# T. J. Scott
**T. J. Scott** (Timothy James Scott, born 1960) is a Canadian film and television director, screenwriter, and producer who began his career as a child actor and stuntman. He has directed episodes of series including *Orphan Black*, *Gotham*, *Spartacus*, *Star Trek: Discovery*, and *Departure*, and won a Canadian Screen Award in 2015 for his directing work on *Orphan Black*.[1](https://www.tvguide.com/celebrities/tj-scott/credits/3000465612/) • [2](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0779830)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Timothy James Scott, born in Toronto, Ontario, Canada[1](https://www.tvguide.com/celebrities/tj-scott/credits/3000465612/) |
| Professions | Director, writer, producer, and former stuntman and actor[2](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0779830) |
| Directing debut | A 1991 episode of *Top Cops*, the series that also earned him his first writing credit[3](https://memory-alpha.fandom.com/wiki/TJ_Scott) |
| Signature award | Canadian Screen Award, 2015, for directing *Orphan Black*[2](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0779830) |
| Genre television | Episodes of *Xena: Warrior Princess* (7), *Hercules: The Legendary Journeys* (3), and the *Young Hercules* pilot film[4](https://xenaville.com/cast/scott.html) |
| Recent series work | Director and executive producer of *Departure* (18 episodes, 2019–2022) and executive producer of *Saint-Pierre* (2025)[5](https://www.tvmaze.com/people/266/tj-scott) |
| Photography | Creator of the *In the Tub* charity portrait books benefiting breast cancer research[6](https://www.cinematicpicturesgroup.com/blog/dan-feuerriegel-in-the-tub-3) |
## Early career in stunts and acting
Scott worked as a child actor and stuntman in Canada before moving to California to pursue work behind the camera, first as a second unit director and later as a writer and director.[3](https://memory-alpha.fandom.com/wiki/TJ_Scott) His screen acting credits from the 1980s include the *Police Academy* films, *My American Cousin*, *The Pink Chiquitas*, and guest roles on series such as *Street Legal*, *Night Heat*, and *Alfred Hitchcock Presents*.[1](https://www.tvguide.com/celebrities/tj-scott/credits/3000465612/) His last acting appearance was a 1990 episode of *Top Cops*; the same year he performed stunts for the film *Stella*.[3](https://memory-alpha.fandom.com/wiki/TJ_Scott)
As a second unit director he worked on television projects including *Friday the 13th: The Series* and *RoboCop*, and his stunt work extended to stunt coordinator credits on productions such as *One Magic Christmas* and *Cruising Bar*.[3](https://memory-alpha.fandom.com/wiki/TJ_Scott) • [1](https://www.tvguide.com/celebrities/tj-scott/credits/3000465612/)
## Television directing
Scott made his directorial debut in 1991 with an episode of *Top Cops*.[3](https://memory-alpha.fandom.com/wiki/TJ_Scott) Through the 1990s and 2000s he directed a wide range of genre and action television, becoming known for a kinetic camera style on *Xena: Warrior Princess*, where he directed seven episodes including "Callisto" and "Adventures in the Sin Trade", and on *Hercules: The Legendary Journeys*, where he directed three episodes and the *Young Hercules* pilot film.[4](https://xenaville.com/cast/scott.html) His credits from this period also include *La Femme Nikita*, *Cleopatra 2525*, *[Andromeda](https://www.edgepedia.org/andromeda-tv-series)*, *Gene Roddenberry's Andromeda*, and *Mutant X*.[4](https://xenaville.com/cast/scott.html) • [7](https://www.metacritic.com/person/tj-scott/)
From the 2010s onward he became a frequent director on high-profile drama series: *Orphan Black*, *Copper*, *Hemlock Grove*, *[Spartacus](https://www.edgepedia.org/spartacus-tv-series)*, *Black Sails*, *Bates Motel*, *Longmire*, *Gotham* (seven episodes between 2014 and 2017), *[The Strain](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-strain-tv-series)*, *12 Monkeys*, *Constantine*, *Dark Matter*, *Queen of the South*, *[Frontier](https://www.edgepedia.org/frontier-2016-tv-series)*, *Taken*, *The Mist*, *Doom Patrol*, *V Wars*, and *Star Trek: Discovery*, for which he directed the first-season episode "The Wolf Inside" and the second-season episode "If Memory Serves".[3](https://memory-alpha.fandom.com/wiki/TJ_Scott) • [8](https://dc.fandom.com/wiki/Category%3AT.J._Scott/Director) • [2](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0779830)
**Orphan Black.** Scott was one of the recurring directors on the [BBC America](https://www.edgepedia.org/bbc-america)–Space clone thriller, sharing directing duties with John Fawcett and others on the series' first season, which received a Peabody Award.[9](https://peabodyawards.com/award-profile/orphan-black-bbc-america/) In a 2014 interview he described the show as deliberately small in scale, with directing time spent on performance detail and on giving lead actress [Tatiana Maslany](https://www.edgepedia.org/tatiana-maslany), who played multiple clones, the time she needed.[10](https://emertainmentmonthly.org/2014/11/01/t-j-scott-talks-directing-gotham-working-tatiana-maslany/) He won the 2015 Canadian Screen Award for his directing on the series.[2](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0779830)
**Departure.** Scott directed all 18 episodes across the first three seasons of the Canadian disaster-investigation series *[Departure](https://www.edgepedia.org/departure-tv-series)* (2019–2022), starring [Archie Panjabi](https://www.edgepedia.org/archie-panjabi), and served as its executive producer.[5](https://www.tvmaze.com/people/266/tj-scott) • [11](https://departureseries.net/director) He has continued as executive producer on the series *Saint-Pierre* (2025), for which he has also directed episodes.[5](https://www.tvmaze.com/people/266/tj-scott)
## Film and writing
Scott's television movie work includes *Mayday* (CBS, 2005), based on the book by [Nelson DeMille](https://www.edgepedia.org/nelson-demille) and Thomas Block, which he directed and co-wrote with Kevin Lund.[12](https://www.paramountpressexpress.com/cbs-sports/releases/?view=10908) He also wrote and directed the television movies *Blacktop* (2000) and *Deadliest Sea* (2009), the latter earning five Gemini Award nominations.[11](https://departureseries.net/director) In 2015 he directed, co-wrote, and co-produced the independent feature *Death Valley*, which he described as a noir-style film made with friends and family.[13](https://ataglancemag.com/in-the-tub-with-tj-scott/)
## Photography and In the Tub
Scott is also a photographer.[2](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0779830) After his mother's breast cancer spread, he created the *In the Tub* coffee-table portrait books, photographing actors, musicians, and other celebrities in bathtubs, with all profits directed to breast cancer research through a partnership with the organization F*ck Cancer.[6](https://www.cinematicpicturesgroup.com/blog/dan-feuerriegel-in-the-tub-3) Subjects included cast members he directed on *Spartacus*; each shoot lasted about an hour, with the subject in the tub for 10 to 20 minutes.[13](https://ataglancemag.com/in-the-tub-with-tj-scott/)
## Personal life
Scott was married to actress [Victoria Pratt](https://www.edgepedia.org/victoria-pratt), who appeared as Cyane in the *Xena* episodes "Adventures in the Sin Trade" and as Sarge in *Cleopatra 2525*.[4](https://xenaville.com/cast/scott.html) • [14](https://www.usmagazine.com/celebrity-news/news/trace-adkins-marries-victoria-pratt-blake-shelton-officiates/)
## References
1. [T.J. Scott List of Movies and TV Shows, TV Guide](https://www.tvguide.com/celebrities/tj-scott/credits/3000465612/)
2. [T.J. Scott, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0779830)
3. [TJ Scott, Memory Alpha](https://memory-alpha.fandom.com/wiki/TJ_Scott)
4. [TJ Scott, Xenaville](https://xenaville.com/cast/scott.html)
5. [T.J. Scott, TVmaze](https://www.tvmaze.com/people/266/tj-scott)
6. [Dan Feuerriegel | In The Tub, Cinematic Pictures Group](https://www.cinematicpicturesgroup.com/blog/dan-feuerriegel-in-the-tub-3)
7. [T.J. Scott, Metacritic](https://www.metacritic.com/person/tj-scott/)
8. [Category:T.J. Scott/Director, DC Database](https://dc.fandom.com/wiki/Category%3AT.J._Scott/Director)
9. [Orphan Black, The Peabody Awards](https://peabodyawards.com/award-profile/orphan-black-bbc-america/)
10. [T.J. Scott Talks Directing 'Gotham' and Working With Tatiana Maslany, Emertainment Monthly](https://emertainmentmonthly.org/2014/11/01/t-j-scott-talks-directing-gotham-working-tatiana-maslany/)
11. [Director, Departure official site](https://departureseries.net/director)
12. [Mayday cast and production credits, Paramount Press Express](https://www.paramountpressexpress.com/cbs-sports/releases/?view=10908)
13. [In the Tub with TJ Scott, At a Glance Magazine](https://ataglancemag.com/in-the-tub-with-tj-scott/)
14. [Trace Adkins Marries Actress Victoria Pratt, Blake Shelton Officiates the Ceremony](https://www.usmagazine.com/celebrity-news/news/trace-adkins-marries-victoria-pratt-blake-shelton-officiates/)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Screen people and creators › Film and television directors › Directors of the United States and Canada › Television directors › Live-action scripted television directors*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license