Tim Russ

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Tim Russ

At the 2004 Motor City Comic Con.
Born Timothy Darrell Russ
June 22, 1956 (1956-06-22) (age 51)
Washington, D.C., U.S.

Timothy Darrell Russ (born on June 22, 1956 in Washington, DC)[1] is an American actor, film director, screenwriter, and musician. He is best known for his roles on Star Trek: Voyager as Lieutenant Commander Tuvok and Samantha Who? as Frank the doorman.

Contents

[edit] Star Trek

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Russ has been extensively 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. Russ originally screen-tested for the role of Geordi La Forge on Star Trek: The Next Generation before gaining the role of Tuvok.[citation needed]

While many Trek actors claim to have had little interest in the franchise before they signed on for their role, Russ went into Voyager as a dedicated Trekkie with an extensive knowledge of Vulcan lore. In various interviews, the show's writers have described their occasional clashes with Russ over realistic behavior for a Vulcan, with Russ typically insisting on following continuity.[citation needed]

Aside from Tuvok, Russ has played:

  • Devor, a mercenary in the 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 Enterprise-B in the film Star Trek Generations. (1994)
  • The Spaceball soldier who tells Dark Helmet, "We ain't found shit!" in the film "Spaceballs"

Russ's 1994 appearance on the Enterprise-B in Generations can cause viewer confusion, as it was later established in the Voyager episode "Flashback" that Russ's character Tuvok was a serving Starfleet Ensign on the USS Excelsior during the events of the previous film Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country, which predated the Enterprise-B. As the Enterprise-B officer was portrayed with human ears it cannot be the early Tuvok, therefore the possibility arises of Tuvok having had a serving human lookalike in Starfleet.

As a result of his multiple character appearances, Russ is one of only two actors to have appeared with 4 out of 5 captains of the Star Trek series, the other being Jonathan Frakes (Commander Riker).[citation needed]

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 computer games Star Trek: Voyager: Elite Force and Star Trek: Elite Force II; and for the 2006 machinima animated feature film Borg War. Russ is also 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 promised for release in 2008.[citation needed]

Russ's character's name D.C. Montana in The Highwayman was a reference to Trek writer D.C. Fontana.

[edit] Later work

Russ currently appears as Frank, a sarcastic doorman in Christina Applegate's ABC comedy, Samantha Who?, as well as Principal Ted Franklin in Nickelodeon's show iCarly

[edit] Music

 This section does not cite any references or sources. (February 2008)
Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. Unverifiable material may be challenged and removed.

Russ's band went head-to-head in a competition with Howard Stern's band the Losers on an episode of Stern's radio show. The judges ultimately crowned Stern's band the winners.

The music video for the song "Kushangaza" can be seen as part of the Special Features for season 2 of Star Trek: Voyager - highlight part of the ship on page 3 of the features menu.

[edit] Filmography

[edit] Acting roles

[edit] Writer

[edit] Director

[edit] References

  1. ^ Biography for Tim Russ. at the Internet Movie Database. Retrieved on 2007-10-30.

[edit] External links

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Major Cast Members of Star Trek: Voyager