| Jeffrey Combs | |
| Birth Name: | Jeffrey Alan Combs |
| Birth Date: | 9 September 1954 |
| Birth Place: | Oxnard, California, U.S. |
| Education: | Pacific Conservatory of the Performing Arts |
| Alma Mater: | University of Washington |
| Occupation: | Actor |
| Years Active: | 1971–present |
Jeffrey Alan Combs (born September 9, 1954) is an American actor. He is best known for starring as Herbert West in the Re-Animator film series (1985–2003) and portraying multiple characters in the Star Trek universe, most notably Brunt and the various Weyouns on (1994–1999) and Thy'lek Shran on (2001–2005).
Combs has been a prominent figure within the horror genre through most of his career, acting in eight films directed by Re-Animator director Stuart Gordon, such as From Beyond (1986), The Pit and the Pendulum (1991) and Castle Freak (1995). His other horror film appearances include Necronomicon (1993), Peter Jackson's The Frighteners (1996), I Still Know What You Did Last Summer (1998), House on Haunted Hill (1999) and Would You Rather (2012). As a voice actor, he is best known as the voice of Question on Justice League Unlimited (2004–2006) and Ratchet on (2010–2013).[1]
Combs was born in Oxnard, California, the fifth of nine children[2] born to Jean Owens (formerly Sullins; 1921–1986) and Eugene "Gene" Combs (1922–1999), and raised in Lompoc. Both of his parents were from the Ozarks region of Arkansas.[3] A graduate of Lompoc High School, as a senior, Combs played the lead role of Captain Fisby in a stage production of The Teahouse of the August Moon. Combs then attended Santa Maria's Pacific Conservatory of the Performing Arts, and later developed his acting skills in the Professional Actor's Training Program at the University of Washington.[4]
In 1980, after several years performing in playhouses on the West Coast, Combs moved to Los Angeles. He landed his first role in the film Honky Tonk Freeway (1981), playing an unnamed drive-in teller. His first horror film role came two years later in Frightmare (1983).[5]
Combs's best-known horror role is Herbert West, the main character in the film Re-Animator (1985),[6] and its two sequels.[1] He portrayed author H. P. Lovecraft (creator of the Herbert West character) in the film Necronomicon: Book of the Dead (1993) and has starred in eight H.P. Lovecraft adaptations. Other film credits include The Attic Expeditions (2001), FeardotCom (2002), House on Haunted Hill (1999), I Still Know What You Did Last Summer (1998) and The Frighteners (1996).[7]
Combs has had roles in many science fiction television series. He starred as the telepath Harriman Gray in first-season episode "Eyes" (1994) of Babylon 5. In 2001, he played the sinister Dr. Ek in The Attic Expeditions. In August 2005, he appeared for the first time on the science fiction series The 4400 as Dr. Kevin Burkhoff which had become a recurring role by 2006. In early 2007, he played a highly fictionalized Edgar Allan Poe in "The Black Cat" episode of Masters of Horror.[8] In the 2012 miniseries Dorothy and the Witches of Oz (sometimes called The Witches of Oz), he had a small role as a highly fictionalized L. Frank Baum.
Combs has also worked as a voiceover artist. His voiceover roles include the Scarecrow in The New Batman Adventures, the Question in Justice League Unlimited, Ratchet in , the Leader in , the Rat King in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Brainiac in Injustice 2.[7] He also narrated the 25th anniversary of Re-Animator at the 2010 FanTasia.[9]
In July 2009, Combs returned to his stage roots and reprised his role as Edgar Allan Poe in a one-man theatrical show, Nevermore...an Evening with Edgar Allan Poe, at The Steve Allen Theater in Hollywood, California.[10] Although it was supposed to run for only a month, it enjoyed much success and sold-out crowds, and was extended four times, until closing in Los Angeles on December 19, 2009. The show had its East Coast debut on January 23 and 24, 2010 at Westminster Hall in Baltimore, MD, Poe's final resting place.[11] A tour of the Saturn Award-nominated[12] Nevermore was subsequently planned.[13]
Combs starred with Andrew Divoff in the 2012 Screen Media Films release , a prequel to the 2006 film Night of the Living Dead 3D directed by Jeff Broadstreet. In 2012, he also played the sadistic Dr. Lambrick in another horror-thriller, Would You Rather.[7]
On television, Combs enjoyed popular success playing a number of alien characters on the various modern Star Trek incarnations, beginning with in 1994, and continuing to in 2000, in 2001 and in 2021. He has played nine onscreen roles in the Star Trek universe. His largest science-fiction role to date was his regular guest role on Deep Space Nine as the Vorta clone Weyoun. Combs has said that Weyoun was his favorite Star Trek role, and that he had considerable input in developing the character.[14]
On the same series, Combs had a recurring role as the Ferengi character Brunt. During the DS9 episode "The Dogs of War", he appeared as both Weyoun and Brunt, becoming one of the few Star Trek actors to play two characters in the same episode (others including Patrick Stewart[15] and Brian Markinson[16]). Combs wanted the characters to appear in the same scene, but the logistics and expense worked against it.[17]
On Enterprise, Combs had a recurring role as Shran, an Andorian military officer. Enterprise producer Manny Coto once said in an interview that he had hoped to make Combs a regular on Enterprise had the series been renewed for a fifth season.[18]
In addition to his recurring Star Trek roles, Combs had non-recurring roles as human police officer Kevin Mulkahey,[19] alien Tiron on Deep Space Nine, alien Penk on Voyager, and Ferengi pirate Krem on Enterprise. Along with many other actors, writers and creators of the show, Combs also had a cameo appearance as a holographic patron in Vic's Lounge in the final episode of Deep Space Nine. He also voices the character of Romulan Commander Suldok for the video game. In 2021, he had a guest voice role as AGIMUS, an evil computer, in episode 7, season 2 of , which he reprised in seasons 3 and 4.
| Year | Film | Role | Notes | Source | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1981 | Honky Tonk Freeway | Drive-In Teller | |||
| Whose Life Is It Anyway? | 1st-Year Intern | ||||
| 1983 | Frightmare | Stu | |||
| data-sort-value="Skin of Our Teeth, The" | The Skin of Our Teeth | Henry Antrobus | |||
| data-sort-value="Man with Two Brains, The" | The Man with Two Brains | Dr. Jones | |||
| 1985 | Re-Animator | Herbert West | |||
| 1986 | From Beyond | Crawford Tillinghast | |||
| 1987 | Cyclone | Rick Davenport | |||
| 1988 | Cellar Dweller | Colin Childress | |||
| Dead Man Walking | Chaz | ||||
| data-sort-value="Phantom Empire, The" | The Phantom Empire | Andrew Paris | Direct-to-video | ||
| Pulse Pounders | Johnathan | ||||
| 1990 | Bride of Re-Animator | Herbert West | |||
| Robot Jox | Spectator, Prole | ||||
| 1991 | data-sort-value="Guyver, The" | The Guyver | Dr. East | ||
| Death Falls | Lonnie Hawks | ||||
| data-sort-value="Pit and the Pendulum, The" | The Pit and the Pendulum | Francisco, The Inquisitor | |||
| Trancers II | Dr. Pyle | ||||
| 1992 | Doctor Mordrid | Dr. Mordrid | |||
| Fortress | "D-Day" | ||||
| 1993 | Necronomicon | H. P. Lovecraft | |||
| 1994 | Love and a .45 | Bob "Dinosaur Bob" | |||
| Lurking Fear | Dr. Haggis | ||||
| 1995 | Castle Freak | John Reilly | |||
| Felony | Bill Knight | ||||
| Cyberstalker aka The Digital Prophet | Andy Coberman | ||||
| Dillinger and Capone | Gilroy | Direct-to-video | |||
| 1996 | data-sort-value="Frighteners, The" | The Frighteners | Special Agent Milton Dammers | ||
| Norma Jean & Marilyn | Montgomery Clift | ||||
| 1997 | Time Tracers | Dr. Carrington | |||
| Snide and Prejudice | Therapist Meissner | ||||
| 1998 | I Still Know What You Did Last Summer | Mr. Brooks | |||
| Caught Up | Security Guard | ||||
| Spoiler | Captain | ||||
| 1999 | House on Haunted Hill | Dr. Richard Benjamin Vannacutt | |||
| Poseidon's Fury: Escape From the Lost City | Lord Darkennon | Short film | |||
| 2000 | Faust: Love of the Damned | Lieutenant Dan Margolies | |||
| 2001 | data-sort-value="Attic Expeditions, The" | The Attic Expeditions | Dr. Ek | ||
| Contagion | Brown | ||||
| 2002 | FeardotCom | Detective Sykes | |||
| 2003 | Beyond Re-Animator | Herbert West | |||
| 2005 | Dr. Preston King | ||||
| All Souls Day: Dia de los Muertos | Thomas White | ||||
| Edmond | Desk Clerk | ||||
| 2006 | Satanic | Detective Joyner | |||
| Voodoo Moon | Frank Taggert | Television film | |||
| Abominable | Buddy, The Clerk | ||||
| Blackwater Valley Exorcism | Sheriff Jimmy Fleck | ||||
| 2007 | Return to House on Haunted Hill | Dr. Richard Benjamin Vannacutt | |||
| data-sort-value="Wizard of Gore, The" | The Wizard of Gore | The Geek | |||
| Brutal | Sheriff Jimmy Fleck | Direct-to-video | |||
| data-sort-value="Attackmen, The" | The Attackmen | Mr. Simms | |||
| Stuck | 911 Operator | Voice | |||
| 2008 | Parasomnia | Detective Garrett | |||
| 2009 | data-sort-value="Dunwich Horror, The" | The Dunwich Horror | Wilbur Whateley | Television film | |
| Dark House | Walston Rey | ||||
| 2012 | Elf-Man | Mickey | |||
| Would You Rather | Shepard Lambrick | ||||
| Harold Tovar | |||||
| 2013 | Motivational Growth | The Mold | Voice | ||
| Favor | Tad Harrison | ||||
| Ratchet | Voice, television film[20] | ||||
| 2014 | Suburban Gothic | Dr. Carpenter | |||
| Beethoven's Treasure Tail | Fritz Bruchschnauser / Howard Belch | ||||
| 2016 | Unbelievable!!!!! | Male Larrisha | |||
| 2017 | Howard Lovecraft and the Undersea Kingdom | King Abdul | Voice, direct-to-video | ||
| 2018 | Vic Sage / Question | Voice, direct-to-video | |||
| Howard Lovecraft and the Kingdom of Madness | H. P. Lovecraft | Voice, direct-to-video | |||
| 2019 | Holiday Hell | The Shopkeeper | Direct-to-video film | ||
| In Search of Darkness | Himself | Documentary film | [21] | ||
| 2020 | Himself | Documentary film | |||
| Age of Stone and Sky: The Sorcerer Beast | Far Seeing Crow | ||||
| 2023 | Batman: The Doom That Came to Gotham | Voice, direct-to-video | [22] | ||
| Onyx the Fortuitous and the Talisman of Souls | Bartok the Great | ||||
| 2024 | Stream | Mr. Lockwood | [23] [24] [25] | ||
| Watchmen: Chapter 1 | Moloch the Mystic / Edgar Jacobi, British Newscaster, Photographer #1 | Voice, direct-to-Video | [26] |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1983 | data-sort-value="Mississippi, The" | The Mississippi | Military cadet | Episode: "We Remember, We Revere" |
| Houston Nights | Frank Stark | Episode: "Lady Smoke" | ||
| 1987 | Beauty and the Beast | Python | Episode: "No Way Down" | |
| 1988 | Jake and the Fatman | Alan Shuba | Episode: "What is This Thing Called Love" | |
| Incredibly Strange Film Show | Himself | Episode: "Tsui Hark and Stuart Gordon" | ||
| 1989 | Freddy's Nightmares | Ralph | Episode: "Love Stinks" | |
| Life Goes On | Burk Clifton | Episode: "Invasion of the Thatcher Snatchers" | ||
| Hunter | James Wilkins | Episode: "Fatal Obsession, Part 2" | ||
| 1991 | data-sort-value="Flash, The" | The Flash | Jimmy Swain | Episode: "Captain Cold" |
| Sisters | Derek Cotts | Episode: "Protective Measures" | ||
| 1994 | Babylon 5 | Harriman Gray | Episode: "Eyes" | |
| 1994–1999 | Brunt, Weyoun, Tiron | 33 episodes | ||
| 1995 | data-sort-value="Single Guy, The" | The Single Guy | Klein | Episode: "The Virgin" |
| Roger "Sheck" Shector | Episode: "A Quartet Of Creatures" | |||
| 1996 | Perversions of Science | Prisoner #50557 | Episode: "The Exile" | |
| 1997 | data-sort-value="New Batman Adventures, The" | The New Batman Adventures | Jonathan Crane / Scarecrow | Voice, episode: "Never Fear" |
| 1998 | data-sort-value="Net, The" | The Net | Max Copernicus | Episode: "Lunatic Fringe" |
| 1999 | FreakyLinks | Coroner | Episode: "Subject: Live Fast, Die Young" | |
| 2000 | Martial Law | Antoine Trembel | Episode: "In the Dark" | |
| Penk | Episode: "Tsunkatse" | |||
| 2001–2005 | Shran, Krem | 11 episodes | ||
| 2002 | data-sort-value="Twilight Zone, The" | The Twilight Zone | Harry Radditch | Episode: "The Placebo Effect" |
| She Spies | Indigo | Episode: "The Replacement" | ||
| 2003 | Dr. Zellner, Professor | Voice, 2 episodes | ||
| Dr. Dale Sterling | Episode: "Jackpot" | |||
| 2004–2006 | Justice League Unlimited | Vic Sage / Question | Voice, 5 episodes | |
| Super Robot Monkey Team Hyperforce Go! | Gyrus Krinkle | Voice, 2 episodes | ||
| 2005–2007 | data-sort-value="4400, The" | The 4400 | Dr. Kevin Burkoff | 15 episodes |
| 2006 | Masters of Horror | Edgar Allan Poe | Episode: "The Black Cat" | |
| 2008 | Cold Case | Sly Borden | Episode: "Spiders" | |
| 2009 | Chuck Brown / Kite Man | Voice, episode: "Long Arm of the Law!" | ||
| 2010–2011 | Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated | Professor Hatecraft | Voice, 2 episodes | |
| 2010–2012 | data-sort-value="Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes, The" | Samuel Sterns / Leader | Voice, 5 episodes | |
| 2010–2013 | Ratchet, MECH #1 | Voice, 56 episodes | ||
| 2012 | Thundercats | Soul Sever | Voice, episode: "The Soul Sever" | |
| Femme Fatales | Interrogator | Voice, episode: "Killer Instinct" | ||
| 2012–2016 | Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles | Victor Falco / Rat King | Voice, 4 episodes | |
| 2013 | DC Nation – Doom Patrol | Chief | Voice, 3 episodes | |
| 2014 | Criminal Minds | John Nichols | Episode: "The Black Queen" | |
| Kuphulu | Voice, 2 episodes | |||
| 2015 | Gotham | Office Manager | 2 episodes | |
| Hulk and the Agents of S.M.A.S.H. | Mainframe | Voice, episode: "Wheels of Fury" | ||
| 2016 | Transformers: Robots in Disguise | Ratchet | Voice, 2 episodes | |
| 2017 | Stan Against Evil | Impish Man | Episode: "Girls' Night" | |
| 2019–2020 | Tigtone | Prince Lavender | Voice, 5 episodes | |
| 2019 | Pandora | Berman Livingston | Episode: "Hurricane" | |
| Creepshow | Reinhard | Segment: "Bad Wolf Down" | ||
| 2021–2023 | AGIMUS | Voice, 3 episodes | ||
| 2023 | SpongeBob SquarePants | Wally | Voice, episode: "Wallhalla" | |
| 2024 | Masters of the Universe: Revolution | Zodac | Voice, episode: "The Scepter and the Sword" |
| Year | Title | Role | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | Weyoun | ||
| 2003 | Commander Suldok | ||
| Jonathan Crane / Scarecrow | |||
| 2012 | data-sort-value="Secret World, The" | The Secret World | Hayden Montag, Charles Zurn |
| Ratchet | |||
| 2013 | Imperium Galactic War | Novus Ordo, Narrator | |
| Lego Marvel Super Heroes | Samuel Sterns / Leader | ||
| 2017 | Injustice 2 | Brainiac | |
| 2018 | Star Trek Online: Victory Is Life | Weyoun | |
| Lego DC Super-Villains | Jonathan Crane / Scarecrow, Chuck Brown / Kite Man |