Short Biography

Brent Jay Spiner (born February 2, 1949) is an American actor, best known for his portrayal of the android Lieutenant Commander Data in the television and film series Star Trek: The Next Generation. Spiner was born in Houston, Texas, the son of Sylvia and Jack Spiner, who owned a furniture store. After Jack`s death, he was adopted by Sylvia`s second husband, Sol Mintz, whose surname he used between 1955 and 1975.

In 1984, Spiner moved to Las Vegas, 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, Spiner also 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 memorably played the acquitted murder suspect Bill Grand. In 1987, Spiner started his 15 year run (on television for 7 seasons and in 4 feature films) portraying Lieutenant Commander Data on Star Trek: The Next Generation. As one of the main characters, he appeared in all but one episode of the series` 178 episode run. 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 felt that he is too old to continue playing the part and that Data was best presented with a youthful appearance. In 2009, he provided the voice of himself for the Family Guy episode Not All Dogs Go to Heaven. Spiner is a self-described acrophobe.

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