Robert Picardo Robert " Bob " Picardo is the actor best known to " Star Trek " fans for playing Starfleet ' s Emergency Medical Hologram , most notably The Doctor on . He also played the EMH creator , Dr . Lewis Zimmerman , as well as some of his other holographic creations . Biographical information . Robert Picardo – or " Bob " , as he likes to be called – was born in Philadelphia , Pennsylvania . He attended William Penn Charter School , graduating in 1971 , after which he attended Yale University . Coincidentally , he entered Yale aiming towards a career as a doctor , having graduated from Penn Charter as a pre - med major . However , while there , he was hit with the acting bug after performing in several university productions and graduated with a BA in Drama in 1975 . Little did he know that he would portray a doctor in numerous projects in the future . In 1977 , Picardo made his Broadway debut in a production of " Gemini " . Since then , he has had a long career on stage , in film and on television . He has also established himself as a singer and an author in recent years . He currently resides in Los Angeles , California with his wife , Linda , and their two daughters , Nicollette Arianna ( born 14 March 1989 ) and Gina Emira ( born 3 November 1991 ) . On stage . Picardo has been performing on stage since his days at Penn Charter , playing half the team of " Box and Cox " . In 10th grade , he performed as Grumio in a high school production of William Shakespeare ' s " The Taming of the Shrew " . This was followed by performances in a few productions at Yale ( including Leonard Bernstein ' s " Mass " ) and a number of other plays , ultimately leading him to the Off - Broadway stage , performing in David Mamet ' s " Sexual Perversity in Chicago " and Martin Duberman ' s " Visions of Kerouac " . In his first Broadway play , " Gemini " , Picardo portrayed the role of Francis Geminiani , opposite Danny Aiello ' s Fran Geminiani . The play had a total of 1 , 819 performances from 21 May 1977 through 6 September 1981 . From June through December of 1978 , Picardo was performing in another Broadway play called " Tribute " , co - starring with Jack Lemmon and actress Catherine Hicks . Picardo ' s more recent stage work includes " Lend Me a Tenor " ( 1992 , with Paul Dooley ) and " A Class Act " ( 2002 ) , both performed at the Pasadena Playhouse in California . He most recently starred in a musical revival of " Gemini " at the Prince Music Theater . Feature films . Joe Dante . Picardo is among several " Star Trek " alumni who have appeared in numerous films directed by . Other members of the informal Dante troupe include Henry Gibson , Dick Miller , Wendy Schaal , William Schallert , and Kenneth Tobey . Picardo has also worked with Dante on a few television projects . In 1981 , Picardo made his feature film debut in Dante ' s contemporary horror classic , " The Howling " . Picardo ' s character , Eddie Quist , was the instigator of the film ' s plot and was involved in the film ' s most famous scene , the werewolf transformation . Miller and Tobey also appeared in this film , as did one - time guest star Noble Willingham . From then on , Picardo appeared in almost every film and TV movie from , as did Dick Miller . Both appeared in Dante ' s films " Explorers " ( 1985 , also with James Cromwell and Brooke Bundy ) , " Innerspace " ( 1987 , with Wendy Schaal , William Schallert , Henry Gibson , Kenneth Tobey , and Andrea Martin ) , " The ' burbs " ( 1989 , with Schaal and Gibson ) , " Gremlins 2 : The New Batch " ( 1990 , with Tobey and Gibson , as well as Zach Galligan , John Glover , Keye Luke , Ron Fassler , and Jerry Goldsmith ) , " Matinee " ( 1993 , with Schallert ) , and ( 1998 , starring Kirsten Dunst and Schaal and featuring the voices of Frank Langella and Michael McKean ) . Both Picardo and Miller most recently appeared in Dante ' s " Looney Tunes : Back in Action " ( 2003 ) , in which Picardo and fellow " Trek " actors Ron Perlman , George Murdock , and Marc Lawrence played Acme Corporation Vice Presidents . Other notable film roles . One of Picardo ' s earlier films was a strange 1983 musical comedy called " Get Crazy " , in which he played an overzealous firefighter who ends up getting " lit " on " magic water " . This film , while not directed by Joe Dante , " also " featured an appearance by Dick Miller . The star of the film , however , was actor Malcolm McDowell ; Ed Begley , Jr . and Clint Howard had roles in the film , as well . The following year , Picardo appeared in " Oh God ! You Devil " , which also featured James Cromwell . In 1985 , Picardo appeared opposite as a wicked female creature known as Meg Mucklebones in Ridley Scott ' s " Legend " scored by Jerry Goldsmith . The following year , he made a brief appearance as a man having an affair with Rodney Dangerfield ' s wife , played by DS9 guest actress Adrienne Barbeau , in " Back to School " . This film also starred Terry Farrell and Sally Kellerman and featured Michael McGrady and Phil Rubenstein . Bob Picardo and Wendy Schaal starred together as husband and wife ( as they will do again in " Runaway Daughters " ) in the 1987 film " Munchies " . In 1988 , Picardo co - starred as a psychiatrist in the thriller " Jack ' s Back " . That same year , he appeared as an angry cop in the action horror film " Dead Heat " , starring Joe Piscopo and featuring Keye Luke and Dick Miller . And in 1989 , he had a memorable role as " Mark Dark " ( aka Satan ) , opposite Jim Metzler , in the cult horror film " 976 - EVIL " . That same year , Picardo played a doctor in the comedy " Loverboy " ; his character was married to another doctor played by actress Kirstie Alley . Picardo also co - starred with Vic Tayback in this film ; the two had previously worked together on the television series " Alice " ( see Other TV appearances below ) . In 1991 , Picardo had a major role in the little - known film " Frame Up " , in which he played a man on the run for a murder he didn ' t commit ; that film also starred Tom Hodges as the real murderer . Picardo appeared in dual roles in the surreal comedy " Motorama " that same year , as did his fellow Dante - phile , Dick Miller . Michael J . Pollard also had a role in this film . In 1994 , Picardo starred in the comedy " Wagons East ! " , in which his soon - to - be co - star Ethan Phillips had a supporting role , as did Ed Lauter and Charles Rocket . And in 1996 , he co - starred with guest star Corbin Bernsen as an ill - fated , corrupt politician in the science fiction film " Menno ' s Mind " . TNG star Michael Dorn had a supporting role in this film , and Bill Erwin also had a role . Picardo played a doctor in the 1998 film " Archibald the Rainbow Painter " , co - starring Michael McKean , Andrew Robinson , Ann H . Gillespie , and Spice Williams and directed by Les Landau . In 2000 , Picardo had a brief role – again as a doctor – in " The Amati Girls " , which starred Paul Sorvino and featured Matt Winston . In 2006 , Picardo appeared with his co - star Andy Dick , as well as Ed Lauter , in " Love , American Style " . Picardo ' s more recent film credits have been independent productions . He had a supporting role in the 2008 drama " Universal Signs " , which was presented in American Sign Language with English subtitles . Picardo also played the lead roles in the 2009 horror thrillers " Sensored " and " The Awakened " . In addition , Picardo starred in the short comedy film " Chad & The Alien Toupee " , again working with his " Voyager " co - star Tim Russ . Television . " China Beach " , " The Wonder Years " , and " Stargate " . Before taking on the role of the holographic doctor on " Star Trek : Voyager " , Picardo was best known for playing a different doctor on a completely different television series . From 1987 through 1991 , he portrayed Dr . Dick Richard in the acclaimed , Emmy - winning series " China Beach " . His co - stars on this series included Jeff Kober , Megan Gallagher , and Concetta Tomei , all of whom reunited with Picardo when they each guest - starred on " Star Trek : Voyager " . Picardo is also well known for his recurring role as the much - feared Coach Ed Cutlip on the TV series " The Wonder Years " , from 1988 through 1993 . TNG guest star Olivia d ' Abo was a regular on this series . From 2004 through 2007 , Picardo played the recurring role of Agent Richard Woolsey on the science fiction series " " . On this show , he has worked with the likes of Ronny Cox and Saul Rubinek . He has also appeared as Woolsey on the spin - off series , " " , where he has worked alongside star Connor Trinneer . Picardo became the only former " Trek " star to become a full - time cast member on " Atlantis " , with his character assuming command of the Atlantis expedition at the beginning of the fifth and ultimately final season , which ran from July 2008 through January 2009 . In 2011 , Picardo reprised his role as Woolsey on an episode of . Other TV appearances . One of Picardo ' s earliest television appearances was in an episode of " Taxi " , a series which starred actor Christopher Lloyd . Picardo then made several appearances as Officer Maxwell on the television sitcom " Alice " . This series starred Vic Tayback , who later co - starred with Picardo in the film " Loverboy " . In 1983 , Picardo became a regular on the Showtime series " Steambath " . However , this series ended after six episodes . Picardo has also guest - starred in episodes of " Frasier " , starring Kelsey Grammer , and " The Dead Zone " , starring Nicole de Boer . In addition , he was seen in an episode of " The Golden Girls " with Anne Haney and Bill Quinn and , in 1993 , he made two appearances as Joe " The Meat Man " Morton on " Home Improvement " ( starring Tim Allen of the " Star Trek " parody " Galaxy Quest " ) . More recently , he had a recurring role as Detective Nick Traub in the short - lived drama " The Lyon ' s Den " . His " Voyager " co - star , Roxann Dawson , also made several appearances on this series . Other popular shows on which Picardo has guest - starred include " Amazing Stories " ( in 1985 , with Wendy Schaal again playing his wife in an episode also featuring Bruce Davison ) , " Hardcastle and McCormick " ( in 1986 , starring Brian Keith and Daniel Hugh Kelly in the title roles and also guest - starring Leslie Bevis , Kenneth Mars , and Phil Rubenstein ) , " St . Elsewhere " ( in 1987 , with Ed Begley , Jr . , Ronny Cox , Norman Lloyd , France Nuyen , Michael Pataki , Jennifer Savidge , Alfre Woodard , and Jane Wyatt ) , " L . A . Law " ( in 1987 and again in 1991 , working alongside Corbin Bernsen and Larry Drake ) , " Newhart " ( in 1989 , featuring Tony Papenfuss ) , " ER " ( in 1995 ) , " Ally McBeal " ( in 1999 , with Albert Hall ) , " Seven Days " ( in 2001 ) , " The Practice " ( in 2002 ) , " The West Wing " ( in 2004 ) and " The O . C . " ( in 2005 , with Michael Nouri ) . Additionally , Picardo made four appearances as Larry Kincaid on the NBC series " E - Ring " in 2005 . That same year , he played the role of " returnee " Trent Appelbaum in the " Weight Of The World " episode of the sci - fi series " The 4400 " , co - created by René Echevarria . TNG guest star Billy Campbell appeared in the episode in his recurring role as Jordan Collier ; ENT guest star Noa Tishby also had a role in this episode . Also in 2005 , Picardo reteamed with director Joe Dante for the TV horror project " Homecoming " , part of Showtime ' s " Masters of Horror " series . In 2007 , Picardo appeared as a murder suspect on " Cold Case " , in an episode co - starring Michael Bofshever and produced by Roxann Dawson . Later that year , he appeared in the Halloween episode of " CSI : NY " , directed by Joe Dante and featuring Robert Joy . He was also seen in a 2007 episode of " Women ' s Murder Club " , the ABC series starring former actress Linda Park . Park , however , did not appear in Picardo ' s episode . In 2008 , Picardo guest - starred in two episodes of the popular WB series " Smallville " , the first of which was directed by Kenneth Biller . Picardo has made several TV appearances in 2009 , guest - starring on NBC ' s " Chuck " ( in an episode directed by Allan Kroeker and co - starring Bonita Friedericy ) , Bryan Fuller ' s acclaimed series " Pushing Daisies " ( with Fred Williamson and Matt Winston ) , and the first season finale of the drama " Castle " ( with Robert Costanzo ) . Picardo made a second appearance on " Castle " in 2010 . That same year , he guest - starred on the FX drama series " Justified " ( with Brett Cullen ) and the NBC series " Persons Unknown " ( with Michael Durrell and Alan Ruck ) . In February 2012 Picardo appeared on the medical / police procedural series " Body of Proof " , starring two of his former co - stars , Dana Delany ( " China Beach " ) and Jeri Ryan ( " Star Trek : Voyager " ) as medical examiners . As a possible nod to his own roles in the two series , at one point of the episode Picardo ' s character is made to exclaim toward Delany ' s : " " You doctors are always wrong ! " " In November 2017 Picardo appeared on " The Orville " as the father of chief security officer Lieutenant Alara Kitan . TV movies . Picardo has appeared in a number of made - for - TV movies throughout his career , beginning with 1980 ' s " The Dream Merchants " , in which he was part of an ensemble , all - star cast . In 1987 , he had a role in " Rose Are for the Rich " , which also featured his future " Voyager " cast mate Kate Mulgrew , as well as Anne Haney . That same year , he co - starred with Wil Wheaton and Bruce McGill in " The Man Who Fell to Earth " . The Joe Dante - directed made - for - TV movies in which Picardo appeared are " Runaway Daughters " in 1994 , which also featured Dick Miller and Wendy Schaal ( playing Picardo ' s wife ) , and " The Second Civil War " in 1997 . This latter film featured a whole slew of fellow " Trek " actors , including Joanna Cassidy , Brian Keith , Dick Miller , Ron Perlman , and William Schallert . His other TV movies include " The Violation of Sarah McDavid " ( 1981 , with James Sloyan ) , " Lois Gibbs and the Love Canal " ( 1982 , with Bob Gunton ) , " Bates Motel " ( 1987 , with Lori Petty and Gregg Henry ) , " The Cover Girl and the Cop " ( 1989 , with Jonathan Frakes ) , " A Murderous Affair : The Carolyn Warmus Story " ( 1992 , with Chris Sarandon ) , " Fatal Deception : Mrs . Lee Harvey Oswald " ( 1993 , with Bill Bolender ) , " Revenge of the Nerds IV : Nerds in Love " ( 1994 , with James Cromwell , Brian Tochi , and Bernie Casey ) , " White Mile " ( 1994 , with Fionnula Flanagan , Jacqueline Kim , Dakin Matthews , Ken Jenkins , Dan Kern , Brian Markinson , , Gina Ravarra , Brett Porter , Ken Thorley , Don McManus and stuntman Tom Lupo ) , and " Out There " ( 1995 ) . He made an uncredited cameo in this latter movie , which starred the likes of Wendy Schaal , Bill Cobbs , Paul Dooley , and Carel Struycken . In 2006 , Picardo again co - starred with TNG / DS9 actor Michael Dorn – as well as Bill Mumy , George Takei , and Terrell Tilford – in the sci - fi TV movie " A . I . Assault " . " Star Trek " . When Picardo first auditioned for " Star Trek : Voyager " in , he initially sought the role of Neelix , but was passed over for Ethan Phillips . When the producers asked him if he would be interested in the role of the EMH instead , Picardo was skeptical at first as he thought playing the role of a disgruntled hologram for several years wouldn ' t be much fun . He was also concerned because he had played a doctor several times before . Nonetheless , after reading for The Doctor , he was persuaded to play the part . On the " Voyager " DVD set , Picardo mentions that during his audition , he ad - libbed the line " " I ' m a doctor , not a night light " " , and that he " really wasn ' t supposed to do it " . Nevertheless , it got a laugh from the casting directors , and may have contributed to his winning the role . Picardo also got some behind the scenes experience on " Voyager " when he directed two episodes of the series , and . He also became the first regular in a " Star Trek " series to write an episode when he helped pen . Picardo was on the sound stages when was being filmed . He attended the filming of the scene at Vic ' s lounge . Aside from filming with them for five years , Picardo had starred with the DS9 cast in . In addition to joining the DS9 cast for that episode , Picardo also had a brief cameo as the EMH with the cast for . This makes him one of only a handful of actors who have worked with all three " Star Trek " incarnations set in the 24th century . Voice work . Picardo has also done some voice - over work in films as well as in TV shows . In 1990 , he supplied the voice of the Johnnycab in the science fiction thriller " Total Recall " . This film featured the likes of Ronny Cox , Roy Brocksmith , Marc Alaimo , and Michael Champion . In 1994 , Picardo ( credited as Robert Piccardo ) lent his voice to a pirate in the fantasy film " The Pagemaster " . Also lending their voices to this film were Patrick Stewart , Whoopi Goldberg , Frank Welker , Leonard Nimoy , and Christopher Lloyd ; the latter also starred in the film ' s live - action sequences . Picardo lent his voice to the characters of Blackhawk and Amazo on the animated series " Justice League " . In addition , he has voiced in episodes of " Dinosaurs " and " Batman : The Animated Series " . In the latter series , he voiced in the episode " The Man Who Killed Batman " , which also featured the voice of TNG guest star Matt Frewer . In 2014 , the " Star Trek Online " expansion " Delta Rising " , set 32 years after the " Voyager " returned back home , featured Picardo reprising the voice of his role as The Doctor . Other projects . In 2002 , Picardo released a book based on his " Star Trek : Voyager " character , titled " The Hologram ' s Handbook " , which he wrote in character . Picardo , as The Doctor , goes into depth about how he felt about various experiences while aboard " Voyager " , such as feeling " betrayed " by Kes when she extended the length of his bout with the flu , as well as genuine and helpful advice for any hologram s finding it hard to fit in with " organics " . The book featured illustrations by his co - star Jeff Yagher . The same year an audio version of the book , read by Picardo , was released and includes a bonus song called , " Song of the Hologram " . Picardo has also released two parody CDs , " Basic Bob " ( released first in 2001 , then again in 2003 with an additional three tracks ) and " Extreme Bob " ( released in 2003 ) , with most of the songs based on " Star Trek " . " Extreme Bob " features guest vocals by fellow " Voyager " stars Tim Russ and Ethan Phillips . In 1998 Picardo lent his voice to audio version of the novel " Pathways " , which detailed the lives of the " Voyager " crew before being stranded in the Delta Quadrant . Picardo starred in the " Borg Invasion 4D " ride at " " , playing the EMH once again – this time studying a group of people who seemed to be immune to the Borg nanoprobe s . When the Las Vegas attraction was closed in 2008 , Picardo was critical of the decision to close it right before the release of the new film , which he expected to revitalize the franchise . Picardo has also served in The Planetary Society since the late 1990s . He is currently a member of the society ' s Board of Directors ' Advisory Council . Back in 2003 , Picardo was attached to star in a science fiction film called " Illegal Alien " , written and executive produced by star Walter Koenig . The film would have starred Koenig and John de Lancie . By 2007 , however , that film had become " InAlienable " . Speaking at the 2007 " Star Trek " convention in Las Vegas , Koenig revealed that Picardo had to drop out of the film due to another commitment – he had to fill in for Koenig on a " Trek " cruise when Koenig ditched the cruise to make the film . ( John de Lancie also ended up dropping out . ) Picardo recently co - starred with Tim Russ in a web series pilot for Funny or Die called " Chad and the Alien Toupee " . Current and upcoming projects . His upcoming feature films include " Trail of Blood " , " Mega Shark vs Crocosaurus " , and " The Legends of Nethiah " . In addition , Picardo has lent his voice to a 3 - D animated film called " Quantum Quest : A Cassini Space Odyssey " , which was in production for years and has only seen limited release . Also supplying voices in this film are Brent Spiner , Jason Alexander , Chris Pine , and William Shatner .