Questions for Jeffrey Combs

Cheesy question, but:

Obviously you've played a variety of pretty well known roles, from Herbert West to my personal favourite, Weyoun in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. Which is your favourite role?

You worked with Peter Jackson on The Frighteners. Do you think his success with Lord of the Rings and Sam Raimi's success with Spider-Man is a good sign of genre actors/directors (and possibly movies) being more accepted in the mainstream, and maybe helping more to get theater releases, instead of very small runs/straight to video?

Ask him about his friendship with Bill Malone and if he ever ran into the "Dog Soldiers" guys in Luxembourg as apparently "Fear.com" was shooting in that tiny principality at the same time.

And find out people who come up to him at signings dressed like Herbert West freak him out.

Ask him if he feels being such a cult horror icon has been a blessing or a curse when going for parts outside the genre.

ask him if he is a Lovecraft fan himself and,if so,what adaption would he most like to see in the future.i think he mentioned reading Lovecraft before on a commentary track or 2 but i dont recall.im sure he at least read for the films he was in.

Ask him if he's ever turned a role down only to regret it later.

In a similar vein, are there any films (from any year) that he wishes he'd been in?

He is apparently a Lovecraft fan and the Herbert West: Re-Animator audio CD is fuckin' great. It's interesting to note that he chose to leave out certain passages of the West stories that appear racist nowadays.

Sorry Johnny, I'm a huge fan of J.C. but I can't think of a single freakin' question for him. Just remind him he's got lots of fans who love to see him continue acting!

could you ask him what his time shooting the frighteners in New Zealand was like and how much of a kick does he get playing the bad guys

When am I going to see Beyond Re-Animator?
When is he going to visit me?
Where does he live?
Does he like bread?

Did he feel his role in "House On Haunted Hill" should have been beefed up and given dialouge?

I can't remember which film it is... Attic Expeditions or Fear.com... but he plays the relatively straight role of a cop/detective. After playing so many freaks and weirdos (which I love) did he want to prove something with a different kind of character, or was he just itching to try something different?

That would be Fear.com, and didn't he play pretty much the same role in "Faust" (At least until the end)?

If you had balls - and we know you do, Butane - you'd ask him these puppies:

- What the hell is wrong with Charles Band that he can pimp out sequels to everything he does except Doctor Mordrid? Was their ever talk of one? Would it have shot in Romania or because it could have resonablly taken place their, was it gonna shoot in L.A.?

- Fortress. D-Day rocks. Not a question, more of a comment. Wait. Ask him what was it like to work with an honest to God sexual icon like Christopher Lambert?

- Why doesn't Brian Yuzna take a page from Hammer and simply do a series of spin-off films featuring Herbert West? Why wait so long to rehash the same movie when he could take the Peter Cushing route and follow West on further experiments into the unknown?

- What kind of a world do we live in where his character from Deep Space Nine has an action figure before Herbert West?

- What was it like to be in Robot Jox for a split second?

- What is it like to breathe the same air as let alone make out with Barbara Crampton?

- Lastly ask Combs what is it like to be the only living person who has ever embarrassed The Mighty Django in front of 500 people and lived?

L.A. Fango. 1992. Sunday.

Django was the punk ass kid who was sitting front row and left when Combs was talking about Fortress.

I'll never forget getting halfway down the aisle only to hear Combs yell out:

"No wait! Don't go! It's a good movie!"

He borrowed my silver ink pen to sign to first 100 autographs when Creation dropped the ball as usual. Tell him no hard feelings and not to worry, he's got plenty of work still ahead of him as a Team Django Stock Player...

The end of Frighteners was wild.

WARNING! REALLY GEEKY TECHNICAL QUESTIONS AHEAD!

I watched that recently and started to ponder the ghost effects. For scenes with actors playing transparent ghosts, they had to shoot it twice, right? Once as a background plate, and once with the ghost actor, I'm thinking. And if that's true, then how did they do that with all those tracking shots? Some sort of motion control camera rig that can memorize the movement and then repeat it over and over?

Probably not the best questions to ask an actor, but that's the sort of thing I'm interested in.

END OF TECHNICAL PORTION. BEGINNING GEEKY FAN-BOY ACTOR QUESTIONS...

Okay, how about the leading lady in the Frighteners? Trini Alvarado was so strong (and attractive), and yet I've never seen her in anything else. I guess she's done lots of TV stuff, but I'm dying to see her in more action or horror roles.

I believe Jeffrey holds the record for most separate character roles on Star Trek. He's played Weyoun and Brunt on DS9, he was in an episode of Voyager (with "The Rock" actually), and he's an Andorian on Enterprise. Does he ever think the audience won't buy it that he's playing ANOTHER character every time they see him? Personally, I think it's great to see him no matter what the role, because I know he'll make it interesting. I actually didn't recognize him as Brunt until someone told me it was him.

Sidenote, Tony Todd is another multi-character Trek actor. But I think he's only played three separate roles.

ask him if he (or his agent) actually angles to get him more and more roles on the different Trek series, if he's trying to set a record for different aliens/characters played, or if it just works out that way?

Ask him if a contest was held between the two best screamers in recent horror, Jamie Lee Curtis and Babs Crampton, who would win? And why?

And who has the better set of jugs, Curtis or Crampton?

Yeah! Yeah! I'm so glad I'm not the only one.

I also have a few of my own...

What started you down the path of Horror? I know you were in 'Frightmare', the Gordon/Yuzna films and the Full Moon pictures. But what has kept you in the genre? Do you feel you are type cast?

Your charity of choice, <a href="http://www.cityofhope.org/allabouthope/" target="_blank">City of Hope</a>, has a noble mission. Do you have a personal reason for choosing it?

I look back and wish to God I had taken my original path. Perhaps then I could have had the opportunity to work with you. But, other than the fact that you have actual schooling in the Arts, how did you get where you are? Did you have a plan? Or was it just dumb luck? What advice would you give someone trying like Hell to break into the 'biz'?

My wife thinks you are a good looking guy. Modesty aside, do you get that alot?

When are Herbert West and Ash going to meet? Or will that actually cause all matter in the universe to implode instantaneously?

How did Peter Jackson convince you to let him shoot a scene where you actually bared your chest revealing the painful occult scarring from your childhood? Was it a money thing? Or were you trying to create awareness for others with your past?

I want to assure you that you are, by far, my favorite genre actor. If you ever made the decision to move out of it we would support you all the way. Is this something you are pondering?

Finally (not a question), thanks. Thanks for all of the enjoyable hours of film. Keep doing what you do.

Also, if you're not doing anything the weekend of August 17th come down to Pasadena, CA! You would make my YEAR!

Lucky bastage...