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Mission Log: A Roddenberry Star Trek Podcast

The One with Tim Russ

·56 min·5 clips
Tim Russ reveals his 50-year music career and passion for live performance, far beyond his role as Tuvok.
This supplemental episode of Mission Log features an interview with Tim Russ, the actor who portrayed Tuvok on Star Trek: Voyager. The conversation begins with Russ's music career, which spans 50 years and focuses on live performances of roots music and obscure cover songs. He then details his transition into directing, describing the 'Star Trek directing school' on Voyager where he shadowed editors and producers for seasons before directing the episode 'Living Witness'. Russ critiques modern television series for padding stories and expresses a preference for anthology formats like Twilight Zone. He explains the collaborative process with directors of photography and the exhaustion of directing. The discussion shifts to Russ's advocacy for actors communicating with writers to shape their characters, as he did on Voyager. He proposes a Star Trek episode tackling disinformation, arguing it's a critical societal issue. Russ recalls his role in the 1988 series Highwayman, highlighting on-set chaos and clashes between co-stars. He reflects on Tuvok's character development, noting episodes where logic failed the Vulcan. The interview concludes with mentions of his charity work with the Long Beach Blues Society and Hollywood Food Coalition, and updates on upcoming projects like Spaceballs 2 and audio series roles.

As heard by us

Tim Russ connects Tuvok, music, and television craft through a candid look at the work behind the role.

Mission Log's conversation with Tim Russ works best when it moves from performance into craft. Russ, known to Voyager audiences as Tuvok, starts with music, including convention appearances, CDs, and local Los Angeles gigs, then folds that background into a broader account of…

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Why you'd press play

Want Tuvok talking music, directing, and the Voyager shot choice that could send a Dutch angle back for reshoots? Press play.

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