Robert Duncan McNeill

Summary

Robert Duncan McNeill (born November 9, 1964)[1][2] is an American director, producer, and actor. As an actor, he is best known for his role as Lieutenant Tom Paris on the television series Star Trek: Voyager. He has also served as an executive producer and frequent director of the television series Chuck, Resident Alien, The Gifted, and Turner & Hooch.

Robert Duncan McNeill
McNeill at the Phoenix Comic Con in 2011
Born (1964-11-09) November 9, 1964 (age 59)[1][2]
EducationJuilliard School
Occupation(s)Actor, producer, director
Years active1981–present
Spouses
Carol Seder
(m. 1988; div. 2015)
Rebecca Jayne Sims
(m. 2021)
Children3
Websiterdmdirector.com

Personal life edit

McNeill and his first wife, Carol, had three children together before their 2015 divorce.[3] In 2005, McNeill directed his then teenaged daughter, Taylor, when she had a small role in the episode "The Pleiades" of the series Summerland.[4] His son Kyle is a singer songwriter.[5] McNeill married Rebecca Jayne Sims in Vancouver, Canada, on March 7, 2021.[6]

Career edit

Acting edit

McNeill grew up in Atlanta, and began his career acting in local and regional productions before becoming a student at Juilliard School in New York City.[7][8] He enjoyed early success as a professional actor, winning the role of Charlie Brent on All My Children[1][9] and starring in the feature film Masters of the Universe.[1][10] He also starred in an episode of the 1980s version of The Twilight Zone, "A Message From Charity".[11] He then appeared with Stockard Channing in the Broadway production of Six Degrees of Separation[12] before returning to Los Angeles to pursue roles on television. He appeared in the music video for "Material Girl" as one of several tuxedoed gentlemen dancing with Madonna. [13] He also featured in guest roles on numerous TV series, including L.A. Law; Quantum Leap; and Murder, She Wrote. He was a featured cast member on the short-lived 1992 series Going to Extremes,[14][15] Another guest role that same year was in "The First Duty", an episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation, in which he played Nick Locarno, a Starfleet Academy cadet and squad leader who pressures fellow cadet Wesley Crusher into covering up their wrongdoings. He would later become a Trek regular in 1995 on Star Trek: Voyager, on which he played Tom Paris, a Starfleet officer with a backstory similar to Locarno's.[16] Other credits include Zebulon in "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat" at the Paper Mill Playhouse and Judas in "Godspell" at the Lamb's Theatre.

Directing edit

 
McNeill at the 2009 Fan Expo Canada Convention

McNeill began his directing career with several episodes of Voyager.[17] He then wrote, produced, and directed two award-winning short films, The Battery and 9mm of Love,[1][18] 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 and Crossing Jordan, McNeill is now focusing on his directing career, helming episodes of Dawson's Creek, Everwood, Star Trek: Enterprise, Dead Like Me, The O.C., One Tree Hill, Las Vegas, Summerland, and Supernatural. His directing credits for 2006–2007 include episodes of Desperate Housewives, Medium, Standoff, The Nine, The Knights of Prosperity, In Case of Emergency, What About Brian, and My Boys. In 2007, he directed the season 5 premiere of Las Vegas, the pilot of Samantha Who? (which features his Star Trek: Voyager costar Tim Russ) and then signed on as a producer-director of the NBC show Chuck, helming numerous episodes, including the first episode of a television show to be broadcast entirely in 3D. In 2010, McNeill directed an episode of V, an ABC science fiction television series produced by Scott Rosenbaum, a former writer and executive producer on Chuck.[19][20] As of 2019 he has directed two episodes of the Fox series The Orville and The Gifted. In 2021, McNeill directed several episodes of the Disney+ series Turner & Hooch.

Podcast edit

In May 2020, McNeill and Voyager co-star Garrett Wang started the podcast The Delta Flyers where they discuss episodes of Voyager.[21]

Filmography edit

Films edit

Year Title Credit Role Notes
1981 Sharky's Machine Teen on bus Uncredited role
1987 Masters of the Universe Kevin Corrigan
1997 Trekkies Himself
1998 The Battery Director and Executive Producer Short film
2000 9mm of Love Director, Writer, and Executive Producer
2002 Infested Eric
2011 FedCon XX: The SciFi Experience Himself Documentary

Television edit

Year Title Credit Role Notes
1985 Ein Fenster in Manhattan Eric TV movie
The Twilight Zone Peter Wood "A Message from Charity"
ABC Weekend Specials Erik Mason Season 9, Episode 2
1985–1988 All My Children Charlie Brent
1989 Mothers, Daughters and Lovers Actor TV movie
1990 CBS Schoolbreak Special Richard Season 7, Episode 2
Quantum Leap Greg Truesdale episode "Good Night, Dear Heart"
Lucky Chances Craven Richmond miniseries
1991 L.A. Law Mike Riley Season 6, Episode 2
1992 Star Trek: The Next Generation Cadet First Class Nicholas Locarno "The First Duty"
Homefront Bill Caswell 4 episodes
1992–93 Going to Extremes Colin Midford 17 episodes
1993 Spies Sam the coast guard TV movie
1994 Murder, She Wrote Danny Kinkaid Season 11, Episode 4
Sisters Andrew Simms Season 5, Episode 4
Wild Oats Actor Season 1, Episode 1
One More Mountain Milt Eliot TV movie
Second Chances Pete Dyson 3 episodes
1995–2001 Star Trek: Voyager Tom Paris 172 episodes
1999 Monster! Co-Producer TV movie
Early Edition Police Chief Joe Frawley Season 3, Episode 21
2000 The Journey of Allen Strange Director Season 3, Episode 13
2001–03 Dawson's Creek 7 episodes
2001–04 Star Trek: Enterprise 4 episodes as director
2002 Crossing Jordan Matt Season 2, Episode 1
The Outer Limits Commander Ellis Ward "The Human Factor"
Everwood Director Season 1, Episode 10
2003–04 One Tree Hill 2 episodes
Dead Like Me 2 episodes
2004 The Days 2 episodes
2004–05 Summerland 4 episodes
2004–07 Las Vegas 4 episodes
2005–2006 The O.C. 2 episodes
Desperate Housewives 2 episodes
2005–13 Supernatural 2 episodes
2005 Eyes Season 1, Episode 5
Medium Season 2, Episode 9
2006 Standoff Season 1, Episode 9
My Boys Season 1, Episode 5
The Danny Comden Project TV movie
Jump
2007 Samantha Who? Season 1, Episode 1
The Knights of Prosperity 2 episodes
The Nine Season 1, Episode 12
What About Brian Director and Producer 7 episodes as director, 3 episodes as producer
In Case of Emergency Director Season 1, Episode 2
2007–12 Chuck Executive Producer (2010–2012)
Co-Executive Producer (2010)
Supervising Producer (2008–2009)
Producer (2007–2008)
Director (2007–2012)
Operative (#5.13) 73 episodes
2010 V Director Season 1, Episode 12
2012 Smash Season 1, Episode 14
Breaking In Season 2, Episode 6
White Collar Season 4, Episode 4
2012–13 666 Park Avenue Director and Co-Executive Producer 3 episodes as director, 19 episodes as co-executive producer
2013 The Mentalist Director 3 episodes
2013–18 Blue Bloods 2 episodes
2014–18 Girlfriends' Guide to Divorce Director and Executive Producer 14 episodes as director, 19 episodes as executive producer
2014 Suburgatory Director 1 episode
2014 Warehouse 13 1 episode
2014 Mind Games 1 episode
2015 Red Band Society 1 episode
2016 Heartbeat Director and Executive Producer Directed "Pilot", 10 episodes as executive producer
2017 Salvation Director 1 episode
2017–2019 The Orville 2 episodes
2018–2019 The Gifted Director and Executive Producer 3 episodes as director, 16 episodes as executive producer
2019 The Resident Director 1 episode
2019 A Million Little Things 1 episode
2021-present Resident Alien Director and Executive Producer 6 episodes as director, 25 episodes as executive producer
2021 Turner & Hooch Director and Co-Executive Producer 4 episodes
2021–2023 Star Trek: Lower Decks Tom Paris, Nicholas Locarno 3 episodes
2022 So Help Me Todd Director Episode: "Second Second Chance"
2023 True Lies Episode: "Public Secrets"

Video games edit

Year Title Role Notes
2000 Star Trek: Voyager – Elite Force Tom Paris Voice role
2015 Star Trek Online

References edit

  1. ^ a b c d e "Filmography". Official Homepage of Robert Duncan McNeill. Retrieved 2007-03-10.
  2. ^ a b "Robert Duncan McNeill biography". TV.com. Archived from the original on 2020-06-19. Retrieved 2009-08-05.
  3. ^ Sloan, Allison (1993-01-03). "Easy Rider". Soap Opera Digest. Retrieved 2022-02-20.
  4. ^ "The Pleiades". IMDb.
  5. ^ @robertdmcneill (September 17, 2020). "My sons new album. Out now. #prouddad" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  6. ^ Wedding Photos on Instagram
  7. ^ Henderson, Kathy (June 14, 1988). "Soap Opera Digest". Retrieved 2007-03-10.
  8. ^ "Biography, Official Homepage of Robert Duncan McNeill". Retrieved 2007-03-10.
  9. ^ ""All My Children," Official Homepage of Robert Duncan McNeill". Retrieved 2007-03-10.
  10. ^ ""Masters of the Universe," Official Homepage of Robert Duncan McNeill". Retrieved 2007-03-10.
  11. ^ ""A Message From Charity" Official Homepage of Robert Duncan McNeill". Retrieved 2007-03-10.
  12. ^ ""Six Degrees of Separation" Official Homepage of Robert Duncan McNeill". Retrieved 2007-03-10.
  13. ^ ""A Message From Charity" Official Homepage of Robert Duncan McNeill". Retrieved 2007-03-10.
  14. ^ Sloan, Allison (January 1993). "Easy Rider". Soap Opera Digest. Retrieved 2007-03-10.
  15. ^ ""Going to Extremes" Official Homepage of Robert Duncan McNeill". Retrieved 2007-03-10.
  16. ^ ""Star Trek: Voyager Cast Robert Duncan McNeill" Startrek.com". Archived from the original on 2010-07-07. Retrieved 2007-03-10.
  17. ^ Kaplan, Anna L (November 1997). "Paris at the Helm: Robert Duncan McNeill on His Shift From Actor to Director". Cinefantastique. Retrieved 2007-03-10.
  18. ^ Perenson, Melissa (June 2000). "The Final Season Looms, but Robert Duncan McNeill will Always Have Paris". Star Trek Communicator. Retrieved 2007-03-10.
  19. ^ "Filmography as Director, Internet Movie Database". IMDb. Retrieved 2007-08-23.
  20. ^ "Scott Rosenbaum, Filmography as Producer, Writer, Internet Movie Database". IMDb. Retrieved 2007-08-23.
  21. ^ Briar (2020-04-19). "'Star Trek: Voyager' Actors Robert Duncan McNeill and Garrett Wang to Launch Podcast 'The Delta Flyers'". Nerds and Beyond. Retrieved 2023-07-10.

External links edit