Best remembered for her turn as Voyagers volatile half Klingon Engineer B’Ellanna Torres, Roxann Dawson seven years on Voyager was a breakout moment for her on screen acting career as well as a transition to a new aspect of her career.
Drawn to acting from an early age, Dawson began her career on stage in regional productions following her studied at the University of California earned her a Bachelor of Fine Arts. Moving into television in 1985, Dawson racked up dozens of credits ranging from Matlock to Baywatch in guest roles before being cast for Voyager in 1994, a role that quickly saw her become a fan favourite in the complex role of an engineer with a temper, lending her talents to Starfleet as an outsider.
During her time on the show, her passion for the inner workings of building the world began to shine through and new opportunities developed through the unofficial Star Trek Directors School.
Started by producer Rick Berman as an answer to actor-turned director Jonathon Frakes’ interest in moving behind the camera, the Directors School was set up to let actors on the show shadow producers and directors and widen their skill set and contributions. Dawson joined the class and made her directorial debut in Season 6 of the show with Riddles, an episode focused on Neelix helping Tuvok recover from losing his Vulcan sense of self.
When Voyager ended in 2001, Dawson would take the occasional acting job, but her time in the directors chair had given her a new direction and a change to create art from behind the scenes.
Moving outside of the Star Trek world, Dawson’s first non-Trek directors job was on the short lived series the Heartbreak Cafe and quickly gained experience in popular and high profile shows includiong Charmed, List, The OC, Cold Case, Crossing Jordan and Heroes among many, many others.
Working consistently in Television, Dawson made her film directorial debut in 2016 with faith based medical drama Breakthrough
In more recent years she’s continued building a strong presence as director with episodes of House of Cards, The Mornig Show, Dark Matter and Penny Dreadful. Her current leading project see’s her in a regular directing role on Apple TV show Foundation, which she’s led in some of it’s most challenging and demanding episodes including the recent Season 3 finale. Her work on the show has also seen her rise up to Executive Producer following producer credits in Crossing Jordan and Cold Case.
A force to be reckoned with, Dawson’s versatility and talents have shined brightly in recent years whether in the complex visuals and narratives of Foundation, to the heartfelt drama of Breakthrough. A long way off playing the misfit engineer, Dawson’s career off screen is an inspiring one, making her a leading figure and pioneer in prestige television.
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