One can only speculate which of the “Deep Space Nine” actors Berman considered to be a mediocre director. And there are a lot to choose from, as Avery Brooks (Captain Sisko) directed nine episodes, René Auberjonois (Odo) also directed nine, Michael Dorn (Worf) directed three, Andrew Robinson (Garak) handled three, and Alexander Siddig (Dr. Bashir) helmed two. Also notable: Frakes directed three “Deep Space Nine” episodes and Burton did nine. Berman, it seems, was not impressed by at least one of these people.
He was more comfortable with — and Berman was very frank about this — giving directing gigs to those who were already on the production side of things. He also called out some of the actors-turned-directors that he was proud of, notably of their work on episodes on “Star Trek: Voyager.” It seems it took Berman a long time to even warm to the idea of an actor who directs. He said:
“When it came to some of our production people, an assistant director, like a Les Landau, these were people who were completely qualified to direct. Giving them directing assignments was no big deal. People like David Livingston, who came and asked to direct, was incredibly knowledgeable and incredibly studious and did a wonderful job. There were times when I felt with people like Jonathan, and Roxann [Dawson], and Robbie McNeill, where I felt really proud of having given them assignments and seeing the remarkable work they did.”
David Livingston previously worked as a line producer. Roxann Dawson played B’Elanna Torres on “Voyager,” and Robert Duncan McNeill played Lieutenant Tom Paris. Regret, Berman recalled, occasionally set in. “[T]here were times,” he said, “Where I wished I had never done it and it came back to bite me in the ass.”