# Brian Thompson (actor)

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

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1984 | The Terminator | Rick | |
| 1986 | Cobra | 'The Night Slasher' | |
| 1986 | ¡Three Amigos! | German Thug | |
| 1988 | Fright Night Part 2 | Bozworth | |
| 1988 | Alien Nation | Trent Porter | |
| 1988 | Miracle Mile | Helicopter Pilot | |
| 1989 | Three Fugitives | Second Thug | |
| 1989 | Nightwish | Dean | |
| 1990 | Lionheart | Russell / Roc | |
| 1990 | Moon 44 | Jake O'Neal | |
| 1990 | After the Shock | Tom | TV movie |
| 1990 | Hired to Kill | Frank Ryan | |
| 1991 | Life Stinks | Mean Victor | |
| 1992 | Doctor Mordrid | Kabal | |
| 1992 | Rage and Honor | Conrad Drago | |
| 1993 | The Naked Truth | Bruno | |
| 1994 | Star Trek Generations | Klingon Helmsman | |
| 1996 | Dragonheart | Brok | |
| 1997 | Mortal Kombat Annihilation | Shao Kahn | |
| 1997 | Perfect Target | Major Oxnard | |
| 2001 | Joe Dirt | Bob 'Buffalo Bob' | |
| 2001 | Epoch | Captain Tower | |
| 2001 | The Order | Cyrus Jacob | |
| 2007 | Fist of the Warrior | Max | |
| 2007 | Flight of the Living Dead: Outbreak on a Plane | Kevin | |
| 2009 | Dragonquest | Kirill | |
| 2011 | The Arcadian | Agmundr | |
| 2014 | The Extendables | Vardell 'V.D.' Duseldorfer | Also writer, producer and director |
| 2016 | Beyond the Game | | |
| 2017 | Sunflower | Captain Cody | |
| 2017 | Dark Games | Detective Joe Grimes | |
| 2017 | Trafficked | Max | |
| 2019 | Hoax | John Singer | |
| 2019 | I Am That Man | Halpin | |
| 2020 | Big Muddy | Wyatt Cooper | |
| 2021 | The Tragedy of Macbeth | Young Murderer | |

### Television

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1984 | Hardcastle and McCormick | Police Officer | Episode: "Ties My Father Sold Me" |
| 1985 | Knight Rider | Kurt | Episode: "Sky Knight" |
| 1988 | Favorite Son | Rolf Petersen | 3 episodes |
| 1988 | Werewolf | Nicholas Remy | 6 episodes |
| 1989 | Star Trek: The Next Generation | Klingon Officer Klag | Episode: "A Matter of Honor" |
| 1990 | Alien Nation | Peter Rabbit | Episode: "Rebirth" |
| 1993 | Key West | Sheriff Cody Jeremiah Jefferson | 13 episodes |
| 1993 | Star Trek: Deep Space Nine | Inglatu | Episode: "Rules of Acquisition" |
| 1995–2000 | The X-Files | Alien Bounty Hunter | 9 episodes |
| 1995 | Hercules: The Legendary Journeys | Goth the Barbarian | Episode: "Siege at Naxos" |
| 1996 | Star Trek: Deep Space Nine | Toman'torax | Episode: "To the Death" |
| 1996 | Kindred: The Embraced | Eddie Fiori (leader of the Brujah vampire clan) | 6 episodes |
| 1997 | Buffy the Vampire Slayer | Luke | Episodes: "Welcome to the Hellmouth", "The Harvest" |
| 1998 | NYPD Blue | Todd | Episode: "Czech Bouncer" |
| 1998 | Buffy the Vampire Slayer | The Judge | Episodes: "Surprise", "Innocence" |
| 2000 | Charmed | Horseman of War | Episode: "Apocalypse, Not" |
| 2000 | Jason and the Argonauts | Hercules | Miniseries |
| 2002 | Birds of Prey | The Crawler | Episode: "Split" |
| 2003 | Charmed | Titan Cronos | Episode: "Oh My Goddess (Part 1 & 2)" |
| 2004 | NCIS | Master Chief Vince Nutter | Episode: "The Truth Is Out There" |
| 2005 | Star Trek: Enterprise | Romulan Admiral Valdore | 3 episodes |
| 2009 | Chuck | Cliff Arculin / Cliff Siljak | Episode: "Chuck Versus the Suburbs" |
| 2012 | Californication | Mr. Scary | Episode: "At the Movies" |
| 2012 | Spirit of a Denture | Captain Jasper Crow | Short film |
| 2014 | Hawaii Five-0 | Internal Affairs Detective Nicholas Cruz | Episode: "Hana Lokomaika'i" |
| 2017 | The Orville | Drogen | Episode: "Into the Fold" |
| 2018–2024 | 9-1-1 | Captain Vincent Gerrard | 6 episodes |
| 2021 | NCIS: Los Angeles | CIA Officer Steven Erdnase | Episode: "Through the Looking Glass" |