A Native American descendant, this onetime Starfleet lieutenant commander resigned from his position as an instructor in Starfleet's Advanced Tactical Training in 2370 to join the Maquis, sparked by his father's death fighting Cardassians on the tribe's homeworld along the Demilitarized Zone. Chakotay is a gentle man but resolute, and is one of the Maquis who are truly in the fight for principle, not mercenary gain or violent outlet - as was one of his students, Lt. Ro Laren.

Today Chakotay looks to his spiritual Mayan background for inner comfort - and doesn't mind sharing that belief with others, when asked, or even enduring some goodnatured ribbing about it from Torres and Paris, among others. He uses a spirit guide summoned by his medicine bundle, prays to speak with his father for guidance, and uses a Mayan-descended medicine wheel for selfhealing.

However, he didn't always have such reverence for his ancestors' ways. His father Kolopak was insistent upon finding their peoples' ancestral home and did so in the Central American jungle in 2344, when Chakotay was 15. But the young man had already been casting his lot with Starfleet crews patrolling the border, and stunned his father on that trip with the news he'd be leaving the tribe to attend Starfleet Academy after his newfound aquaintance Captain Sulu agreed to sponsor him at Starfleet Academy, even at his young age.The virtual estrangement between father and son lasted until 2371 when Kolopak died. Chakotay took to wearing his tattoo, a symbol of those jungle descendants, to honor his father, who wore it also; even his own name is a cherished gift from his tribe. Later Chakotay reported considering archeology as a second occupation, either in the field or in academics.

Known members of Chakotay's Maquis crew include B'Elanna Torres, Lon Suder, Kurt Bendera, Kenneth Dalby, Mariah Henley, (First Name Unknown) Ayala, (FNU) Hogan, (FNU) Jackson; Bajoran nationals Seska, Gerron and Jarvin; and a Bolian, Chell.

With an undercover agent from the crew of Captain Kathryn Janeway aboard, Chakotay's craft disappeared in the Badlands a week before Janeway's new U.S.S. Voyager itself was lost on SD 48307.5 and presumed destroyed.

As a second generation Mexican-American, Robert describes his heritage as Latindio. During high school, he was involved in sports -baseball and football- and it wasn't until he began college that he first considered a career as an actor. He graduated from Fresno State with a degree in Theater Arts, a degree which took seven years to complete because, as he told a convention audience, "there was always another play to do.".

On moving to Los Angeles, Robert landed his first film role, a small part in Luis Valdez's Zoot Suit. His next job was the title role in Paul Bartel's Eating Raoul, a cult classic. Since that time, he has found continuous employment in films, television and theater. His current filmography includes 25 titles, among them the critically acclaimed and Oscar nominated Gaby, a true story, Scenes from the class struggle in Beverly Hills (yet another Paul Bartel film), and Oliver Stone's Nixon. He also appeared in Night of the comet, one of those movies which shows up on cable television at least as often as Star Wars, Rocky, and Grease II! Before he claimed the role of Commander Chakotay, he was featured on Veronica Clare (Lifetime) and Models, Inc. (Fox), and he has done some episodic television as well. One of his finest performances came as a guest star in a two-part episode of NBC's Midnight caller called "Life without possibility", a role which should have but inexplicably did not win him Emmy consideration. In the theater, he has appeared in productions for Luis Valdez's El Teatro Campesino, the LA Theater Center, the California Shakespeare Festival, and others.

Because theater was his first love and it remains an abiding passion, Robert founded and serves as co-artistic director of the East LA Classic Theater Group, which is affiliated with Cal State LA. He also belongs to Classic Theater Lab, an ensemble of professional actors that co-produced Robert's Hamlet, which played from April 11-May 11, 1997 at the Actors' Gang Theater in Hollywood. He served as co-producer and director of this well-received production, as well as playing the title role.

Robert lives in Los Angeles.