The new generation series Star Trek: Picard brought back many fan-favorite characters from The Next Generation, including Sir Patrick Stewart and Brent Spiner’s Data. The latter especially was a surprise to fans as he was shown to have sacrificed himself in the last original film Star Trek: Nemesis.
While Spiner had reportedly refused to return to the series, he was convinced by one key aspect of the new show. He mentioned that the chance to not spend hours in his signature yellow/gold makeup and removing it was an appealing factor for him to return.
Brent Spiner’s Disregard For Data’s Yellow Makeup Brought Him Back To Star Trek: Picard
Both Sir Patrick Stewart and Brent Spiner had not been a part of any subsequent Star Trek material after the end of TNG and the films. Unlike actors like LeVar Burton and Jonathan Frakes, Spinner did not come back to the franchise in the form of a director. He even mentioned in 2018 that he was too old to return as Data as the character does not age.
However, the actor was reportedly convinced to reprise his role by the studio in Star Trek: Picard. The spinoff show saw many of TNG characters such as Captain Picard, William Riker, Geordi LaForge, and others return after decades, and the makers even found a way to bring Data back from the dead (after the events of Nemesis).
Spiner mentioned in an interview with TrekMovie that not having to sit for that yellow makeup was a huge win for him and the deal was insanely attractive. He said,
You know, [the makeup] wasn’t a big factor in convincing me to do it, although I was happy beyond belief not to wear the makeup. I mean, I still have the eyes. Yeah, certainly, it was more appealing to me knowing that I wasn’t going to be spending hours and hours and hours in makeup, and even worse, hours getting it off.
As Data returns in a more human-like form, the yellow/gold makeup was done away with in Star Trek: Picard but the actor had to still wear his signature golden eyes.
Brent Spiner Said That The Studio Threw A Ridiculous Amount Of Money At Him To Return
Brent Spiner is no stranger to reprising his classic roles. While he was one of the few actors from Roland Emmerich’s Independence Day to return in the 2016 sequel, he was reportedly not that keen on coming back to Star Trek. The actor mentioned to Yahoo! News that he felt he looked ridiculous in the makeup and he was too old for the role.
However, the studio reportedly removed both of those obstacles and made him an offer that he could not refuse to return as Data in Star Trek: Picard. He said to TrekMovie,
They just threw hundreds of thousands of dollars at me. I kept saying, ‘No, no, no.’ And then it just got absurd and I said, ‘Well, okay, maybe one episode,’ and then it just got even crazier. And I thought, ‘Okay, I’ll do the whole season.’
In fact, Terry had some interesting ideas and had a way to address them–my first response to him was, ‘How are we going to do this?’ And they came up with this stuff and we tweaked it a bit and then I thought, ‘Yeah, I want to be there to play with my friends.”’I wouldn’t want to be home knowing they’re all having that fun and I’m not there.
While he only had a brief role in season one, Spinner had an emotionally charged sequence in season three where Data and Lore merged into one and finally came back to life.
Star Trek: Picard is available to stream on Paramount+.
