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Brian Thompson
Thompson in 2017
Born	Brian Earl Thompson (1959-08-28) August 28, 1959 (age 65) Ellensburg, Washington, U.S.
Education	Central Washington University University of California, Irvine
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1984–present
Children	2
Website	brianthompson.com

Brian Earl Thompson (born August 28, 1959) is an American actor. His career began with a small role in the 1984 film The Terminator. He played the villainous "Night Slasher" in the 1986 film Cobra. His first named role was on Werewolf, a horror series that ran during Fox's inaugural broadcasting year of 1987–1988. Thompson has played several characters in the Star Trek franchise—the most notable being the Klingon Lieutenant Klag in which he informed Commander William Riker that "Gagh is always best when served live", the Alien Bounty Hunter on The X-Files, and Eddie Fiori on Kindred: The Embraced. In 2014, he produced, wrote and starred in the B movie parody The Extendables.

Early life

Thompson was born in Ellensburg, Washington, and raised in Longview. He attended Central Washington University, where he studied business management, played football, and appeared in many school productions. He then moved to California and earned a Master of Fine Arts from the University of California, Irvine. He initially trained and pursued a career in musical theater, performing at Riverside Civil Light Opera's production of "The King and I", Long Beach Civic Light Opera's "Bittersweet", and several other musicals. In 1982, he was a resident actor at the Colorado Shakespeare Festival.

Thompson's athletic build and unique facial structure were key in the initial roles he was offered. He has stated that it has occasionally been a double-edged sword when it comes to auditioning for roles, but it has provided him with consistent work. Thompson said, "If you're very physical in stature, you're gonna get hired for action movies. The star's always going to be chasing someone so they need an equal adversary. I'm never going to play a nebbish geek."

Career

Thompson was cast in The Terminator while still in school. He and Bill Paxton had minor roles as punk thugs.

He followed that up with roles on Moonlighting, Otherworld, Street Hawk and Knight Rider before landing a role in the Sylvester Stallone vehicle, Cobra (1986). Although the film was critically panned, it was a commercial success. The New York Times wrote of Thompson's portrayal, "the archvillain, a character that is a cross between a James Bond fantasy villain such as Jaws and a raging psychopath, delivers a scorching monologue – a feat of linguistic sophistication that Cobra would have a hard time matching."

In 1993, Thompson landed another comedic role on the large ensemble series Key West which was filmed on location in the Florida Keys. The series lasted for 13 episodes. He played a "new-age sheriff", which Thompson has stated was the favorite role of his career. The character uttered the introductory line, "I'm Sheriff Cody Jeremiah Jefferson. I'm a direct descendant of Wyatt Earp and the Lone Ranger. My personal heroes are Ted Nugent, Buddha and Davy Crockett. I am the last real lawman and the first peace officer of the 21st century."

The following year, Thompson began his tenure on The X-Files and followed that with roles in the science fiction-fantasy series Seven Days, Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Charmed. Between these, Thompson made dozens of appearances in other series and films. In 1996, he appeared in Dragonheart as Brok, the commander of the armies of David Thewlis' villainous king, Einon. The fantasy film, starring Dennis Quaid and Sean Connery, was a moderate success.

Thompson then returned to the big screen as lead antagonist Shao Kahn in the poorly received Mortal Kombat Annihilation. The New York Times called it "colossal compendium of logic-defying martial arts, noisy, hyperactive special effects..." In 2014, Thompson released The Extendables, a film he produced, wrote, and starred in. A parody of movies like The Expendables, Thompson stated that it contained true-to-life instances from his own career. It was released via iTunes. In 2017 Thompson was in the thriller indie film Trafficked with Ashley Judd, and in 2019 he starred in the horror film Hoax alongside Adrienne Barbeau; in 2022 he appeared in the historical thriller film The Tragedy of Macbeth with Denzel Washington.

Star Trek

In 1989, Thompson landed his first Star Trek role on Star Trek: The Next Generation. His size worked against him at first, because the producers were originally looking to cast someone who could fit in a certain costume. He was able to convince them to give him a try: "That was the first of five auditions that I've had for Star Trek and they've hired me every time." Thompson played a Klingon in the episode "A Matter of Honor". In 1993 and 1996, he appeared in episodes of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine as different characters. In 1994, he appeared in the feature film Star Trek Generations.

In 2005, Thompson was cast as Admiral Valdore in three episodes of Star Trek: Enterprise. Thompson has since participated in Star Trek fandom, giving narrative DVD extras and appearing at conventions.

Personal life

Thompson is a stand up paddle surfing, windsurfing and kiteboarding enthusiast and studies hapkido. He has two children.

Selected filmography

Film

Television

References

1. ^ Bolotin, Louise (June 10, 2012). "INTERVIEW: Action star Brian Thompson on The Terminator". Screen Jabber. Archived from the original on October 14, 2012. Retrieved October 28, 2014.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
2. Schneider, Michael (December 3, 2009). "Fox hunting werewolves". Variety. Retrieved October 28, 2014.
3. "Werewolf television series profile". IMDb. Retrieved October 28, 2014.
4. SFX Staff Writer (June 2, 2011). "SF's Serial Guest Stars". SFX.com. Retrieved October 28, 2014.
5. Man, Wild Peking (November 23, 2013). "Brian Thompson and Mark Dacascos are 'The Extendables'". City on Fire. Retrieved October 28, 2014.
6. WGA. "Brian Thompson". IMDb. Retrieved October 28, 2014.
7. "The Working Class - Brian Thompson". Cultural Atrocities. September 19, 2011. Archived from the original on October 29, 2014. Retrieved October 28, 2014.
8. ^ Eramo, Steve (March 15, 2011). "Sci-Fi Blast From The Past - Brian Thompson (Star Trek: The Next Generation)". SciFi TV & Talk. Retrieved October 28, 2014.
9. ^ Nelson, Craig (October 5, 2012). "Manchester film fans turned out for a special screening of The Terminator and we interview Brian Thompson". Manchester Gossip. Archived from the original on October 29, 2014. Retrieved October 28, 2014.
10. Darnton, Nina (May 24, 1986). "FILM: SYLVESTER STALLONE AS POLICEMAN, IN 'COBRA'". New York Times. Retrieved 28 October 2014.
11. ^ Anderson, Phillip (July 22, 2000). "Interviews: Brian Thompson - actor, "X-Files"/"Star Trek"/"Key West"/"Dragonheart"". KAOS 2000. San Diego Comic Con International. Archived from the original on September 27, 2017. Retrieved October 28, 2014.
12. Hiltbrand, David (January 18, 1993). "Picks and Pans Review: Key West". People Magazine. Retrieved October 28, 2014.
13. ^ T'Bonz (March 31, 2014). "APRIL-MAY 2014 TREK CONVENTIONS AND APPEARANCES". Trek Today. Retrieved October 28, 2014.
14. Tucker, Ken (June 7, 1996). "Dragonheart (1996)". Entertainment Weekly (EW). Retrieved 28 October 2014.
15. Staff Writers. "MORTAL KOMBAT: ANNIHILATION (1997)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved October 28, 2014.
16. VanGelder, Lawrence (November 22, 1997). "Mortal Kombat The Annihilation (1997) FILM REVIEW; Based on a Video Game. Need to Know More?". New York Times. Retrieved October 28, 2014.
17. Valkor (August 22, 2014). "The Extendables Movie Review". The Other View. Retrieved October 28, 2014.
18. Staff. "The Extendables". iTunes. Retrieved October 28, 2014.
19. Scheck, Frank (5 October 2017). "'Trafficked': Film Review". The Hollywood Reporter.
20. "Trailer: Brian Thompson learns Bigfoot is not a Hoax this August". 29 July 2019.
21. ^ Tenuto, John (December 17, 2012). "REVIEW: Star Trek: The Next Generation Season 2 on Blu-ray". Trek News.Com. Retrieved October 28, 2014.
22. Wedlan, Candace. "Hapkido Helps Put the Wind in His Sails". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved October 28, 2014.
23. THE EXTENDABLES Trailer on YouTube

External links

• Official website
• Brian Thompson at IMDb
• Brian Thompson at the TCM Movie Database
• Brian Thompson at AllMovie

• 1959 births
• Living people
• 20th-century American male actors
• 21st-century American male actors
• American hapkido practitioners
• American male film actors
• American male television actors
• Male actors from Washington (state)
• People from Ellensburg, Washington
• People from Longview, Washington
• Central Washington University alumni
• University of California, Irvine alumni