Robert Duncan McNeil
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Robert Duncan McNeill (born November 9, 1964) is an American
director Director may refer to: Literature * ''Director'' (magazine), a British magazine * ''The Director'' (novel), a 1971 novel by Henry Denker * ''The Director'' (play), a 2000 play by Nancy Hasty Music * Director (band), an Irish rock band * ''D ...
, producer, and actor. As an actor, he is best known for his role as Lieutenant
Tom Paris Lieutenant Thomas Eugene "Tom" Paris is a fictional character in the American science fiction television series '' Star Trek: Voyager'' and is portrayed by Robert Duncan McNeill. Paris is the chief helmsman, as well as a temporary auxiliary medic ...
on the
television Television (TV) is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. Additionally, the term can refer to a physical television set rather than the medium of transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertising, ...
series '' Star Trek: Voyager''. He has also served as an
executive producer Executive producer (EP) is one of the top positions in the production of media. Depending on the medium, the executive producer may be concerned with management accounting or associated with legal issues (like copyrights or royalties). In film ...
and frequent director of the television series ''
Chuck Chuck () is a masculine given name or a nickname for Charles or Charlie. It may refer to: People Arts and entertainment * Chuck Alaimo, American saxophonist, leader of the Chuck Alaimo Quartet * Chuck Barris (1929–2017), American TV produce ...
'', ''Resident Alien'', ''The Gifted'', and ''Turner & Hooch''.


Career


Acting

McNeill grew up in
Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...
, and began his career acting in local and regional productions before becoming a student at
Juilliard School The Juilliard School ( ) is a Private university, private performing arts music school, conservatory in New York City. Founded by Frank Damrosch as the Institute of Musical Art in 1905, the school later added dance and drama programs and became ...
in New York City. He enjoyed early success as a professional actor, winning the role of Charlie Brent on ''
All My Children ''All My Children'' (often shortened to ''AMC'') is an American television soap opera that aired on American Broadcasting Company, ABC from January 5, 1970, to September 23, 2011, and on The Online Network (TOLN) from April 29 to September 2, 2 ...
'' and starring in the feature film ''
Masters of the Universe ''Masters of the Universe'' (sometimes referred to as the ''He-Man'' or ''She-Ra'' series) is a sword and planet-themed media franchise created by Mattel. The main premise revolves around the conflict between He-Man (the alter ego of Prince A ...
'' alongside Courtney Cox. He starred in an episode of the 1980s version of ''
The Twilight Zone ''The Twilight Zone'' is an American media franchise based on the anthology series, anthology television series created by Rod Serling in which characters find themselves dealing with often disturbing or unusual events, an experience described ...
'', " A Message From Charity". He appeared with
Stockard Channing Stockard Channing (born Susan Antonia Williams Stockard; February 13, 1944) is an American actress. List of awards and nominations received by Stockard Channing, Her accolades include three Emmy Awards, a Tony Award, and a nomination for an Acade ...
in the Broadway production of ''
Six Degrees of Separation Six degrees of separation is the idea that all people are six or fewer social connections away from each other. As a result, a chain of "friend of a friend" statements can be made to connect any two people in a maximum of six steps. It is al ...
'' McNeill played the role of "Jack" in the national touring company of "Into the Woods," Stephen Sondheim's Tony Award-winning musical, before returning to Los Angeles to pursue roles on television. He also featured in guest roles on numerous TV series, including ''
L.A. Law ''L.A. Law'' is an American legal drama television series created by Steven Bochco and Terry Louise Fisher for NBC. It ran for eight seasons and List of L.A. Law episodes, 172 episodes from September 15, 1986, to May 19, 1994. The series cente ...
'', ''
Quantum Leap Quantum leap or ''variation'', may refer to: In general * Quantum leap (physics), also known as quantum jump, a transition between quantum states ** Atomic electron transition, a key example of the physics phenomenon * Paradigm shift, a sudden ch ...
'', and ''
Murder, She Wrote ''Murder, She Wrote'' is an American crime drama television series, created by Peter S. Fischer, Richard Levinson and William Link, starring Angela Lansbury, and produced and distributed by Universal Television for the CBS network. The series f ...
''. He was a featured cast member on the short-lived 1992 series ''Going to Extremes'', Another guest role that same year was in "
The First Duty "The First Duty" is the 119th episode of the American first-run syndication, syndicated science fiction television series ''Star Trek: The Next Generation'', the 19th episode of the show's Star Trek: The Next Generation season 5, fifth season. ...
", an episode of '' Star Trek: The Next Generation'', in which he played Nick Locarno, a Starfleet Academy cadet and squad leader who pressures fellow cadets, including
Wesley Crusher Wesley Crusher is a fictional character in the ''Star Trek'' franchise. He appears regularly in the first four seasons of the television series '' Star Trek: The Next Generation'' (''TNG''), and sporadically in its next three seasons. He also a ...
, into covering up their wrongdoings. He later became a ''Trek'' regular in 1995 on '' Star Trek: Voyager'', on which he played
Tom Paris Lieutenant Thomas Eugene "Tom" Paris is a fictional character in the American science fiction television series '' Star Trek: Voyager'' and is portrayed by Robert Duncan McNeill. Paris is the chief helmsman, as well as a temporary auxiliary medic ...
, a Starfleet officer with a backstory similar to Locarno's. In 2023, he reprised the role of Nick Locarno in '' Star Trek: Lower Decks'' season four. His other credits include Zebulon in "
Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat ''Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat'' is a sung-through musical with music by Andrew Lloyd Webber and lyrics by Tim Rice, based on the character of Joseph from the Bible's Book of Genesis. This was the first Lloyd Webber and Rice ...
" at the
Paper Mill Playhouse Paper Mill Playhouse is a regional theater containing approximately 1,200 seats located in Millburn, within Essex County, New Jersey, United States, on the banks of the Rahway River. Due to its relative proximity to Manhattan, the theater draw ...
and
Judas Judas Iscariot (; ; died AD) was, according to Christianity's four canonical gospels, one of the original Twelve Apostles of Jesus Christ. Judas betrayed Jesus to the Sanhedrin in the Garden of Gethsemane, in exchange for thirty pieces of ...
in ''
Godspell ''Godspell'' is a musical in two acts with music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz and a book by John-Michael Tebelak. The show is structured as a series of parables, primarily based on the Gospel of Matthew, interspersed with music mostly set t ...
'' at
Lamb's Theatre Lamb's Theatre was an Off-Broadway theater located at 130 West 44th Street, Manhattan, New York City inside the Manhattan Church of the Nazarene, near Times Square in New York City. It seated approximately 350 and specialized in musical producti ...
.


Directing

McNeill began his directing career with several episodes of ''Voyager''. He then wrote, produced, and directed two award-winning short films, ''The Battery'' starring
Joshua Jackson Joshua Carter Jackson (born June 11, 1978) is an American and Canadian actor. He is known for his portrayals of Pacey Witter on The WB's teen drama ''Dawson's Creek'' (1998–2003), Peter Bishop in the Fox Broadcasting Company, Fox science fic ...
and ''9mm of Love'', and began to direct other episodic television shows. While he has since performed as a guest star on television shows such as ''
The Outer Limits ''The'' is a grammatical article in English, denoting nouns that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The ...
'' and ''
Crossing Jordan ''Crossing Jordan'' is an American crime drama television series created by Tim Kring, that aired on NBC from September 24, 2001, to May 16, 2007. It stars Jill Hennessy as Dr. Jordan Cavanaugh, a crime-solving forensic pathologist employed ...
'', McNeill is now focusing on his directing career, helming episodes of ''
Dawson's Creek ''Dawson's Creek'' is an American teen drama television series about the lives of a close-knit group of friends in the fictional town of Capeside, Massachusetts, beginning in high school and continuing into college. It aired from January 20, 19 ...
'', ''
Everwood ''Everwood'' is an American drama television series created by Greg Berlanti. Berlanti, Mickey Liddell, Rina Mimoun, Andrew A. Ackerman and Michael Green served as executive producers. The series aired on the WB from September 16, 2002, to Jun ...
'', '' Star Trek: Enterprise'', ''
Dead Like Me ''Dead Like Me'' is an American comedy-drama television series starring Ellen Muth and Mandy Patinkin as grim reapers who reside and work in Seattle, Washington. Filmed in Vancouver, British Columbia, the show was created by Bryan Fuller for ...
'', ''
The O.C. ''The O.C. '' is an American teen drama television series created by Josh Schwartz that originally aired on Fox in the United States from August 5, 2003, to February 22, 2007, with a total of four seasons consisting of 92 episodes. The serie ...
'', '' One Tree Hill'', ''
Las Vegas Las Vegas, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-l ...
'', '' Summerland'', and ''
Supernatural Supernatural phenomena or entities are those beyond the Scientific law, laws of nature. The term is derived from Medieval Latin , from Latin 'above, beyond, outside of' + 'nature'. Although the corollary term "nature" has had multiple meanin ...
''. His directing credits for 2006–2007 include episodes of ''
Desperate Housewives ''Desperate Housewives'' is an American mystery comedy-drama television series created by Marc Cherry, and produced by ABC Studios and Cherry Productions. It aired for eight seasons on ABC from October 3, 2004, until May 13, 2012, for a tota ...
'', ''
Medium Medium may refer to: Aircraft *Medium bomber, a class of warplane * Tecma Medium, a French hang glider design Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''The Medium'' (1921 film), a German silent film * ''The Medium'' (1951 film), a film vers ...
'', '' Standoff'', ''
The Nine 9 is a number, numeral, and glyph. 9 or nine may also refer to: Dates * AD 9, the ninth year of the AD era * 9 BC, the ninth year before the AD era * 9, numerical symbol for the month of September Places * Nine, Portugal, a parish in the ...
'', ''
The Knights of Prosperity ''The Knights of Prosperity'' is an American sitcom that premiered on ABC in the United States on Wednesday, January 3, 2007. It was created by Rob Burnett and Jon Beckerman, who also created the NBC comedy-drama '' Ed''. The show follows a gro ...
'', ''
In Case of Emergency In Case of Emergency (ICE) is a programme designed to enable first responders, such as paramedics, firefighters, and police officers, as well as hospital personnel, to contact the next of kin of the owner of a mobile phone in order to obtain imp ...
'', ''
What About Brian ''What About Brian?'' is an American comedy-drama television series created by Dana Stevens and co-produced by J. J. Abrams' company Bad Robot. The series premiered on April 16, 2006, on ABC, as a mid-season replacement and concluded on March ...
'', and ''
My Boys ''My Boys'' is an American television sitcom that debuted on November 28, 2006, on TBS (American TV channel), TBS. The show deals with a sports columnist in Chicago, Illinois, played by Jordana Spiro, and the men in her life, including her brot ...
''. In 2007, he directed the season-five premiere of ''Las Vegas'', the pilot of ''
Samantha Who? ''Samantha Who?'' is an American television sitcom that originally aired on ABC from October 15, 2007, to July 23, 2009. The series was created by Cecelia Ahern and Donald Todd, who also served as producers. Although highly rated during its fi ...
'', and then signed on as a producer-director of the NBC show ''
Chuck Chuck () is a masculine given name or a nickname for Charles or Charlie. It may refer to: People Arts and entertainment * Chuck Alaimo, American saxophonist, leader of the Chuck Alaimo Quartet * Chuck Barris (1929–2017), American TV produce ...
'', helming numerous episodes, including the first episode of a television show to be broadcast entirely in three dimensional style. From 2010 through 2015, McNeill directed episodes of ''V''., '' Smash,
White Collar White collar may refer to: * White-collar worker, a professional who performs office-based or similar service-based jobs, as opposed to a blue-collar worker, whose job requires manual labor * White-collar boxing * White-collar crime The term ...
, Breaking In,
The Mentalist ''The Mentalist'' is an American procedural drama television series that ran from September 23, 2008, until February 18, 2015, broadcasting 151 episodes over seven seasons, on CBS. Created by Bruno Heller, who was also its executive producer, t ...
, Blue Bloods'', ''
Suburgatory ''Suburgatory'' is an American television sitcom created by Emily Kapnek that aired on ABC from September 28, 2011, to May 14, 2014. The series originally aired on Wednesday nights at 8:30/7:30 Central following '' The Middle''. The title is a ...
'', ''
Warehouse 13 ''Warehouse 13'' is an American science fiction television series that originally ran from July 7, 2009, to May 19, 2014, on the Syfy network, and was executively produced by Jack Kenny and David Simkins for Universal Cable Productions. Des ...
,
Mind Games Mind games (also power games or head games) are actions performed for reasons of psychological one-upmanship, often employing passive–aggressive behavior to specifically demoralize or dis-empower the thinking subject, making the aggressor ...
'', and ''
Red Band Society ''Red Band Society'' is an American Teen drama, teen Medical drama, medical comedy-drama television series that aired on Fox Broadcasting Company, Fox from September 17, 2014, to February 7, 2015. It was developed by Margaret Nagle. Cast and ...
.'' In 2013 McNeill became and Executive Producer and Director of ''Girlfriends Guide to Divorce'' for all 5 seasons. As of 2019, he has directed episodes of the Fox series ''
The Orville ''The Orville'' is an American science fiction comedy drama television series created by Seth MacFarlane, who also stars as the protagonist Ed Mercer, an officer in the Planetary Union's line of exploratory space vessels in the 25th century. It ...
'', as well as episodes of ''
A Million Little Things ''A Million Little Things'' is an American family drama television series created by DJ Nash for ABC. Produced by ABC Signature and Kapital Entertainment, it features an ensemble cast including David Giuntoli, Grace Park, Romany Malco, Chris ...
, The Resident'', and '' Suits'', and Executive Produced and Directed '' The Gifted''. In 2021, McNeill Executive Produced and directed several episodes of the Disney+ series ''Turner & Hooch''. In 2019, he became the producer-director on SYFY's ''Resident Alien'', now in its 4th season. From 2022 to 2024 McNeill has directed episodes of ''
So Help Me Todd ''So Help Me Todd'' is an American legal comedy-drama television series, created by Scott Prendergast, that premiered on September 29, 2022, on CBS. The series follows a talented but directionless private investigator, who begrudgingly agrees ...
'', ''
True Lies ''True Lies'' is a 1994 American action comedy film written and directed by James Cameron. It stars Arnold Schwarzenegger as Harry Tasker, a U.S. government agent, who struggles to balance his double life as a spy with his familial duties, ...
'', and '' Alert: Missing Persons Unit''.


Podcast

In May 2020, McNeill and ''Voyager'' co-star Garrett Wang started the podcast ''The Delta Flyers'', wherein they discuss episodes of'' Voyager''. The show has been successful enough that it has progressed to episodes of ''Deep Space Nine'', with
Armin Shimerman Armin Shimerman (born November 5, 1949) is an American actor known for his role as Quark (Star Trek), Quark the Ferengi in the ''Star Trek'' franchise, appearing as the character in all seven seasons of ''Star Trek: Deep Space Nine'' (1993–199 ...
and Terry Farrell as regular hosts.


Personal life

McNeill and his first wife, Carol, had three children together before their 2015 divorce. In 2005, McNeill directed his then teenaged daughter, Taylor, when she had a small role in the episode "
The Pleiades The Pleiades (), also known as Seven Sisters and Messier 45 (M45), is an asterism of an open star cluster containing young B-type stars in the northwest of the constellation Taurus. At a distance of about 444 light-years, it is among the nea ...
" of the series '' Summerland''. His son Kyle is a singer songwriter. McNeill marrie
Rebecca Jayne McNeill
in Vancouver, Canada, on March 7, 2021.Wedding Photos on Instagram
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Filmography


Films


Television


Video games


References


External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:McNeill, Robert Duncan 1964 births 20th-century American male actors 21st-century American male actors American male film actors American male television actors American television directors Juilliard School alumni Living people Male actors from North Carolina