Alan Scarfe dead: Seven Days, Double Impact & Star Trek star dies at 77 after colon cancer battle

Alan Scarfe, known for his roles in Seven Days and Double Impact as well as his appearance in Star Trek, has died at the age of 77 after his battle with colon cancer. His family said the British-Canadian actor succumbed to the illness at his home in Longueuil, Quebec on April 28.

Born in England and raised in Vancouver, Scarfe pursued his passion for classical stage acting by studying at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art from 1964 to 1966. He performed over 100 roles across Europe, the United States, and Canada during the next two decades.

Scarfe served as associate director of the Everyman Theatre in Liverpool from 1967 to 1968. In an August 2007 interview, he said: “I wanted to be a great classical actor in the long tradition of Burbage, Garrick, Kean, Booth, Olivier... Forty-five years ago when I began it was still possible to think in such a romantic, idealistic way.”

His stage career included eight seasons at the Stratford Festival and two at the Shaw Festival in Ontario, where he performed numerous Shakespearean roles, including Macduff in a 1988 Broadway production of Macbeth alongside Christopher Plummer and Glenda Jackson.

Scarfe transitioned to film with roles in The Bay Boy (1984), Deserters (1984), Overnight (1986), Street Justice (1987), Iron Eagle II (1988), Aka Albert Walker (2003), and The Hamster Cage (2005).

He gained fame for his science fiction roles, notably as Dr Bradley Talmadge in Seven Days and as Romulans Tokath and Admiral Mendak in Star Trek during the 1990s. Scarfe's strong stage background proved beneficial in these roles.

He said then: “Science fiction on film and television, especially if you are playing some kind of alien character with fantastic make-up, is great for actors with a strong stage background. The productions need that kind of size and intensity of performance. You can’t really mumble if you’re a Klingon.”

Scarfe also played the villain Nigel Griffith in the 1991 action film Double Impact, opposite Jean-Claude Van Damme, and the Internal Affairs chief Herman Walters in Lethal Weapon III in 1992. In 1985, Scarfe won a Genie Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role for his portrayal of Sergeant Tom Coldwell in The Bay Boy.

Besides his acting career, Scarfe was a published author under the pen name Clanash Farjeon. His first novel, The Revelation of Jack the Ripper, was published in 2017, followed by The Vampires of Juarez, The Demons of 9/11, and The Mask of the Holy Spirit.

Scarfe leaves behind a son, actor Jonathan Scarfe known for his work in Van Helsing, Raising the Bar, and The 100, a daughter Tosia, a musician and composer, and a brother named Colin.