Like so many before him, Robert Duncan McNeill (Lt. Tom Paris) of "Star Trek: Voyager" has moved on to directing rather than acting now that the series is through.

Joining other Trek actors turned directors including Jonathan Frakes (Cmdr. William Riker, "Star Trek: The Next Generation"), LeVar Burton (Lt. Cmdr. Geordi LaForge), and Roxann Dawson (Lt. B'Elanna Torres), McNeill recently discussed his current projects in the UK magazine Star Trek Monthly.

"I directed a 'Dawson's Creek' episode, then an 'Enterprise' and then I went back to 'Dawson's Creek,'" McNeill explained. "'Dawson's Creek' has turned out to be a really nice new home. I like the people there a lot. The people are great. I like working on the show and it's a lot of fun. It's nice to be doing something that's not in space.

"I've been focusing most of my energies on the directing, but I'm also developing two movie projects that I'm looking forward to getting made."

Most Trek fans would wonder what motivated McNeill to direct for "Dawson's Creek" -- which airs opposite "Enterprise" on The WB -- but he explained how he was glad to get back to character driven story lines.

"Not that science fiction and Star Trek weren't a great experience, there were a lot of things I loved about it, but what seems to fit into my soul and my heart are character-driven stories," he said. "That's what 'Dawson's Creek' is, not that I'm fooling myself that 'Dawson's Creek' is the ultimate in television, the best entertainment ever created. But it is a little closer to what I'm comfortable with and what I'd watch. It's easier for me to relate to the stories of the kids on 'Dawson's Creek' coming of age than some of the science fiction concepts we dealt with on 'Voyager.' I sometimes felt like I needed to go to a seminar to understand what the episodes were about.

"When I went back to direct 'Enterprise' it was a different kind of challenge. Understanding the plot and finding out how you can tell the story clearly and logically is a challenge. Also it's a technical challenge to figure out how to achieve the effects and the visual look of a science fiction show. It's a different kind of challenge and a different kind of fun."

Asked about returning to direct again for "Enterprise" after his work on "Cold Front," McNeill was upbeat.

"I would like to do more. I'm in a place right now where, after seven years of Star Trek, it's really exciting to be out of Star Trek. I don't have any bad feelings toward Star Trek. I really appreciate what I was able to do on 'Voyager' and what I was able to learn. It was great. I wouldn't trade it for anything. But now what's really exciting to me is to try doing other things too. So, going back and doing one Star Trek a year would be perfect, just wonderful."

You can catch more from the actor discussing his character Tom Paris in the current issue of Star Trek Monthly available on newsstands now.