Top 5 Jeffrey Combs performances

One of the greatest cult character actors of the past 30 years, Combs is often overlooked by mainstream audiences and awards, but has a huge following of loyal fans who appreciate him for the talented performer that he is. These aren't meant to be wordy or deeply detailed, so no more introduction, it's list time.



5. From Beyond (1986)

A mostly reserved performance, Combs still gets to crank up the craziness by the later half of the movie. This one lets him show off a lot of range.



4. The Frighteners (1996)

Combs is generally a pretty manic actor with a ton of eccentricities, but this performance kicks them into overdrive. It would've been lame with anyone else in the role, but he makes this over-the-top character wonderfully memorable.



3. Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (1994-1999)

Though he technically appears as three different characters over the course of this series, the main one I praise him for is the one shown above: Weyoun. A slimy villain with tons of great dialogue, this role let Combs play it smooth, diplomatic, and quite devious.



2. Star Trek: Enterprise (2001-2005)

One of my all-time favorite Trek characters, I'm definitely biased when it comes to this one, but Combs' perfect balance of conflicting emotions and controlled outbursts help make this character so great. Multi-faceted and compelling, Shran never got enough face time, but he always made every moment count.



1. Re-Animator (1985)

Sort of like Frankenstein only even more psychotic and unafraid of buckets of gore, this is the performance that defined Combs' career. And what a calling card! He's the perfect blend of manic and cool, a mad scientist for the body horror/splatter era. He played Dr. Herbert West in three movies, but I'm just counting the first one here. It's all great either way.