“We have faith in you”: Brent Spiner Pleaded Star Trek: TNG Boss to Cut Him Some Slack after Horrifying Work Schedule, Her Response Proves Spiner is a Living Legend

Arguably, Brent Spiner had one of the most challenging roles in Star Trek: The Next Generation. Portraying the android Lt. Commander Data was no easy feat, mainly due to the extensive and intricate dialogues he had to deliver within tight deadlines, sometimes even within hours.

Moreover, his portrayal extended beyond just one character, encompassing multiple roles throughout the series, each demanding equally substantial dialogue. These challenges culminated in a notable instance during the episode Masks, where he found himself practically pleading with the showrunners to cut him some slack.

Brent Spiner Had to Beg Star Trek: The Next Generation Showrunners to Cut Him Some Slack!

Early on in Star Trek: The Next Generation, the showrunners recognized that each character could carry an episode, which sparked the idea of giving everyone their moment to shine. Brent Spiner, who portrayed Data, initially handled substantial dialogue. Seasons 1 and 2 were relatively manageable, but the real challenge began in Season 3 with the onset of Data-centric episodes.

While Spiner excelled at mastering monologues on tight schedules, the days became grueling when he had to juggle multiple roles. Eventually, he reached a breaking point and expressed his concerns to the producers. In an interview on Michael Rosenbaum’s podcast, Inside of You, he candidly revealed his experiences. He said,

I was doing a show, I don’t remember what the name of it was. It was my show, so I was working all day, every day, and everyone else had done their part on the first day and then they were off the rest of the time. The day before we were starting a new show, I was saying, “Thank God this is going to be over soon and somebody else’s show will begin.” I get this script, and there are like five characters I’m playing — five characters. And it’s again a Data show.

He further revealed,

So, I’ve flown to the producer and I said, “I can’t do this. How am I going to do this? I’m still working on this show, and tomorrow at some point in time we finish this and an hour later start the next show, and I’ve got five characters and I can’t even read it, much less figure out what I’ve got to do with them.” And her response, her name was Jerry Taylor, wonderful woman, wonderful producer, and she said to me, “We have faith in you.”

And indeed, he managed to pull it off. He successfully navigated through all those roles in such a short timeframe, which in itself is remarkable.

What Sets Star Trek: The Next Generation Episode Masks Apart

Well, as they say, you win some and you lose some. The actor actually gave a pretty detailed scoop of how it all went down. In the episode in question, Masks, while investigating a rogue comet that has been journeying through the universe for over 87 million years, Picard makes a startling discovery, alien entities within the comet take over the Enterprise’s computer systems, including Data.

Masks could have been a fun episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation, instead, the story gets confusing and too serious, even making Brent Spiner and Patrick Stewart crack up during a crucial scene between Data and Captain Jean-Luc Picard. Spiner further revealed in the Inside of You, podcast,

The episode we did where I play the 5 characters is an episode called “Masks”… I do some of the most preposterous acting you’ve ever seen in your life in it. I mean, the other actors were laughing in my face at some of the characters I was doing. There was a point, when we finally got to the end of [the episode], Patrick and I were in masks and facing one another at 2 o’clock on Saturday morning. 

He further added,

He was playing the god of the sun and I was the goddess of the moon. We couldn’t get through the scene. We were laughing at each other so much that the crew hated us because they wanted to go home! But we couldn’t control it.

One thing was certain, the cast was incredibly close-knit, and they did certainly enjoyed themselves whenever they shot scenes together. Seeing them reunite on Star Trek: Picard was a delightful treat indeed.

Star Trek: The Next Generation is streaming on Paramount Plus.