Tommy Harper, also credited as Thomas Harper, is an Assistant Director, Unit Production Manager, and Producer who worked as Second Unit Unit Production Manager and Second Assistant Director on Star Trek. On Star Trek Into Darkness, Harper received credit as Unit Production Manager and Co-Producer.
Harper previously worked with J.J. Abrams and many other members of the Star Trek crew as second assistant director on the 2006 Paramount Pictures release Mission: Impossible III, for which he was also first assistant director of additional photography. In addition, Star Trek was the third film starring Chris Pine that Harper worked on as an assistant director, after Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement (2004) and Just My Luck (2006).
He began his career as a production assistant, during which time he worked on such films as Showgirls, Mulholland Falls, Marvin's Room, Liar Liar and Godzilla. He also assisted on 1998's Krippendorf's Tribe, which featured design work by Star Trek and Mission: Impossible III production designer Scott Chambliss.
He became an assistant director in 1998, with his early credits including Life (1999), Runaway Bride (1999) and Gone in 60 Seconds (2000). He was second assistant director on Miss Congeniality (2000), starring William Shatner, and The Time Machine (2002), scripted by John Logan. His other assistant directorial credits include The Princess Diaries (2001), Austin Powers in Goldmember (2002), Cradle 2 the Grave (2003), Big Fish (2003), Next (2007), Georgia Rule, Halloween (2007), and Blonde Ambition (2007).
Harper's credits as unit production manager include Alice in Wonderland (2010), Battle: Los Angeles (2011), and Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol (2011) on which he also worked as co-producer. More recently, Harper was an executive producer on Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit (2013, starring Chris Pine, with David Paymer) and a consulting producer on the drama Big Eyes (2014). Harper joined Abrams' team again as executive producer for Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015), where he worked with producers Bryan Burk, Tommy Gormley, and Ben Rosenblatt, director of photography Dan Mindel, editors Maryann Brandon and Mary Jo Markey, and costume designer Michael Kaplan.