“How long is this going to last?”: Brent Spiner Had to Tackle a Major Issue Every Season in The Next Generation He Never Faced in Star Trek: Picard

The Star Trek franchise has featured countless interesting and awe-inspiring characters throughout its run. While characters like Jean-Luc Picard or Captain Kirk are more prominent characters, Brent Spiner’s Data has equally remained a vital part of the mythos. Portraying the immortal android called Data, Spiner has remained a fan favorite for decades for the way he has tackled the complex character.

Despite portraying the character as well as he did, the actor faced a serious dilemma while starring in Star Trek: The Next Generation, which fortunately was not an issue for him when he reprised his role decades later in Star Trek: Picard.

Brent Spiner’s Dilemma in Star Trek: The Next Generation

Brent Spiner is best known for his iconic portrayal of the android Data in Star Trek: The Next Generation and the rest of the Star Trek franchise. A favorite of many, the actor did an effortless job in bringing the robotic being to life, throughout the seven seasons of the show. Yet, he faced a unique challenge in playing Data, which subsequently bothered him as each season rolled by.

As per the actor, he was worried about ‘aging’ throughout the seven seasons of The Next Generation. While he knew starring as an android had certain demands, Data being designed to be perpetually youthfully bothered him the most. This made him worry about his character’s appeal as well as the reaction of fans if his aging became more apparent.

In an old interview with StarTrek.com, the actor remarked,

I was 38 when I started playing Data.

So it occurred to me, ‘How long is this going to last?’ I looked pretty young for my age at the time, but I thought, ‘If I was 10 years younger, I could play this for 30 years.’ But I wasn’t. I was pushing 40. I thought, ‘How long am I going to look acceptably young to keep playing this part?’ Fortunately, it lasted as long as it did.

Fortunately for him, the fans did not worry about it for they loved the way Brent Spiner portrayed the role. After appearing in seven seasons of The Next Generation, the actor’s aging dilemma was resolved when he later reprised his role in Star Trek: Picard.

Brent Spiner Did Not Have to Worry About Aging in Star Trek: Picard

Brent Spiner and most of Star Trek: The Next Generation later reprised their respective roles in Star Trek: Picard. Running for three whole seasons, Spiner was just as great as Data as he had previously been. However, his appearance in Picard did not present him with the problem of aging for the actor eventually ended up portraying a bunch of different characters thanks to Star Trek’s infinite possibilities.

Despite having some similarities with his original character, Spiner later explained the following about his appearance in Star Trek: Picard (via Inverse),

It is a new character in a sense. But also, I think what we’re saying is that we are our memories. Obviously, we all have memories of things we love. But also of things that we don’t love. Of sad things. Of horrible things. Data is all of that now.

And so despite the challenges of portraying an ageless character, the Star Trek franchise eventually made it possible for the actor to reprise his fan-favorite role without being worried about aging. Spiner’s ability to adapt and embrace all these changes is a further testament to the actor’s talents and a reason why fans of the sci-fi franchise continue to love him as Data.

Star Trek: The Next Generation and Star Trek: Picard can be streamed on Paramount+.