Brian Thompson is one of those actors who often elicit, 'Hey, it's that guy when he appears on the screen. His strong jaw is instantly recognizable despite the pounds of alien prosthetics often spirit-gummed to his face. Although typecast as a muscle-bound bad guy, Brian is in reality a classically trained actor with a Masters of Fine Arts degree under his belt. The next time you run into him while channel surfing, take a moment and listen to his eloquent delivery.

My memory of Brian goes back to the first few minutes of "The Terminator" (1984). He was subsequently mugged and filleted by Schwarzenegger. Historically, few of Brian's characters make it to the credits scroll.

Brian's next memorable role was in the Sylvester Stallone vehicle "Cobra" (1986). His skulking character stole the show from the flatliner lovebirds Stallone and Brigette Nielsen. "Cobra" is one of my favorite "background" movies, the one that you put in when you have work to do to keep you from channel surfing.

The 'Night Slasher' role quickly led to a regular spot on "Werewolf" (1987). This interesting, if short-lived series was one of the premiere shows for the infant Fox Network. Brian played a centuries-old werewolf/college professor. Although the show was soon cancelled, Brian was scooped up by "Star Trek: The Next Generation" to play a Klingon in the award-winning episode titled "A Matter of Honor" (see photo at top). You can also spot him again as a Klingon in the "ST:TNG" movie "Generations". This lucrative affiliation has led to semi-regular appearances on the different 'Star Trek' spinoffs. In addition to being a physical adversary to Michael Dorn's 'Worf' character, he has been a wine trader and Jem' Haddar soldier who goes nose to snout with 'Worf' on "Deep Space Nine" and a Martian trader on Babylon 5.

When not playing aliens, Brian has taken on a quirky series of human characters. He has been a Scandinavian wrestler on an episode of "Weird Science", a prisoner on the premiere episode of Hercules: The Legendary Journeys and a brawling redneck on Walker: Texas Ranger. He won critical praise for his character of 'Sheriff Cody' on the Fox series "Key West". As with most Fox shows, critical praise is the death knell and it was soon cancelled.

Brian's charismatic sheriff led into a regular guest role on another Fox show, "Kindred: The Embraced". I did not realize what a large following existed for the White Wolf/Kindred role playing game. Even a large built-in audience could not save the show from dismal writing. It was put out of its misery before the first season was completed. Brian's character was killed off a couple weeks before Fox lowered the boom. I have heard from many people that Brian was incredibly disappointed and aggravated with the writing and general lack of creativity. While I did watch up until 'Eddie Fiori's' untimely demise, it pained me to see such talented actors being put through their paces by adolescent scripts; there was almost a palatable dissatisfaction.

Fortunately, Chris Carter was one of the shows few viewers. Brian has spent the past two seasons playing the deadly alien bounty hunter who I call 'Chip' on Fox's popular series "The X-Files". Brian has signed on to do a couple of episodes for the '97-'98 season which will be the last. I have a sneaking suspicion that his character will survive to co-star in "The X-Files" movie. Brian's "The X-Files" exposure has led to roles in last year's "Dragonheart" as the hawk-wielding bad guy, 'Brok'. I dug the 'Grizzly Adams' look. He also took a bite out of the hip new vampire series "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" (BT 'Buffy' pic). I believe this is vampire number three for Brian ("Fright Night: 2", "Kindred: The Embraced", "Buffy"). Natrually, he was croaked each time.

"MK2" is Brian's latest big screen project. Originally scheduled for August release, it has been moved back to November 21. MK2 promises to be as high octane cheese as the first one. I still can't get that music out of my head. Speaking of head, Brian is bald in this one. From the bits of info I have read, it appears Brian will be kicking some major bootie in this. Of course, he is the bad guy, so you know what that means.... Check out his filmography for some similar kick-butt action movies. My personal favorite is "Hired to Kill". His character takes his undercover identity as a gay fashion designer a little too seriously ;-)

(Many thanks to Nicole for the bio information and Jeff DeMerchant & Brian Davis for the pics. All from the Halifax, Nova Scotia Con.).

Brian Thompson's thespian fate was cast early with his birth in Ellensburg, Washington, the valley where "Northern Exposure" would later be filmed. Raised on the Columbia River in nearby Longview, he learned the value of academic and athletic excellence as the son of two teachers and the second of six siblings. Brian's interest in acting was first sparked during his senior year of high school with the role of the Russian ballet instructor Boris in "You Can't Take It With You". Under the pretense of attending Central Washington University to play football and study business management, Brian quietly auditioned for every available play, treading the boards for a dozen school productions; from musicals and operas to the sublime frivolity of Neil Simon. Brian was a senior when he pondered "Gee, it would be great if a guy could make a living like this."

Earning a scholarship to University of California/Irvine, Thompson sailed through a three year Masters of Fine Arts program, learning from such theatrical luminaries as playwright Edward Albee and Jerzy Grotowski, and supplementing his education through work with the Colorado Shakespeare Festival. Before graduation he began to audition for professional jobs and in 1983, he landed in the live "Conan the Barbarian" show at Universal Studios. "It was a cakewalk," says Thompson, who performed for twelve minutes, four times a day, and was paid handsomely. His first post-college acting role came in the Long Beach Civic Light Opera production of Noel Coward's "Bittersweet", starring Shirley Jones. Other stage roles soon accumulated including the lead in "The King and I" at Riverside Civic Light Opera and Oliver at TOP Theatre. Thompson revealed his comedic chops on "The George Burns Comedy Show" as a death row prisoner who requests a fictitious "harpsgrisbock" as his last meal. With Tyne Daly, Thompson starred in the title role "Conan the Librarian" ( are we seeing a theme here?), a PBS special that encouraged kids to read. "Actually, I forced kids to read." he chuckles.

Taking a curiously "musical" approach to his craft ("I can hear how each character sounds within the entire tapestry of a scene," explains Thompson), the actor continually seeks fresh rhythms for each new role. His home life provides the only stable part of his existence, literally, with a stable of pets including a lobster, squirrel, hand-fed love bird, African pygmy hedgehog, three baby dwarf hamsters and a goldfish pond in the backyard (maybe I should call him 'Old MacDonald' instead of 'Chip'). "And if my daughter gets her way, I'm afraid there's a horse in our future," says Thompson, who, with his wife Isabelle, is a parent of two: seven-year-old Jordan and five-year-old Daphne. A resident of Los Angeles, Brian Thompson verifies his well-rounded nature with a resume that lists such special skills as martial arts, piano, sushi-rolling and para-sailing.

Brian's Filmography

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New Stuff!

Brian is featured in the December "Starlog"

Photos From the Article

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