From the Syfy portal
Robert Duncan McNeill (Lt. Tom Paris, Voyager) has spent time directing episodes for his UPN series in the past, but to prepare for what is a somewhat new style for its successor, "Enterprise," the actor is taking lessons from one of television's better known directors.
"What I was doing with 'The West Wing' was observing the directors on the show, especially with one named Thomas Schlamme," McNeill recently told an audience at the Slanted Fedora Convention held in Washington, D.C., last weekend. "He's very successful and has won lots of awards, and so he invited me to come down and observe him direct their third season opener for this year. So I was there observing, and they kind of left that door open. It's been really kind of amazing. I don't plan on directing any time this year. I'm not really expecting something like that."
The observation stint will hopefully better prepare McNeill for his upcoming job with "Enterprise," he said.
"I've been [on the 'Enterprise' set] twice since 'Voyager' ended -- once just to say hi to the crew, from Voyager," McNeill said. "Most of the crew from our show has gone over to the new show. And then one day I came over just to meet the actors and hang out for a little while, since I'm directing in September, and so I was going to be gone, directing for 'Dawson's Creek.'"
McNeill said that during his visit, he got a chance to see one of the lighter moments of 'Enterprise' being filmed, explaining that there certainly will be some humor in the new series.
"Scott Bakula (Capt. Jonathan Archer) is very funny," he said. "The one scene that I saw them shooting, there was more humor, that kind of goofy humor, than we tended to do on our show. So I think they're kind of going back to the original series in a way."
Robert Duncan McNeill (Lt. Tom Paris, Voyager) has spent time directing episodes for his UPN series in the past, but to prepare for what is a somewhat new style for its successor, "Enterprise," the actor is taking lessons from one of television's better known directors.
"What I was doing with 'The West Wing' was observing the directors on the show, especially with one named Thomas Schlamme," McNeill recently told an audience at the Slanted Fedora Convention held in Washington, D.C., last weekend. "He's very successful and has won lots of awards, and so he invited me to come down and observe him direct their third season opener for this year. So I was there observing, and they kind of left that door open. It's been really kind of amazing. I don't plan on directing any time this year. I'm not really expecting something like that."
The observation stint will hopefully better prepare McNeill for his upcoming job with "Enterprise," he said.
"I've been [on the 'Enterprise' set] twice since 'Voyager' ended -- once just to say hi to the crew, from Voyager," McNeill said. "Most of the crew from our show has gone over to the new show. And then one day I came over just to meet the actors and hang out for a little while, since I'm directing in September, and so I was going to be gone, directing for 'Dawson's Creek.'"
McNeill said that during his visit, he got a chance to see one of the lighter moments of 'Enterprise' being filmed, explaining that there certainly will be some humor in the new series.
"Scott Bakula (Capt. Jonathan Archer) is very funny," he said. "The one scene that I saw them shooting, there was more humor, that kind of goofy humor, than we tended to do on our show. So I think they're kind of going back to the original series in a way."
