Star Trek: 10 Things You Didn't Know About Weyoun
8. Casting Call
According to the Deep Space Nine Companion by Terry J Erdmann with Paula M Block, the casting of Weyoun was a difficult mission during the making of To the Death.
Director LeVar Burton had called in The Mod Squad's Clarence Williams III for the role of Jem'Hadar Omet'iklan but none of the actors chosen to test for Weyoun were quite right. The TNG actor/director had a moment of realisation that there was someone who could pull it off and he had actually used that person already.
Jeffrey Combs had worked on the Burton-directed Bar Association in season four. While the part was not specifically written for him, Combs would make the part very much his own. As Weyoun, he had more freedom to develop the character, since his Ferengi persona was inspired by Armin Shimerman's performance as Quark.
According to an interview with startrek.com, Combs had been cast in the earlier episode Family Business thanks to his previous theatre experience with René Auberjonois, who directed that episode. Combs noted that there was resistance, as he had already played Tiron in the same season.