Tim Russ

Tim Russ
Russ at the 2022 Phoenix Fan Fusion
Born	Timothy Darrell Russ (1956-06-22) June 22, 1956 (age 69) Washington, D.C., U.S.
Occupations	Actor musician screenwriter producer director
Years active	1985–present
Children	1

Timothy Darrell Russ ^[1] (born June 22, 1956) is an American actor, musician, screenwriter, director and amateur astronomer. He is best known for his roles as Lieutenant Commander Tuvok on Star Trek: Voyager ; Robert Johnson in Crossroads (1986); Casey in East of Hope Street (1998); Frank on Samantha Who? ; Principal Franklin on the Nickelodeon sitcom iCarly ; D. C. Montana on The Highwaymen (1987–1988), and for his brief role in Spaceballs (1987). He appeared in The Rookie: Feds (2022) and reprised his role as Captain Tuvok on Season 3 of Star Trek: Picard .

Early life, family and education

Russ was born in Washington, D.C., on June 22, 1956, to a government employee mother and a U.S. Air Force officer father. ^[1] He spent part of his childhood in Turkey. He attended his senior year of high school at Rome Free Academy, from which he graduated in 1974. ^[2] He graduated from St. Edward's University with a degree in theater arts. He additionally attended graduate school at Illinois State University where he was inducted into its Hall of Fame.

Career

Acting

In 1985, Russ appeared in The Twilight Zone episode "Kentucky Rye" as Officer #2. He made a brief appearance in the comedy film Spaceballs as a trooper who "combs" the desert with a giant comb. ^{[3] [4]} Russ had a prominent role in the Charles Bronson film Death Wish 4.

Russ has been involved in the Star Trek franchise as a voice and film actor, writer, director, and producer. He played several minor roles before landing the role as the main character Tuvok in Star Trek: Voyager. Russ screentested, in 1987, for the role of Geordi La Forge on Star Trek: The Next Generation before being cast as Tuvok. Russ went into Voyager as a dedicated Trekkie with an extensive knowledge of Vulcan lore, ^[5] and has played the following roles in the Star Trek universe:

• Devor, a mercenary aboard the Enterprise-D disguised as a service engineer in The Next Generation episode "Starship Mine" (1993)
• T'Kar, a Klingon in the Deep Space Nine episode "Invasive Procedures" (1993)
• A human tactical Lieutenant on the USS Enterprise-B in the film Star Trek Generations (1994).
• Tuvok's Mirror Universe counterpart in the Deep Space Nine episode "Through the Looking Glass" (1995).
• A changeling impersonating Tuvok in Star Trek: Picard season 3.

In 1995, Russ co-wrote the story for the Malibu Comics Star Trek: Deep Space Nine #29 and 30, with Mark Paniccia. Russ performed voice acting roles as Tuvok for the video games Star Trek: Voyager – Elite Force and Star Trek: Elite Force II . Russ is the director and one of the stars of the fan series Star Trek: Of Gods and Men , the first third of which was released in December 2007, with the remaining two-thirds released in 2008. ^[6]

Russ's character's name D. C. Montana in The Highwayman was a reference to Trek writer D. C. Fontana.^{[ citation needed ]}

In 1990, he appeared in an episode of Freddy's Nightmares . ^[7]

Russ directed and co-starred in Star Trek: Renegades , and in both 2013 and 2014 reprised his role as the voice of Tuvok in the massively multiplayer online game Star Trek Online . ^[8]

Later work

Russ at the Paradise City Comic Con, December 2016

Russ appeared as Frank, a sarcastic doorman in the sitcom Samantha Who? from 2007 to 2009, and appeared for six seasons as Principal Ted Franklin in Nickelodeon's show iCarly . He also portrayed a doctor on an episode of Hannah Montana , "I Am Hannah, Hear Me Croak".

Russ won an Emmy Award in 2014 for public service ads he did for the FBI's Los Angeles Field Office on intellectual property theft and cyberbullying. ^[9]

He played Captain Kells in the 2015 Bethesda Game Studios video game Fallout 4 . ^[10]

In June 2025, following Mel Brooks’ announcement of Spaceballs 2, slated for release in 2027, Russ teased on social media that he may appear in the film, along with his more famous co-stars. ^[11]

Music and astronomy

Russ has been a lifelong musician and a singer. ^[12] In addition, Russ has been an avid amateur astronomer most of his adult life, and is a member of the Los Angeles Astronomical Society. In 2021 he was among a small group of citizen astronomers who assisted in detection of the asteroid 617 Patroclus in preparation for NASA's Lucy probe. ^[13] In February 2022, he stated that he owned a 10-inch Dobsonian telescope, an 8" Schmidt-Cassegrain telescope, and a Unistellar eVscope. ^[14]

Filmography

Film

Tim Russ film credits

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1986	Crossroads	Robert Johnson
	Fire with Fire	Jerry Washington
1987	Spaceballs	Desert-Combing Trooper
	Death Wish 4: The Crackdown	Jesse
1988	Bird	Harris
	Pulse	Policeman
1991	Eve of Destruction	Carter
1992	Night Eyes 2	Jesse Younger
	Mr. Saturday Night	Assistant director
1994	Dead Connection	Detective Chuck Roland
	Star Trek Generations	Enterprise-B Bridge Officer
1998	East of Hope Street	Casey
2005	The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari	Town Clerk
2006	The Oh in Ohio	Douglas
	Unbeatable Harold	Diner Manager
2007	Live Free or Die Hard	Agent Summers	Die Hard 4.0 (outside North America)
2008	InAlienable	News Anchor
2011	Rampart	Command Staff Member #1
2014	Alongside Night	General Jack Guerdon
	Asteroid vs. Earth	Captain Rogers
	Greyscale	Gavin Calhoun
2015	Star Trek: Renegades	Tuvok	Also director [15]
2018	5th Passenger	Commander Franklin
	A Fairy's Game	Warlock	Voice
	Junkie	Martin Green
	Karma	Frank Hudson
	Dick Dickster	Sammy Davas Jr.
2019	Vitals	The Surgeon
2020	The Midnight Sky	Mason Mosley	[16]
2023	Batman: The Doom That Came to Gotham	Lucius Fox	Voice [17] [18]

Television

Tim Russ television credits

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1985, 1987	Hill Street Blues	Paramedic / Burton / Ben Childers	3 episodes
1985	The Twilight Zone	Officer #2	Episode: "Kentucky Rye"
1986	Amazing Stories	Security Guard #1	Episode: "You Gotta Believe Me"
	Heart of the City	Collins	Episode: "When Push Comes to Shove"
1987	Jake and the Fatman	Pete	Episode: "Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?"
	Starman	Tyrone Washington	Episode: "The System"
	Timestalkers	Sergeant Filton	TV film
	The Twilight Zone	Archer	Episode: "Voices in the Earth"
	Vietnam War Story	Sgt. Lemon	Episode: "The Mine"
	Thirtysomething	Salesman	Episode: "Pilot"
	Throb	Man #2	Episode: "Whose Coup Is It Anyway?"
1987–1988	The Highwayman	D.C. Montana	9 episodes
1988	21 Jump Street	Ray Davies	Episode: "Slippin' Into Darkness"
	Roots: The Gift	Marcellus the slave doorman	TV film
1989	Alien Nation	Ronald Ketnes	Episode: "Pilot"
	Beauty and the Beast	Lieutenant Eric Parker	Episode: "Sticks and Stones"
	The People Next Door	Answering Machine Guy	2 episodes
1990	Cop Rock	Juror	2 episodes
	Family Matters	Jeff	Episode: "Sitting Pretty"
	Freddy's Nightmares	Dr. Henry Picard	Episode: "Dust to Dust"
	Mancuso, FBI	Malcolm Rashad	Episode: "Conspiracy"
1990, 1992	The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air	Eugene / Agent Collins	3 episodes
1991	Lifestories	K.C.	Episode: "Darryl Tevis"
	Dead Silence	Deputy Ryan	TV film
1992	Tequila and Bonetti	'Link'	Episode: "The Rose Cadillac"
1993	Hangin' with Mr. Cooper	Victor	Episode: "Seoul Shake"
	Living Single	Officer Taylor	Episode: "Burglar in the House"
	Murphy Brown	Secret Service Officer	Episode: "The Egg & I"
	Star Trek: The Next Generation	Devor	Episode: "Starship Mine"
1993, 1995	Star Trek: Deep Space Nine	T'Kar / Mirror Universe Tuvok	2 episodes
1993	Journey to the Center of the Earth	Joe Briggs	TV film
1994	Hangin' with Mr. Cooper	Victor	Episode: "Wedding Bell Blues"
	Melrose Place	Roger Chambers	Episode: "It's a Bad World After All"
	SeaQuest DSV	Martin 'Mycroft' Clemens	Episode: "Photon Bullet"
1995–2001	Star Trek: Voyager	Lieutenant Commander Tuvok	172 episodes
1997	Spider-Man: The Animated Series	Hobie Brown / Prowler (voice)	Episode: "The Prowler" [18]
2002	Any Day Now	Juror	Episode: "The Real Thing"
2005	ER	Dr. Medford	Episode: "Alone in a Crowd"
	Unfabulous	Officer Jones	Episode: "The Job"
2006	NCIS	Jerry Kemper	Episode: "Jeopardy"
	General Hospital	Dr. Trent	4 episodes
	Twenty Good Years	Marty	3 episodes
2007	Hannah Montana	Dr. Meyer	Episode: "I Am Hannah, Hear Me Croak"
	Without a Trace	Phil Hansen	Episode: "Tail Spin"
2007–2012	iCarly	Principal Ted Franklin	11 episodes
2007–2009	Samantha Who?	Frank the Doorman	35 episodes
2009	Lincoln Heights	Principal	Episode: "Lucky"
	Trust Me	Gordon Benedict	2 episodes
2010	CSI: Miami	Leonard Sterling	Episode: "Meltdown"
	The Secret Life of the American Teenager	Vicar	Episode: "Ben There, Done That"
2010–2011	Sym-Bionic Titan	Solomon (voice)	9 episodes [18]
2011	Good Luck Charlie	Dr. Meyers	Episode: "L.A.R.P. in the Park"
	Suits	Robert Geller	Episode: "Identity Crisis"
	The Young and the Restless	Judge Morrison	Episodes 9,741 and 9,742
2012	The Soul Man	Devon	Episode: "How to Be a Church Lady"
	Gibby	Principal Ted Franklin	Unaired Pilot
2013	Castle	Dr. Malcolm Wickfield	Episode: "Time Will Tell"
	Guys with Kids	Specialist	Episode: "Rare Breed"
	Lab Rats	Special Agent Gordon	Episode: "Parallel Universe"
2014	Regular Show	Sergeant, Helicopter Pilot (voice)	Episode: "Portable Toilet" [18]
2015	The Night Shift	Bossman	Episode: "Recovery"
	Sharknado 3: Oh Hell No!	General Gottlieb	TV film
2017	The Good Doctor	Patient Chuck	Episode: "Oliver"
	The Fosters	Judge James Eskin	2 episodes
2018	Criminal Minds	Agent Lawrence	Episode: "To A Better Place"
	9-1-1	Marriage Counsellor	Episode: "Let Go"
	NCIS: New Orleans	Felix	Episode: "Ties That Bind"
	Superior Donuts	Professor Mills	Episode: "Grades of Wrath"
	Supergirl	Councilman Jul-Us	Episode: "Dark Side of The Moon"
2019	Black Monday	Walter Darcy	Episode: "339"
	PEN15	Mr. Wyzell	2 episodes
	The Orville	Dr. Sherman	Episode: "Lasting Impressions"
	NASA's Unexplained Files	Himself, Astronomer	Episode: "Did Aliens Nuke Mars?"
	Swamp Thing	Dr. Chowodury	2 episodes
	American Horror Story: 1984	David Chambers	Episode: "Red Dawn"
	How to Get Away with Murder	Judge Kofi Bonaparte	Episode: "I Want to Be Free"
2020	The Resident	Tyrone Griffiths	Episode: "Last Shot"
2021	Them	The Custodian	2 episodes
	4400	Elijah Landry	Episode: “You Only Meant Well”
2021-2023	iCarly	Principal Ted Franklin	2 episodes
2023	Poker Face	Max	Episode: "The Orpheus Syndrome"
	Star Trek: Picard	Captain Tuvok	2 episodes [19]
2024	Ted	E.R Doctor	Episode: "He's Gotta Have It"
	NCIS	Dr. Erik Harper	Episode: "Heartless"

Video games

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2000	Star Trek: Voyager – Elite Force	Lieutenant Commander Tuvok
2003	Star Trek: Elite Force II		[18]
2005	Law & Order: Criminal Intent	Various
2006	Lost Planet: Extreme Condition	Bandero	[18]
2009	Stormrise	Donovan
	Marvel: Ultimate Alliance 2	Black Panther
	Dragon Age: Origins	Zathrian
2012	The Secret World	Harrison Blake
2013	Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII	Additional voices	English dub
2013–2014	Star Trek Online	Tuvok	[18]
2014	The Elder Scrolls Online	Blademaster Qariar
2015	Fallout 4	Lancer Captain Kells	[18]
2016	Mirror's Edge: Catalyst	Birdman	[18]
	Fallout 4: Far Harbor	Zealot Ware, Lancer Captain Kells
	Mafia III	Additional voices
2017	Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus	Gunslinger Joe
2020	The Last of Us Part II	Additional Voices
	World of Warcraft: Shadowlands	Thenios
2022	Horizon Forbidden West	Jetakka	[18]
2023	Starfield	Dad, Guillaume Degarmo, Maurice Lyon
2024	Lego Horizon Adventures	Sylens

Production

Year	Title	Notes
1998	East of Hope Street	Credited with Nate Thomas

Writing

Year	Title	Notes
1998	East of Hope Street	Credited with Nate Thomas

Directing

Year	Title	Notes
1998	Star Trek: Voyager	Episode: "Living Witness"
2007	Star Trek: Of Gods and Men	Fan production
	Plugged	Short film satirizing advertising (in final edits)
2014	Star Trek: Renegades	Fan production

References

1. "Tim Russ Biography (1956-)". filmreference.com.
2. "Knight Time Interview w Tim Russ". January 21, 2021 – via YouTube.
3. "Clip of 'combing the desert', from the movie 'Spaceballs'". July 15, 2012 – via YouTube.
4. "Tim Russ". IMDb .
5. "Set Report: iF Magazine Boldly Goes To Vulcan For Star Trek: Of Gods And Men". ifmagazine.com. Archived from the original on February 2, 2009.
6. Administrator. "Star Trek: Of Gods and Men".
7. Englund, Robert; Bergman, Sandahl; Brestoff, Richard; Dow, Tony (February 25, 1990). "Dust to Dust".^{[ full citation needed ]}
8. "Star Trek producers and Voyager actor Tim Russ discuss Renegades". filmindustry.network. Film Industry Network. November 17, 2012.
9. "National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences Pacific Southwest Chapter 2014 Emmy Recipients List" (PDF). nataspsw.org. Retrieved June 26, 2014.
10. "LANCER CAPTAIN KELLS". Behind the Voice Actors. Archived from the original on November 15, 2015. Retrieved April 26, 2021.
11. https://www.msn.com/en-us/movies/news/tim-russ-who-has-the-best-line-in-the-original-hints-at-spaceballs-2-return/ar-AA1GRGNE
12. "Tim Russ – Star Trek: Voyager's Tuvok". Success Circuit. Archived from the original on April 8, 2015. Retrieved April 4, 2015.
13. Kochi, Sudiksha (August 27, 2021). "'Star Trek' star Tim Russ helps detect asteroid for NASA's upcoming mission". USA Today. Archived from the original on March 19, 2023. Retrieved January 27, 2024.
14. "Tim Russ: Actor, Director, and Amateur Astronomer". Sky & Telescope. February 1, 2022. Retrieved February 20, 2023.
15. O'Connor, Kyrie (December 6, 2012). "Star Trek may get new, darker life". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved October 20, 2024.
16. Galuppo, Mia (January 14, 2020). "George Clooney's Good Morning, Midnight Adaptation Adds Ethan Peck, Sophie Rundle". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved October 20, 2024.
17. Couch, Aaron (December 6, 2022). "Batman: The Doom That Came to Gotham Sets Voice Cast (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter .
18. "Tim Russ (visual voices guide)". Behind The Voice Actors. Retrieved October 20, 2024. A green check mark indicates that a role has been confirmed using a screenshot (or collage of screenshots) of a title's list of voice actors and their respective characters found in its credits or other reliable sources of information.
19. Griffin, Louise (March 31, 2023). "Star Trek: Picard boss breaks down Tuvok Voyager cameo". Radio Times. Retrieved October 20, 2024.

External links

• Official website
• Tim Russ at IMDb  
• Tim Russ at Behind The Voice Actors