Connor Trinneer

Connor Trinneer, from Walla Walla, Washington, USA, is the actor best known for playing Commander Charles "Trip" Tucker III, the chief engineer of the NX-01 Enterprise, on Star Trek: Enterprise. He has received two Saturn Award nominations from the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films for his performance as Tucker.

Early career
Trinneer attended Pacific Lutheran University on a football scholarship, graduating with a BFA in acting. He then attended the University of Missouri in Kansas City, where he obtained an MFA in Acting and Directing. His grandparents on his mother's side were all from southern Missouri and Northern Arkansas, and provided the inspiration for the southern accent for his role as Trip Tucker.

Before signing aboard Enterprise, Trinneer guest-starred in a number of other television shows. The first of these was a 1998 episode of Pensacola: Wings of Gold titled "Trials and Tribulations", which also featured his future Enterprise third season co-star Tucker Smallwood. He followed this with an appearance in an episode of ER called "Sharp Relief", which aired only three days after his Pensacola episode and also guest-starred Clancy Brown and Eric Pierpoint, both of whom would go on to guest-star on Enterprise.

His other TV appearances include an episode of the science fiction series Sliders, an episode of FreakyLinks (a series starring Dennis Christopher), and an episode of Gideon's Crossing with Tracy Middendorf. He also appeared in two made-for-television movies in 2001. The first was the acclaimed baseball drama 61*, in which he and Star Trek: Deep Space Nine guest star Dell Yount played a couple of writers. The movie also co-starred Bruce McGill, Christopher McDonald, Bob Gunton, Seymour Cassel, and Charles Esten. The second was Far East, a drama in which Trinneer had a supporting role opposite Bill Smitrovich.

Star Trek: Enterprise
Trinneer worked on Enterprise from through, appearing in all 98 episodes. His character was killed in the series finale,, an episode he, like his co-stars, was disappointed with. Although his character "went out with a bang", he was saddened that he and his castmates were not able to share a memorable on-screen farewell together. However, he remains optimistic that his character can return should the need arise. 

Linda Park said in an interview with Star Trek: Communicator (issue 147) that Connor pitched a story idea similar to , in which we'd see a situation from the aliens point of view, and the Enterprise crews language sounds like gibberish until they can find a way to communicate. Though it seems this episode wasn't approved, or they at least never got around to it.

Stargate Atlantis
Following Enterprise's demise (and that of Trinneer's character) in, Trinneer had a recurring role as the vengeful Wraith-Human hybrid named "Michael" on the Sci-Fi Channel series Stargate: Atlantis. His character's creation was the result of a "retrovirus" created by Dr. Carson Beckett, played on the series by Paul McGillion. Among Trinneer's co-stars on this series was Voyager actor Robert Picardo, who became a regular on the series in its fifth and final season. Voyager guest actress Claire Rankin worked alongside Trinneer in his first appearance on the series, in the second season episode "Michael" (2006).

Trinneer appeared in a total of nine episodes of Atlantis, though his character actually appeared in ten. According to the Stargate Atlantis Season 2 DVD Commentary, Trinneer could not play the "Michael" in the character's second episode, "Allies", due to scheduling conflicts (the birth of his first child); the role was instead played by actor Brent Stait from Gene Roddenberry's Andromeda. Trinneer did, however, provide "Michael"'s voice for the episode. Trinneer's last episode was 2008's "The Prodigal", in which his character is knocked off Atlantis' central tower to his apparent death.

Other television work
Trinneer's first television role after Enterprise was an innocent fugitive in an episode of Numb3rs called "Toxin", with Star Trek: Voyager guest actor Mark Harelik. He also guest-starred as a defense attorney in an episode of Close to Home called "Privilege", which aired in January of 2006. This episode was directed by Star Trek: Voyager actress Roxann Dawson, who had previously directed Trinneer in several Enterprise episodes, from to. Besides series regular John Carroll Lynch, "Privilege" also featured Trek veteran Thomas Kopache in a guest role as a judge who had a few scenes with Trinneer's character.

Trinneer was also seen in the 2006 NCIS episode "Jeopardy" alongside Voyager star Tim Russ. Also in 2006, Trinneer played the coach of a missing high school basketball star in an episode of the CBS series Without A Trace. Star Trek: The Next Generation star Marina Sirtis played the boy's mother, but she shared no scenes with Trinneer. In addition, Without a Trace stars Trinneer's one-time Enterprise co-star Enrique Murciano.

In 2007 Trinneer's voice was briefly heard in the "Road to Rupert" episode of Seth MacFarlane's Family Guy, in which he voiced an unfortunate victim of. Trinneer had previously worked with MacFarlane when the latter made cameo appearances in two episodes of Enterprise.

In 2008 Trinneer starred in a Sci-Fi Channel movie Star Runners as a "space smuggler" with a beautiful woman as his cargo. Incidentally, this is similar to the Enterprise episode, which revolves around Trinneer's "Trip Tucker" character aired in 2009.

Also in 2008, Trinneer guest starred in "Criminal Minds" season 4 episode 'Minimal Loss' as Dan Torre.

In 2009, Trinneer guest-starred on the science fiction/action series Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles as a sheriff. Thomas Dekker was a regular on this series. Trinneer was also seen in the 23 March 2009 episode of the Fox Network series 24, in which he portrayed Port Authority guard Carl Gadsen. He is the second Star Trek: Enterprise cast member to appear on the show during its seventh season, after John Billingsley. Enterprise show runners Brannon Braga and Manny Coto were writers and producers on the series; Jeffrey Nordling and Annie Wersching were among the regular cast.

Most recently, Trinneer reunited with Enterprise co-star John Billingsley on a 2010 episode of The Mentalist entitled "Red Moon." In the episode, Trinneer plays a deputy assisting in the investigation of a triple homicide, while Billingsley portrays a faux psychic.

Personal
Trinneer married stage actress Ariana Navarre on 29 May 2004, following the conclusion of Enterprise's third season. The two have one child, a son named Jasper, born on 11 October 2005.