Brent Spiner’s days as Data in the “Star Trek” franchise are over. Spiner played the role over several TV series and movies, becoming one of the most beloved characters of the franchise.
Talking to TV Guide in the wake of his brief appearance in “Star Trek: Picard,” Spiner acknowledges the criticism he received for his ‘death’ in “Star Trek: Nemesis” which led to him coming back.
Spiner says: “When he blew up in Nemesis, I never expected to get the backlash [the show got] from so many fans over that. I thought, ‘Well, that’s a great, big emotional ending, and he’s sacrificing himself for his friends’ and that was just. But it didn’t seem to sit that well with too many people.”
With “Picard” now having offered the character a chance to say goodbye, and having him as a key motivating force for much of the season, Spiner feels this is the proper send off:
“I mean, there was just a finite amount of time that I can actually play Data, no matter what anyone says. So many people were like, ‘Oh, you can do it. You’re not too old,’ and then I do it and they go, ‘You’re too old. Why’d you do it?’ I think we did it in such brief sequences that it was fine to do it, and I felt good about it. But I wouldn’t really entertain the idea of doing it again because I just don’t think it would be realistic. So it seemed right to me to give him this more gentle sendoff, and it seemed right to me in the context of the entire season of Picard and what Picard himself had been experiencing because of the loss of Data. I think it allows him to feel okay about it too. So it seemed like the right thing to do.”
Other fan favorite characters from the past including Riker, Troi, Hugh and Seven of Nine returned for the first season, while Guinan is expected to be back for the second. Spiner hasn’t ruled out reprising his role as one of Dr. Soong’s descendants though.
