Born into a military family in Washington, D.C., Tim was raised on Air Force bases around the world. He and his younger brother and sister spent time in the Orient and the Middle East before his family finally settled in Sacramento. Russ feels there is a direct correlation between growing up in a military family and being an actor. Each experience has elements of insecurity, and both are unpredictable by nature.

Russ' first professional job came while he was at St. Edward's University in Austin, Texas, when he appeared in a PBS Masterpiece Theater production. But it wasn't until 1985, eight years later, that he began to work full time at his trade. While Tim's efforts have been split equally between film, television and stage, his most memorable roles to date have been in television.

Russ starred as Sam Jones' computer-whiz compadre in the NBC primetime series The Highwayman , and he appeared as the Answering Machine Guy in the NBC comedy "The People Next Door ." This role found him playing an annoying alter-ego character who resided in series star Jeffrey Jones' answering machine. In addition, Tim had a recurring part in the syndicated drama Arresting Behavior, which was loosely based on the reality program Cops, and he made guest appearances in Freddy's Nightmares with star Robert Englund, and the NBC pilot "Journey To The Center Of The Earth." Russ has also appeared in numerous telefilm projects. He portrayed a deputy sheriff in "Dead Silence," and was cast opposite actress Virginia Madsen in the USA cable movie "Bitter Vengeance." One of Tim's most memorable roles was that of a military corporal in "Heroes of the Storm," a television movie that depicted true-life stories from survivors of Desert Storm.

He made his debut in the 1985 Paramount feature "Fire With Fire," in which he played an honor warden at a juvenile camp alongside Craig Shaeffer and Virginia Madsen. Additionally he also appeared as a detective in Propaganda offering "Dead Connection" with Michael Madsen and Lisa Bonet.

Russ is a veteran of the stage as well, having appeared in numerous roles across the country. Most recently, Tim starred in an updated version of Shakespeare's "Romeo and Juliet" which was staged at the CBS/MTM studios. He received the NAACP Image Award for his portrayal of dual roles as "prisoner" and "high priest" in the Los Angeles Theater Center production of "Barrabas." Russ has also appeared in productions of "Dream Girls," at L.A.'s Shubert Theater, "As You Like It," "Twelfth Night," "Macbeth" and "Cave Dwellers."

When not acting, Russ finds time to indulge his other passions -- music and film producing. An accomplished guitarist and vocalist, he has performed in a number of bands and stage productions during the past 20 years. In addition, a public service announcement he wrote called "The Zone" won the Sony Innovators Award. During his second season summer hiatus he worked as a writer/producer on the feature film "East of Hope Street."

The versatile performer regularly plays guitar and sings at Los Angeles-area venues, his brother Mike playing drums in the band as well.

Tim has a new, self-titled CD that premiered April 1, 2000. "Tim Russ" is the actor's second CD.