Robert Picardo is an accomplished singer and actor whose career has lasted 45 years and shows no sign of slowing. He has been performing professionally since he was in college in the mid-1970s, appearing on stage in high-end productions like Leonard Bernstein’s “Mass” and singing in his college a cappella choir. After college, he was recognized for his performance in a 1976 production of David Mamet’s “Sexual Perversity in Chicago.”

His movement to television was natural for a hard-working actor, starting with small roles in notable hit shows. He appeared on two episodes of “Kojak” in 1977 and has never had a “down” period since. He thereafter popped up in “Taxi,” “Silver Spoons,” “Alice,” “Benson,” “21 Jump Street,” and 15 episodes of “The Wonder Years” as the hard-nosed Coach Cutlip, in addition to dozens of other TV shows that are too plentiful to list here. On the big screen, Picardo became a “lucky charm” for director Joe Dante, appearing in most of the filmmaker’s movies; he was the werewolf in “The Howling,” multiple characters in “Explorers,” the Cowboy in “Innerspace,” took out the trash in “The ‘Burbs,” and made out with a Gremlin in “Gremlins 2: The New Batch.” He also turned up in Ridley Scott’s “Legend,” was the robotic cab driver in Paul Verhoeven’s “Total Recall,” and appeared in multiple other hit movies besides.

Picardo, in other words, is one of the hardest working and reliable character actors in the business. By the time he was cast as the holographic Doctor in “Star Trek: Voyager” in 1995, he was already a beloved “Hey, it’s that guy!” actor. “Voyager,” though, was kind of what made his name more memorable, and it remains his longest-running and most recognized gig.

Immediately before “Voyager,” Picardo even had guest spots in a pair of season 3 episodes of the hit sitcom “Home Improvement.” He played a character named Joe Morton who, twice, met with Tim (Tim Allen) in his garage.

Picardo first appeared in the “Home Improvement” episode “A Sew, Sew Evening” (October 6, 1993). He played Joe Morton, Tim’s new neighbor, who had something of an overbearing personality. They’re both obsessed with cars and Joe accidentally dings Tim’s car, causing some tension between them. Picardo’s only job was to be annoying and self-assured, Tim’s two least-liked qualities in other people. Joe Morton was a broad archetype, but Picardo played the part with aplomb.

The character returned in “Blow Up” (November 3, 1993), but he only played a minor role in that one. According to the episode’s IMDb trivia page, Picardo was to become a semi-regular on “Home Improvement,” and the producers already figured they would include him in more episodes. In 1994, however, Picardo began his auditioning process for “Star Trek: Voyager,” and he had to commit to the sci-fi series instead. Picardo was initially unsure whether he should be in a “Star Trek” spinoff or if he would find greater success on the already-popular “Home Improvement.” It seems that Tim Allen, a Trekkie, encouraged him toward the former.

Picardo wasn’t one to rest on his laurels, though. During the audition process for “Voyager,” Picardo managed to star in a Lee Harvey Oswald TV movie, an episode of “Tales from the Crypt,” the sequel “Revenge of the Nerds IV: Nerds in Love,” an episode of “Rebel Highway,” a TV thriller called “White Mile,” and an episode of “ER.” He was also in “Wagons East!” and “The Pagemaster” at this time. He would go on to appear in 172 episodes of “Voyager” from 1995 to 2001.

Picardo didn’t stop there either. Even after “Voyager,” his TV credits run into the dozens. He kept working with Dante (he was in “Looney Tunes: Back in Action”) and even turned up in further “Star Trek” projects. He’s also lent his voice to video games and reprised his role as the Doctor in the animated series “Star Trek: Prodigy.” At the time of writing, he is also set to appear in the upcoming “Star Trek” show “Starfleet Academy.”

“Home Improvement” was but one gig of hundreds for Picardo.