Before he returns in Independence Day: Resurgence, we’re looking back at the films and television career of Brent Spiner!
During the original run of Star Trek: The Next Generation, it was an open secret among fans that Brent Spiner was one of the best actors in the franchise’s illustrious history. Spiner portrayed the android known as Data, who quickly become one of the most popular characters on the show. Spiner was even given multiple roles on TNG as Data’s creator and his evil twin, just to give him a chance to show off what he was capable of doing.
But this was a different era in TV and film, and Spiner’s obvious skills didn’t exactly translate into mainstream stardom. However, Spiner has consistently worked as a professional actor for over 30 years, which has given him more than enough opportunities to prove himself as a performer.
Take for example Independence Day, one of the big blockbuster films of 1996. Spiner stole his scenes in that film as the slightly-unhinged Dr. Brackish Okun. In other words, he made a small role resonate, perhaps even more than the creative team intended. The apparent demise of Dr. Okun in that movie didn’t stop director Roland Emmerich from bringing Spiner back for Independence Day: Resurgence. Perhaps Spiner will have a larger role this time, now that Dr. Okun is even more deeply connected to the aliens.
Ahead of the release of Independence Day: Resurgence on Friday, June 24, ComingSoon.net is taking a look back at 10 memorable films and television shows from Spiner’s career. He’s got a lot more up his sleeve than just androids!
Brent Spiner Movies and TV Spotlight: Rent Control (1984)
Believe it or not, Rent Control is the only movie that has ever featured Brent Spiner as its leading star. That’s insane, but it’s true. Rent Control was actually filmed in 1982, and it was held back for nearly two years before it was released.
In the film, Spiner played Leonard Junger, a writer trying to break into TV and get his family back together before finding himself wrapped up in a murder mystery.
Rent Control probably would have been completely forgotten if Spinner hadn’t found fame later in his career. But if nothing else, Spiner can always say that he once headlined a movie!
Brent Spiner Movies and TV Spotlight: Night Court (1985)
Spiner is so good at drama that it’s easy to forget that he’s also a comedian. He had a recurring role on Night Court as Bob, the father of the Wheeler family that often found themselves pathetically in trouble with the law. Annie O’Donnell played Bob’s wife, June Wheeler throughout their occasional guest appearances on the show.
The Wheeler family may have been rural stereotypes, but Spiner and O’Donnell were always deadpan and hilarious in the roles.
Brent Spiner Movies and TV Spotlight: Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987)
Star Trek: The Next Generation is without a doubt the most prominent project of Spiner’s career, and it gave him the best role he ever had: Data. In many ways, Data was the “Spock” of the series, the breakout character who strove to understand humanity. But unlike Spock, Data had a drive to become more human, and that journey came to define him.
Spiner ended up appearing in all but one episode of TNG before making the leap to the Star Trek movies alongside his castmates.
Brent Spiner TV and Movies Spotlight: Independence Day (1996)
By 1996, Star Trek: The Next Generation was over and Spiner was looking for more feature film roles. He found one in the first Independence Day as Dr. Brackish Okun, the director of research at Area 51. Spiner was quite funny in the role, and he walked away with every scene that he was in.
Dr. Okun was even possessed by an alien at one point and he appeared to die at its hands. But audiences liked him so much that it generally became accepted that Dr. Okun might have survived…and in Roland Emmerich‘s Independence Day: Resurgence, he shows up again!
Brent Spiner Movies and TV Spotlight: Star Trek: First Contact (1996)
Spiner reprised his role as Data in four Star Trek films, but Star Trek: First Contact gave him the best material to play with. In this movie, Data was seduced by Alice Krige’s Borg Queen with the prospect of becoming more human than ever… which included human flesh and feelings!
Thanks to Spiner’s performance, there was actually some tension about Data’s decision and whether he would choose to betray his friends and crewmates.
Brent Spiner Movies and TV Spotlight: Introducing Dorothy Dandridge (1999)
Introducing Dorothy Dandridge was an HBO original movie that gave Spiner a chance to play opposite Halle Berry in a high profile project. Spiner played Earl Mills, the manager of Berry’s Dorothy Dandridge. The real Dorothy Dandridge was an actress, singer, and a dancer who has the distinction of being the first African American woman to be nominated for best actress at the Academy Awards.
The Introducing Dorothy Dandridge movie chronicled the rise and tragic fall of Dandridge. Her life was summed up in the film’s tagline: “Right woman. Right place. Wrong time.”
Brent Spiner Movies and TV Spotlight: The Master of Disguise (2002)
Dana Carvey’s showcase film The Master of Disguise was not exactly beloved by film critics or fans, but it was a rare opportunity for Spiner to play the lead villain of a movie. He portrayed Devlin Bowman, a master criminal who blackmailed the father of Carvey’s character into doing his bidding. And Carvey’s character? He was called Pistachio Disguisey, just in case there was any doubt about his chosen vocation.
According to Rotten Tomatoes, The Master of Disguise was the 18th worst reviewed film of the ‘00s. But can anyone name the 17 films in front of it on that list?
Brent Spiner Movies and TV Spotlight: Threshold (2005)
Remember Lost? The year after that show debuted, all of the other major broadcast networks were looking for their own version. For CBS, that show was Threshold, which was produced by Star Trek: The Next Generation veteran Brannon Braga and future comic book movie maven, David S. Goyer. Like the other Lost clones, Threshold didn’t last beyond a single season, but this was the show that deserved to survive. Spiner played Dr. Nigel Fenway, an expert recruited by Carla Gugino’s Dr. Molly Caffrey, the woman who was tasked with stopping a stealth alien invasion.
Threshold not only had all of that going for it, but also Peter Dinklage in a starring role shortly after his breakout turn in The Station Agent. The TV medium is a heartbreaker, and Threshold was another casualty of that ongoing reality.
Brent Spiner Movies and TV Spotlight: Warehouse 13 (2012)
In the fourth season of Syfy‘s Warehouse 13, Spiner had a recurring role as Brother Adrian, a leading member of the Brotherhood of the Black Diamond who became the personal nemesis of Saul Rubinek’s Artie Nielsen. What separated Brother Adrian from other Warehouse 13 villains was that he was arguably justified in his actions… and there was also a twist which completely changed the context of Spiner’s earlier appearances on the series.
Brent Spiner Movies and TV Spotlight: Blunt Talk (2015)
Spiner’s time in the Star Trek franchise may be over, but he reunited with his Star Trek: The Next Generation co-star Patrick Stewart in Blunt Talk. Spiner had a recurring role in the first season of Blunt Talk as Phil, the pianist at Walter Blunt’s favorite bar. That’s given Spiner and Stewart more opportunities to play off of each other. And that’s something that we’re glad to see!
(Photo Credit: Judy Eddy / WENN.com)
