Tim Russ Timothy Darrell Russ , better known as Tim Russ , is an actor who has portrayed different characters in various " Star Trek " television series and movies ; however , he is best known for his portrayal of Lieutenant Commander Tuvok on . He also directed the " Voyager " episode . Along with Jonathan Frakes , he is one of the only " Star Trek " actors to have appeared on - screen with four " Trek " series captains . ( Frakes did appear in with Kirk actor William Shatner , but he did not share any scenes with him . Russ , on the other hand , " did " share scenes with Shatner in this movie . ) One of his favorite movies is . One of his favorite actors is the late William Marshall , who appeared on the episode as Doctor Richard Daystrom . Early life and career . Born in Washington , DC , Russ spent his childhood in a number of different places , as his father was a United States Air Force officer . He wound up graduating from high school in Turkey , earning his diploma from Rome Academy in New York , and receiving a BS in Theater Arts from St . Edward ' s University in Texas . He then received a full scholarship from Illinois State University , where he continued studying the theater . During his early life , Tim Russ owned many dogs . Russ began acting full time in 1985 . In October of that year , he appeared in episodes of " The Twilight Zone " and " Hunter " ( the latter of which he acted alongside Bruce Davison , Gary Graham , and Tony Plana ) . The following year , he made his feature film debut , playing Robert Johnson in the musical drama " Crossroads " . He followed this with another film that same year : the romantic drama " Fire with Fire " , starring Virginia Madsen . In , Tim Russ auditioned for the role of Geordi La Forge on , but the part was given to LeVar Burton . However , he did win the role of D . C . Montana in the TV movie pilot for an action series called " The Highwayman " that same year . The series was subsequently picked up and debuted in 1988 , with Russ as a regular cast member . However , the series only lasted nine episodes before being canceled . In the meantime , Russ continued to make guest appearances on such TV shows as " Hill Street Blues " ( with Anne Haney and James B . Sikking ) , " Jake and the Fatman " ( with his future " Voyager " co - star , Dwight Schultz ) , " Beauty and the Beast " ( with Ron Perlman and Warren Munson ) , and " Alien Nation " , starring Gary Graham and Eric Pierpoint . Russ made a memorable , though brief , appearance in the popular science fiction spoof " Spaceballs " . In the movie , Russ plays a trooper who is assigned to literally comb a desert using an over - sized comb . When asked if he had found anything , Russ ' frustrated trooper proclaims , " " We ain ' t found shit ! " " Dey Young also made an appearance in " Spaceballs " as a waitress . In addition , Russ appeared in the 1987 action film " Death Wish 4 : The Crackdown " ( Marina Sirtis had appeared in " Death Wish 3 " ) , the 1988 sci - fi / horror film " Pulse " , starring Cliff DeYoung , and the 1988 drama " Bird " , which featured Bill Cobbs , Hamilton Camp , and Tony Todd . Also in 1988 , Russ co - starred with James Sloyan and Leigh Taylor - Young in the telefilm " Who Gets the Friends ? " and was one of several " Star Trek " performers to appear in the TV special " Roots : The Gift " . His co - stars in this latter film included Avery Brooks ( later to star as Benjamin Sisko on ) , LeVar Burton , and Kate Mulgrew ( who , of course , went on to co - star with Russ on " Star Trek : Voyager " ) . 1990s . Russ ' work in the early 1990s included the TV movies " The Heroes of Desert Storm " ( with Glenn Morshower ) , " Journey to the Center of the Earth " ( with F . Murray Abraham and Carel Struycken ) , and " Bitter Vengeance " ( co - starring Virginia Madsen and Bruce Greenwood ) ; the films " Eve of Destruction " , " Mr . Saturday Night " and " Dead Connection " ; and guest appearances on " The Fresh Prince of Bel - Air " ( a Christmas two - parter , including one episode which guest - starred Kenneth Tigar ) , " Murphy Brown " ( as a Secret Service agent who keeps Murphy from approaching the Easter egg hunt on the White House lawn ) and episodes of the short - lived " Cop Rock " ( starring Ronny Cox ) and " Tequila and Bonetti " ( starring Charles Rocket ) . He also guest - starred in an episode of " Melrose Place " with Casey Biggs . He later appeared in an episode of the short - lived television show " seaQuest DSV " , where he played a noteworthy computer hacker named Martin Clemens , who was nicknamed " Mycroft " ( clearly after the brother of Sherlock Holmes ) . In 1993 , he was cast in his first " Star Trek " role , playing Devor in the " Next Generation " episode . He followed this with the role of T ' Kar on " Star Trek : Deep Space Nine " later that same year . These roles ( and his appearance in the film " Star Trek Generations " ) ultimately won him the role of Tuvok on " Star Trek : Voyager " , which debuted in January of . He played the role for the next seven years . After his " Trek " directing debut with the episode , Russ was prepared to direct another episode in season six but was not chosen to do so . He also said that he worked with four and a half " Trek " captains , namely William Shatner , Patrick Stewart , Avery Brooks , Kate Mulgrew , and Genevieve Bujold and that the crew produced a blooper tape of the first season which was not published . ( " Trekworld , June " ) Several costumes worn by Russ were later sold off on the It ' s A Wrap ! sale and auction on eBay including his Ilari undercover uniform from the third season episode . Although " Voyager " took up most of Russ ' time , he nonetheless had the chance to co - write , direct , and star in the 1998 independent drama film " East of Hope Street " . He also voiced the character of Hobie Brown , aka the Prowler , for an episode of the animated " Spider - Man " series based on the characters appearing in Marvel Comics . After " Voyager " . Since " Voyager " s end in , Russ has focused on directing as well as his singing career . In 2001 , he released his second album through independent distribution , " Kushangaza " , featuring the song " Kushangaza " . This song could also be seen in the hidden music video on disc 7 of the " Star Trek : Voyager " season 2 DVD . In 2003 , Russ directed the short film " Roddenberry on Patrol " , a comedic look at Gene Roddenberry ' s search to create " Star Trek " . He assigned a number of other " Trek " to appear in the film , including TOS stars Nichelle Nichols , Walter Koenig , and George Takei ( who narrated ) and " Voyager " co - stars Robert Beltran , Ethan Phillips , and Robert Picardo . Featured as Montgomery Scott was actor Bart Shattuck . Russ himself also appeared in the film . In 2005 , he appeared in an episode of " ER " , along with Mädchen Amick and Leland Orser , and the following year he appeared with star Connor Trinneer in an episode of " NCIS " called " Jeopardy " . He also had roles in the films " The Cabinet of Dr . Caligari " ( 2005 , co - starring Richard Herd and Time Winters ) and " The OH in Ohio " ( 2006 ) . In addition , he had a recurring role on the short - lived NBC TV series " Twenty Good Years " and on the soap opera " General Hospital " . Most recently , he made a brief appearance as an agent on " Without a Trace " , starring Enrique Murciano and played a throat doctor in an episode of the Disney Channel show " Hannah Montana " entitled " I Am Hannah , Hear Me Croak " . Russ directed and starred in the internet - release - only mini - series " Star Trek : Of Gods and Men " , complete with a " Star Trek " - related cast , including Nichols , Koenig , Grace Lee Whitney , Alan Ruck , Garrett Wang , Chase Masterson , J . G . Hertzler , Gary Graham , and Crystal Allen . Russ can be seen in the fourth " Die Hard " film , " Live Free or Die Hard " . He also starred as Frank the doorman on the ABC comedy series " Samantha Who ? " , which was produced and sometimes directed by Russ ' " Voyager " castmate Robert Duncan McNeill ( a satire of the show in the May 2008 issue of magazine showed Russ ' character with Vulcan ears and a Starfleet combadge on his jacket ) . In 2009 , Russ voiced Zathrian , an elf , in the Bioware game " Dragon Age : Origins " ( with Kate Mulgrew and S . A . Templeman ) . Russ once again worked with guest star David Lee Smith on " CSI : Miami " in the 6th episode " Meltdown " , playing a character in law enforcement , just like Smith ' s Rick Stetler . Russ recently co - starred with Robert Picardo in a web series pilot for Funny or Die called " Chad and the Alien Toupee " . From 2007 to 2012 , Russ appeared as a recurring character in Nickelodeon ' s . He plays Ted Franklin , the principal at Ridgeway school , which the main characters attend . As of 2013 , Russ is working on reprising his role as Tuvok in " Star Trek : Renegades " , a pilot episode for a possible web series , along with Walter Koenig who is to reprise his role as Pavel Chekov and Manu Intiraymi as Icheb . The proposed series is set well after and involves the Vulcan joining a reformed Section 31 in order to save the Federation from a new threat . More recently , Russ announced his participation in the new episode " A Step Between Stars " of the video game " Star Trek Online " in which he ' ll also reprise his role as Admiral Tuvok . . He returned for the game ' s Season 9 update , including the episode " Surface Tension " and is set to return in the game ' s second expansion " Delta Rising " alongside fellow " Voyager " alum Garrett Wang .