Timothy Darrell "Tim" Russ was born on June 22, 1956 in Washington, DC. He was educated at Rome Academy and St. Edwards University where he got his BS in Theater Arts. Upon graduation, he received a full scholarship to continue theater studies at Illinois State University.
Russ is best known for his role on Star Trek: Voyager as Lieutenant Commander Tuvok. He also made an appearance in two other Star Trek: The Next Generation and Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. Despite his sincere involvement in the series, he has worked on other projects as well. He began his career in 1985, playing a character named Sam on an episode of Hunter. Other roles soon followed, including those in Starman, Hill Street Blues, The Twilight Zone, thirtysomething, 21 Jump Street and Alien Nation. Some of the films he appeared in during the time were Bird, Spaceballs and Fire with Fire. The 1990s brought even more fame to Tim Russ. It was when he embarked on his Star Trek career, and branched out to several genres as well. He was seen on Family Matters, Freddy’s Nightmares and The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air starring Will Smith. He also had roles in Murphy Brown, SeaQuest DSV, Melrose Place and the Spider-Man series. When Star Trek: Voyager ended in 2001, Russ was cast on episodes of ER, Law & Order: Criminal Intent, Unfabulous and Navy NCIS: Naval Criminal Investigative Service. Films he worked on included The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, The Oh in Ohio, and Unbeatable Harold. He also played Dr. Trent on several episodes of the soap opera General Hospital, and appeared later on the Disney show Hannah Montana. In 2007, he was cast for a role on a comedy series, Samantha Who? alongside Christina Applegate, Barry Watson, and Jennifer Esposito, among others. Also that year, he played Chuck Summer on the action film Live Free or Die Hard and reprised his role as Tuvok on the video Star Trek: Of Gods and Men. He also joined the Nickelodeon series iCarly, playing Principal Franklin on the series.