Brian Thompson

For other uses, see Brian Thompson (disambiguation).
Brian Thompson

Thompson in 2008
Born Brian Earl Thompson
(1959-08-28) August 28, 1959
Ellensburg, Washington, U.S.
Occupation Actor
Years active 1983–present
Spouse(s) Isabelle Mastorakis (m. ?–1998) (2 children)
Shari Braun (m. 1998)[1]
Children Daphne Thompson
Jordan Thompson
Website

Brian Earl Thompson (born August 28, 1959) is an American character actor, whose career began with a small role in The Terminator (1984), a blockbuster film starring Arnold Schwarzenegger. Since then, Thompson has worked primarily in the action adventure and science fiction genres. His first named role was on Werewolf, a horror series that ran during Fox's inaugural broadcasting year of 1987–1988.[2][3][4] Thompson has played several characters in the Star Trek franchise, the Alien Bounty Hunter on The X-Files, and Eddie Fiori on Kindred: The Embraced.[5] In 2014, he produced, wrote and starred in the B movie parody The Extendables.[6]

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 received a Master of Fine Arts from the University of California, Irvine.[7] 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.[8] 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.[9] 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."[2]

Career

Thompson was cast in The Terminator while still in school. He and Bill Paxton had minor roles as punk thugs.[2][10]

He followed that up with "bad guy" roles on Moonlighting, Otherworld, Street Hawk and Knight Rider before landing the 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."[11]

He appeared in the film Rage and Honor (1992) as Conrad Drago. In 1993, Thompson landed a role on the large ensemble series Key West which was filmed on location in the Florida Keys. The series lasted for 13 episodes. In a departure from his previous work, he played a "new-age sheriff", which Thompson stated was his favorite role of his career.[12] 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."[13]

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, often in similar roles.[2][14] In 1996, he appeared in Dragonheart as the lead henchman of David Thewlis' villainous king. The fantasy film, starring Dennis Quaid and Sean Connery, was a moderate success.[15]

Thompson then returned to the big screen as lead antagonist Shao Kahn in the film adaptation of Mortal Kombat: Annihilation. The film was both a critical and commercial failure, with a 3% approval rating at Rotten Tomatoes.[16] The New York Times called it "colossal compendium of logic-defying martial arts, noisy, hyperactive special effects and rudimentary acting."[17] In 2014, Thompson released The Extendables, a film he produced, written and starred in. A parody of movies like The Expendables, Thompson stated that it contained true-to-life instances from his own career.[18] It was released via iTunes.[19]

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."[9] Thompson played a Klingon in the episode "A Matter of Honor".[9][20] 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, to some extent, in Star Trek fandom, giving narrative DVD extras and appearing at conventions.[12][14][20]

Personal life

Thompson is a windsurfing and kitesurfing enthusiast and studies hapkido.[10][21] He has two children.[2]

Selected filmography

Film
Year Title Role Notes
1984 The Terminator Street Punk Small role
1986 Cobra Night Slasher Main villain
1986 Three Amigos Thug A lackey of the German
1988 Fright Night Part 2 Bozworth Bug-eating lackey
1988 Alien Nation Trent Porter
1988 Miracle Mile Helicopter Pilot
1990 Lionheart Russell
1990 Nightwish Dean
1990 Moon 44 Jake O'Neal
1991 Life Stinks Mean Victor
1992 Doctor Mordrid Kabal Main villain, an evil wizard
1993 The Naked Truth Bruno
1994 Star Trek: Generations Klingon Helmsman
1996 Dragonheart Brok Task executor
1997 Mortal Kombat: Annihilation Shao Kahn Main antagonist
2000 Jason and the Argonauts Hercules Television miniseries
2001 Joe Dirt Buffalo Bob Parodies the Buffalo Bill role from The Silence of the Lambs
2001 Epoch Captain Tower
2001 The Order Cyrus Jacob Main villain
2007 Fist of the Warrior Max
2007 Flight of the Living Dead: Outbreak on a Plane Kevin
2011 The Arcadian Agmundr
2014 The Extendables[22] Vardell Duseldorfer With Mark Dacascos, Kevin Sorbo, Martin Kove, Patrick Warburton, Gary Graham and Marisa Ramirez
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"
1994 The X-Files Alien Bounty Hunter Episodes: "Colony", "End Game", 7 more episodes
1996 Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Toman'torax Episode: "To the Death"
1996 Kindred: The Embraced Eddie Fiori 6 episodes as the leader of the Brujah clan of vampires
1997 Buffy the Vampire Slayer Luke Episodes: "Welcome to the Hellmouth", "The Harvest"
1998 Buffy the Vampire Slayer The Judge Episodes: "Surprise", "Innocence"
2000 Charmed Horseman of War Episode: "Apocalypse, Not"
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" (Directed by Helen Hunt)
2012 Spirit of a Denture Captain Jasper Crow With Kevin Spacey
2014 Hawaii Five-0 IA Detective Nicholas Cruz Episode: "Hana Lokomaika'i"

References

  1. ↑ "Brian Thompson biography". articlebio.com.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Bolotin, Louise (June 10, 2012). "INTERVIEW: Action star Brian Thompson on The Terminator". Screen Jabber. Retrieved October 28, 2014.
  3. ↑ Schneider, Michael (December 3, 2009). "Fox hunting werewolves". Variety. Retrieved October 28, 2014.
  4. ↑ "Werewolf television series profile". IMDb. Retrieved October 28, 2014.
  5. ↑ SFX Staff Writer (June 2, 2011). "SF's Serial Guest Stars". SFX.com. Retrieved October 28, 2014.
  6. ↑ Man, Wild Peking (November 23, 2013). "Brian Thompson and Mark Dacascos are 'The Extendables'". City on Fire. Retrieved October 28, 2014.
  7. ↑ WGA. "Brian Thompson". IMDb. Retrieved October 28, 2014.
  8. ↑ "The Working Class - Brian Thompson". Cultural Atrocities. September 19, 2011. Retrieved October 28, 2014.
  9. 1 2 3 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.
  10. 1 2 Nelson, Craig (October 5, 2012). "Manchester film fans turned out for a special screening of The Terminator and we interview Brian Thompson.". Manchester Gossip. Retrieved October 28, 2014.
  11. ↑ Darnton, Nina (May 24, 1986). "FILM: SYLVESTER STALLONE AS POLICEMAN, IN 'COBRA'". New York Times. Retrieved 28 October 2014.
  12. 1 2 Anderson, Phillip (July 22, 2000). "Interviews: Brian Thompson - actor, "X-Files"/"Star Trek"/"Key West"/"Dragonheart"". KAOS 2000. San Diego Comic Con International. Retrieved October 28, 2014.
  13. ↑ Hiltbrand, David (January 18, 1993). "Picks and Pans Review: Key West". People Magazine. Retrieved October 28, 2014.
  14. 1 2 T'Bonz (March 31, 2014). "APRIL-MAY 2014 TREK CONVENTIONS AND APPEARANCES". Trek Today. Retrieved October 28, 2014.
  15. ↑ Tucker, Ken (June 7, 1996). "Dragonheart (1996)". Entertainment Weekly (EW). Retrieved 28 October 2014.
  16. ↑ Staff Writers. "MORTAL KOMBAT: ANNIHILATION (1997)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved October 28, 2014.
  17. ↑ 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.
  18. ↑ Valkor (August 22, 2014). "The Extendables Movie Review". The Other View. Retrieved October 28, 2014.
  19. ↑ Staff. "The Extendables". iTunes. Retrieved October 28, 2014.
  20. 1 2 Tenuto, John (December 17, 2012). "REVIEW: Star Trek: The Next Generation Season 2 on Blu-ray". Trek News.Com. Retrieved October 28, 2014.
  21. ↑ Wedlan, Candace. "Hapkido Helps Put the Wind in His Sails". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved October 28, 2014.
  22. ↑ THE EXTENDABLES Trailer on YouTube
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