. Biller found writing the episode a challenge for one specific reason , but could have looked to a similar DS9 episode for the blueprint of how to make the story work.

Star Trek: Voyager Cast & Character Guide

Ds9 proved that ken biller was wrong about star trek: voyager’s kim and paris prison episode, ds9 did a similar episode that pulled off what biller found challenging.

Biller thought Tom and Harry's mental deterioration in prison wasn't believable given the short length of time they were incarcerated, but DS9 and the character of Miles O'Brien (Colm Meaney) proved that severe mental degradation was possible thanks to a particular sci-fi concept. Perhaps because Biller wasn't the original creator of "The Chute," he found the story challenging to pull off and discussed his ups and downs during the writing process with Cinefantastique shortly after the episode aired. Read Biller's full quote about "The Chute" below:

"It was sort of a left-over story from the Michael Piller era, and I struggled with it because it was a prison picture essentially. Michael wanted this to be an episode about Kim's humanity being tested. I thought it was basically an impossible task, because every single prison movie that has ever been successful that I can think of depends on one thing in particular, which is the passage of time. All take place over years, if not decades. Given the fact it would be impossible given the restrictions of our show to strand Paris and Kim for more than several days, it seemed therefore impossible to bring Kim to the brink."

On the surface, Biller's frustrations with "The Chute" are understandable. However, DS9 aired season 4, episode 19, "Hard Time," earlier that same year, which followed Miles O'Brien's recovery from his memories of a 20-year prison sentence. Rather than actually serving 20 years, O'Brien's memories had been implanted and altered to make the passage of time feel longer. O'Brien's incarceration and circumstances were extremely similar to Kim and Paris, and Biller could have used "Hard Time" as an example of how to make their mental states believable in "The Chute's" condensed time frame.

How Star Trek: Voyager’s “The Chute” Still Managed To Make Kim And Paris’ Mental Deterioration Believable

"the chute" made its plot work with a different story device.

As it was, Biller ended up using a different device to make Kim and Paris lose their minds, in the form of alien technology that was specifically designed to make prisoners more aggressive and paranoid. This had the desired effect and was perhaps even a good choice for the episode, given that copying DS9 so soon after "Hard Time's" release could have felt repetitive . However, Biller's frustration with "The Chute's" contrivances wasn't warranted, and a quick look at other shows beyond Star Trek: Voyager could have alleviated some of his concerns.

Source: Cinefantastique , Vol. 29, No. 6/7

Star Trek: Voyager and Star Trek: Deep Space Nine are available to stream on Paramount+.

Star Trek: Voyager

*Availability in US

Not available

The fifth entry in the Star Trek franchise, Star Trek: Voyager, is a sci-fi series that sees the crew of the USS Voyager on a long journey back to their home after finding themselves stranded at the far ends of the Milky Way Galaxy. Led by Captain Kathryn Janeway, the series follows the crew as they embark through truly uncharted areas of space, with new species, friends, foes, and mysteries to solve as they wrestle with the politics of a crew in a situation they've never faced before. 

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, also known as DS9, is the fourth series in the long-running Sci-Fi franchise, Star Trek. DS9 was created by Rick Berman and Michael Piller, and stars Avery Brooks, René Auberjonois, Terry Farrell, and Cirroc Lofton. This particular series follows a group of individuals in a space station near a planet called Bajor.