McNeill Gets 'Infested'

Robert Duncan McNeill is not sitting around idly after finishing work on Star Trek: Voyager. Yesterday he provided details of his new project, a film he had just completed in New York.

"The movie is called Infested," he told chatters at a live event organised by TV Guide and reported on Voyager's Delights. "It's a horror thriller movie about killer bugs. Kind of like the bugs in the Mummy. All CGI. They terrorise a group of friends who go away for a relaxing weekend."

McNeill's co-star in the film will be Amy Jo Johnson who is best known for her roles as Julie in Felicity and as Pink Ranger Kimberly in Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers.

"I don't know when or where it's going to be out," said McNeill. "It was fun to get out of the Star Trek world and do something edgy. I started the day after I wrapped on Trek. I didn't have that panic of would I ever work again."

Voyager may be over, but the Tom Paris actor still has a few mementoes of his time on the series. "I got a couple of space suits and my shoes that I wore for 7 years," he said. "I got to keep some console panels from the bridge, engineering and the turbo lift. I got my chair that I sat in for the last 7 years. I just heard that I probably could have kept some of the stage. We had the same set as Next Gen and our show. It turns out the stage was rotting. So they're modernising it and reinforcing it."

The last few days on the set had a strong effect on all the cast, McNeill included. "It was very strange. We all probably had different expectations; there was a big sense of denial till the last couple of days," he commented. "It really hit people that it was over for good. There was tears, joy, fear. [From day one of Voyager] we had a bond and got along like we've known each other for years. There's something about Star Trek where the casts bond and it's different than any other experience. Because of the conventions, you do end up getting to see each other throughout the year and all over the world. It's nice and keeps everybody connected."

McNeill hopes that his future will include the next Star Trek series, Enterprise. But rather than acting in front of the camera, he would like to sit in the director's chair. "I'd love to stick around the Star Trek family and do more episodes," he said. "I've talked to people at the studio about directing and I'd love to do that. I've got some other shows I'd love to direct [though]. Dawson's Creek, Charmed and Roswell if it comes back. Directing is a really big part of what I want to do -- I'd love to stick around the Star Trek family and do more episodes."

The actor was able to direct several episodes of Voyager including the third-season episode 'Sacred Ground' and 'Someone to Watch Over Me' in the fifth season. He recently revealed that one of the reasons he took the role of helmsman Tom Paris was because he hoped to be given an opportunity to direct (story). Yesterday, he spoke about the differences between acting and directing on a series. "The most tiresome aspect [about being a director] is the hours. As an actor you get breaks between scenes. As a director it's exhausting cause you never get a break. You never get a chance to have a private moment. It's 12, 14, 16 hour days."

More from McNeill, including discussion of his favourite Voyager episode and his short film '9mm of Love,' can be found in the transcript of the chat here at Voyager's Delights.

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