Robert Duncan McNeill Robert Duncan McNeill is the actor best known for portraying Flight Controller Thomas Eugene Paris in every episode of . He had previously appeared as Cadet Nicholas Locarno in the fifth season episode of entitled in . He has also directed episodes of and . McNeill filmed his scenes for " The First Duty " between Tuesday and Wednesday and Friday and Monday on Paramount Stage 9 and 16 . Several costumes worn by McNeill during the run of " Voyager " were sold off on the It ' s A Wrap ! sale and auction on eBay , including a Starfleet undershirt and his cadet uniform from " The First Duty " . McNeill attended high school in Atlanta , Georgia after moving around with his parents frequently as a child . While in high school , he performed in many regional theaters and eventually decided to pursue an acting career . He auditioned for and won a place at the acting conservatory at The Julliard School in New York . While at Juilliard , he performed in numerous stage plays and began to audition for roles in film and television . McNeill made his feature film debut with an uncredited appearance in the 1981 thriller " Sharky ' s Machine " , which was filmed on location in Atlanta and also featured the likes of Bernie Casey , John Fiedler , Brian Keith , and Richard Libertini . McNeill ' s character initially had lines , but dialogue ended up being cut from the final edition of the film . McNeill ' s first true break came when he won the role of Charlie Brent on the popular daytime soap opera " All My Children " in 1986 . Soon after he was cast in a critically praised episode of the 1980s edition of " The Twilight Zone " , " A Message from Charity " , co - starring with James Cromwell . He went on to co - star with DS9 guest performers Frank Langella and Meg Foster in the 1987 science fiction / fantasy film " Masters of the Universe " , which also featured McNeill ' s frequent " Voyager " co - star Anthony De Longis . In 1988 , after winning a Daytime Emmy nomination for Best Young Actor , McNeill left " All My Children " to join the cast of the Broadway hit " Six Degrees of Separation " , winning praise for his portrayal of the character Rick . He would go on to appear in the television mini - series " Lucky / Chances " in 1990 , along with DS9 guest star Jimmie F . Skaggs . That same year , McNeill made a guest appearance on the hit TV series " Quantum Leap " , starring future actors Scott Bakula and Dean Stockwell . The following year , he appeared on " L . A . Law " ( with Corbin Bernsen and Larry Drake ) , and in 1992 , he would make his first " Star Trek " appearance , playing Nick Locarno in the " Next Generation " episode " The First Duty . " He was a featured guest star in an episode of " Murder , She Wrote " ( with William Windom ) and in the TV movie " One More Mountain " ( with Jean Simmons and Larry Drake ) . He joined the cast of the short - lived television series " Going to Extremes " and performed again on Broadway before winning the role of Tom Paris on " Star Trek : Voyager " . It was during his time on " Voyager " that McNeill began a career behind the camera . Beginning with the " Voyager " episode in , McNeill has made an impressive turn as a director for episodic television . He would go on to direct three more episodes of " Voyager " . He also wrote and directed two short original films , " The Battery " ( 1998 ) and " 9mm of Love " ( 2000 ) , both of which featured his " Voyager " co - star Ethan Phillips . Since then , he has directed episodes of shows like " Dawson ' s Creek " , " Dead Like Me " , " The O . C . " , " One Tree Hill " , " Supernatural " , " Desperate Housewives " , " Las Vegas " , and , of course , " Star Trek : Enterprise " . More recently , he directed for " The Nine " ( a short - lived series which starred John Billingsley ) and the J . J . Abrams / Bryan Burk - produced " What About Brian " . He also directed the pilot episode for " Samantha Who ? " , starring his " Voyager " castmate Tim Russ . Since " Star Trek : Voyager " came to an end in 2001 , McNeill has worked primarily as a director . However , he did co - star in the independent horror movie " Infested " in 2002 . This film also featured Mark Margolis in the cast . McNeill also appeared in two episodes of " Crossing Jordan " ( one in 2002 , another in 2005 ) , a series starring Miguel Ferrer . He was a producer and director on the NBC series " Chuck " , with Tony Todd and Bonita Friedericy co - starring and John Fleck guest - starring . McNeill is the only actor to have worked with Ray Walston in all three of Walston ' s " Star Trek " episodes , " The First Duty " on TNG and and on " Voyager " . McNeil has stated that he was offered the chance to direct a episode but was unavailable , though stating that he would " love to do it " . McNeill currently resides in Los Angeles with his wife , Carol Seder ( whom he married around 1988 ) , and their three children : daughter Taylor ( b . 11 June 1990 ) and sons Kyle ( b . 12 April 1994 ) and Carter Jay ( b . 21 January 1998 ) .