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==Early life==
==Early life==
Spiner was born in [[Houston]], [[Texas]], the son of Sylvia and Jack Spiner, who owned a furniture store.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.filmreference.com/film/86/Brent-Spiner.html |title=Brent Spiner biography at Film Reference |publisher=Filmreference.com |date= |accessdate=2010-12-09}}</ref> After Jack's death, he was adopted by Sylvia's second husband, Sol Mintz, whose surname he used between 1955 and 1975.<ref>Lipton, Michael A. [http://www.people.com/people/archive/article/0,,20112854,00.html "Can Data Find a Mate-A?"] ''[[People magazine|People]]'' magazine; vol. 37, No. 22; June 8, 1992</ref> Spiner attended [[Bellaire High School, Bellaire, Texas|Bellaire High School]] in [[Bellaire, Texas]], where he was influenced by drama teacher [[Cecil Pickett]]—the same drama teacher who coached such people as [[Cindy Pickett]], [[Randy Quaid]], [[Dennis Quaid]], [[Trey Wilson]], [[Robert Wuhl]], and [[Thomas Schlamme]]. Spiner would become active on the Bellaire [[Individual events (speech)|Speech team]], eventually winning the national championship in dramatic interpretation. Spiner attended the [[University of Houston]] where he performed in local theatre.{{Citation needed|date=January 2010}}
Spiner was born in [[Houston]], [[Texas]], the son of Sylvia and Jack Spiner, who owned a furniture store.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.filmreference.com/film/86/Brent-Spiner.html |title=Brent Spiner biography at Film Reference |publisher=Filmreference.com |date= |accessdate=2010-12-09}}</ref> After Jack's death, he was adopted by Sylvia's second husband, Sol Mintz, whose surname he used between 1955 and 1975.<ref>Lipton, Michael A. [http://www.people.com/people/archive/article/0,,20112854,00.html "Can Data Find a Mate-A?"] ''[[People magazine|People]]'' magazine; vol. 37, No. 22; June 8, 1992</ref> Spiner attended [[Bellaire High School, Bellaire, Texas|Bellaire High School]] in [[Bellaire, Texas]], where he was influenced by drama teacher [[Cecil Pickett]]—the same drama teacher who coached such people as [[Cindy Pickett]], [[Randy Quaid]], [[Dennis Quaid]], [[Trey Wilson]], [[Robert Wuhl]], and [[Thomas Schlamme]]. Spiner would become active on the Bellaire [[Individual events (speech)|Speech team]], eventually winning the national championship in dramatic interpretation. Spiner attended the [[University of Houston]] where he performed in local theatre. {{Citation needed|date=January 2010}} As a student, Spiner once delivered a pizza to Isaac Asimov.


==Career==
==Career==

Revision as of 23:49, 7 February 2011

Brent Spiner
Spiner at the Big Apple Convention in Manhattan, October 17, 2009.
Born (1949-02-02) February 2, 1949 (age 75)
Houston, Texas,
United States
OccupationActor
Years active1984–present
Websitehttp://www.therealbrentspiner.com/

Brent Jay Spiner (born February 2, 1949)[1][2] is an American actor, known for his portrayal of the android Lieutenant Commander Data in the television series Star Trek: The Next Generation and four subsequent films. His portrayal of Data in Star Trek: First Contact and of Dr. Brackish Okun in Independence Day, both in 1996, earned him a Saturn Award and Saturn Award nomination respectively. He has also enjoyed a career in the theatre and as a musician.

Early life

Spiner was born in Houston, Texas, the son of Sylvia and Jack Spiner, who owned a furniture store.[3] After Jack's death, he was adopted by Sylvia's second husband, Sol Mintz, whose surname he used between 1955 and 1975.[4] Spiner attended Bellaire High School in Bellaire, Texas, where he was influenced by drama teacher Cecil Pickett—the same drama teacher who coached such people as Cindy Pickett, Randy Quaid, Dennis Quaid, Trey Wilson, Robert Wuhl, and Thomas Schlamme. Spiner would become active on the Bellaire Speech team, eventually winning the national championship in dramatic interpretation. Spiner attended the University of Houston where he performed in local theatre. [citation needed] As a student, Spiner once delivered a pizza to Isaac Asimov.

Career

Spiner moved to New York City, where he became a stage actor, performing in several Broadway and Off-Broadway plays, including The Three Musketeers and Stephen Sondheim's Sunday in the Park with George. At the same time, he also had a nonspeaking background role in the film Stardust Memories as one of the silent Felliniesque "grotesques" on Sandy Bates's train car.

In 1984, Spiner moved to Los Angeles, appearing in several pilots and made-for-TV movies. He played a recurring character on Night Court named Bob Wheeler, patriarch of a family of West Virginia hicks. In 1986, he played a small role as a condemned soul in episode 54 (entitled "Dead Run") of the short-lived revival of Rod Serling's Twilight Zone series on CBS. Also in 1986, Spiner made two appearances as characters in season 3 of the television show Mama's Family: Mr. Conroy and Billy Bob. Spiner's first and only starring film role was in Rent Control in 1984. In the Cheers episode "Never Love a Goalie, Part II", he played the acquitted murder suspect Bill Grand. Spiner also had a role in a Tales from the Darkside episode, "Too Stubborn to Die".

Star Trek

In 1987, Spiner started his 17-year run portraying Lieutenant Commander Data on Star Trek: The Next Generation, which spanned 7 seasons and 4 feature films. As one of the main characters, he appeared in all of the series' 178 episode run except in one episode, "Family". He reprised his role in the spin-off films, Star Trek Generations (1994), Star Trek: First Contact (1996), Star Trek: Insurrection (1998), and Star Trek Nemesis (2002). Although billed as the final Trek movie for the TNG cast, the ambiguous ending of Star Trek Nemesis suggested that there was a possible avenue for the return of Data. However, Spiner has opined that he is too old to continue playing the part, as Data embodies a "childlike innocence" that Spiner can no longer credibly exhibit, as his appearance already began to lose that quality by the time he filmed his last Trek films.[5][6] In addition to the shows and films he voiced his character in several Star Trek video games, such as Star Trek Generations, Star Trek: The Next Generation - A Final Unity, Star Trek: Hidden Evil, and Star Trek: Bridge Commander.[7]

Other works

In 1991, he recorded an album of 1940s pop standards entitled Ol' Yellow Eyes Is Back, the title of which was a play on the yellow contact lenses Spiner sported as Data and Frank Sinatra's nickname, Ol' Blue Eyes.

In 1997, Spiner returned to Broadway, playing the leading role of John Adams in the Roundabout Theatre Company revival of the musical 1776. His performance met with generally positive reviews,[citation needed] and the production was nominated for a Tony Award. A cast recording was released of the revival production.

He has since had guest appearances on Law & Order: Criminal Intent, Friends, Deadly Games, Mad About You, Gargoyles, Frasier, Joey, and The Outer Limits, as well as movie roles in Independence Day, Phenomenon, , Out to Sea, South Park: Bigger, Longer and Uncut, Dude, Where's My Car?, The Ponder Heart, I Am Sam, The Master of Disguise, and The Aviator. His TV movie appearances during this period include the 2000 TV musical Geppetto, and playing Dorothy Dandridge's manager/confidant Earl Mills in the HBO production Introducing Dorothy Dandridge.

In 2004, Spiner returned to Star Trek when he appeared as Dr. Arik Soong, an ancestor of Data's creator Dr. Noonien Soong, whom he also played, in a three-episode story arc of Star Trek: Enterprise in "Borderland", "Cold Station 12", and "The Augments". He also briefly reprised the role of Data for the series, providing a voice-only cameo in the Enterprise finale, "These Are the Voyages...". Spiner also cameoed in Joey, playing himself. He had also guest-starred in Friends as a man who interviews Rachel for Gucci.

In 2005, Spiner began a role in a short-lived science-fiction television series, Threshold, which was canceled in November of that year after 13 episodes. In 2006, Spiner appeared in a feature film comedy, Material Girls, with Hilary and Haylie Duff.

During the tenth season of the sitcom Frasier, in the episode "Lilith Needs a Favor", Spiner made two brief cameos as a fellow airline passenger of Frasier Crane's ex-wife, Lilith Sternin. When she comments that he must not like flying (in reference to his abnormally pale skin tone) he replies that he is "always this pale," a reference to the pasty complexion of his Star Trek character Data.[citation needed]

In March 2008, Spiner performed alongside Maude Maggart in a new radio show/musical called Dreamland.[8] This was released as a CD album.[9] In February 2008, Spiner joined the growing league of celebrities who feature on popular online sites like MySpace, under the name of 'The Real Brent Spiner'.

In 2008, he played Dr. Strom in the feature film parody Superhero Movie. In February 2009, Spiner played the role of William Quint in "The Juror #6 Job", an episode of the drama series Leverage directed by his Next Generation co-star Jonathan Frakes. That same year, he voiced himself in the Family Guy episode "Not All Dogs Go to Heaven".

In 2010, Spiner and fellow Star Trek: The Next Generation star LeVar Burton made an appearance on TWiT.tv's coverage of the Consumer Electronics Show.[10]

References

  1. ^ "Brent Spiner Biography at Film Reference". Filmreference.com. Retrieved 2010-12-09.
  2. ^ "Brent Spiner biography at Yahoo! TV". Tv.yahoo.com. 1949-02-02. Retrieved 2010-12-09.
  3. ^ "Brent Spiner biography at Film Reference". Filmreference.com. Retrieved 2010-12-09.
  4. ^ Lipton, Michael A. "Can Data Find a Mate-A?" People magazine; vol. 37, No. 22; June 8, 1992
  5. ^ Thompson, Simon. "Brent Spiner Rules Out Star Trek XI", ComingSoon.net. Retrieved November 16, 2010.
  6. ^ "Brent Spiner on BBC Breakfast", BBC Breakfast, YouTube, September 23, 2006. Retrieved November 16, 2010.
  7. ^ Lee, Luaine. "A Data with Star Trek again". 9 January 2003. The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 9 December 2010.
  8. ^ Dreamland. www.therealbrentspiner.com
  9. ^ as mentioned on the Radio Show BBC Radio 2, with Steve Wright, 5 March 2008
  10. ^ Running time: 12:53. "The TWiT Netcast Network with Leo Laporte". Twit.tv. Retrieved 2010-12-09.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)

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