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The world of science fiction has been determined to make a leap in the right direction ever since the days ofStar TrekandStar Wars. Without the aid of these films, the audience was left to witness the very same sets of Hollywood romance, historical drama, or happy musicals. The interstellar adventures opened up a whole new dimension for the viewers who were saturated with boredom.
![Star Trek: The Next Generation [Credit: Paramount Domestic Television]](https://i2.wp.com/fwmedia.fandomwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/21114237/Star-Trek-The-Next-Generation-Credit-Paramount-Domestic-Television-2.jpg)
Star Trek: The Next Generation[Credit: Paramount Domestic Television]Meanwhile, the audience began to open their minds up to the increasingly vast and seemingly never-ending lore, mythology, history, culture, and moralities of people living in galaxies far, far away, and of worlds that valued logic more than emotion. Such impossible settings proved that if one can imagine it, science fiction mixed with a dash of epic fantasy could make it all come true.
In an evolving Hollywood such as this, actor Brent Spiner suddenly found himself in a very convenient and fruitful position.
![Brent Spiner as Data in Star Trek The Next Generation [Credit: Paramount Domestic Television]](https://i2.wp.com/fwmedia.fandomwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/21114803/Brent-Spiner-as-Data-in-Star-Trek-The-Next-Generation-Credit-Paramount-Domestic-Television.jpeg)
Star TrekActor Brent Spiner Secures His Hollywood Future
For most actors and actresses, whether stepping foot for the first time in Hollywood or coming on board a prestigious platform, the opportunity to star in sci-fi projects was the stuff of dreams. ForStar Trek: The Next Generation‘sBrent Spiner, the dream became a very profitable reality after he cleverly held his cards close and cleverly played his hand rather than throw down the game entirely.
Brent Spiner as Data inStar Trek: The Next Generation[Credit: Paramount Domestic Television]Provided with no assurance of the franchise’s future or his involvement in it, Spiner – who was suddenly promoted from an episodic television star to a full-fledged movie actor – used his unexpendable status as the core cast ofThe Next Generationto secure his place in Hollywood. By using his role as leverage, Spiner used theStar Trekproject to allow himself access to a well of creative options at the parent studio of Paramount Pictures.
“Sooner or later, they’re going to do a reboot”: After Patrick Stewart, Another Star Trek Legend Has Shown Hopes for ‘The Next Generation’ Movie
The firstStar Trek: The Next Generationmovie spawned a fruitful franchise that included Brent Spiner as Data in a total of four films. And even though Spiner’s contractual condition for his involvement in Paramount projects only came halfway true, the actor did manage to cop out with an inherently large payday in the end.
Brent Spiner Finds a “Leverage” AgainstStar Trek
Brent Spiner at the 2012 Phoenix Comicon [Credit: Gage Skidmore via Wikimedia Commons]During an interview with Michael Rosenbaum in hisInside of Youpodcast,Star Trek: The Next Generationstar, Brent Spiner admitted to the legendary contractual negotiation he pulled off that landed him a reputation. His demands may have appeared to have somewhat greedy overtones, but Spiner’s stipulations were born out of the kind of clever thinking that helped one survive in the cut-throat world of the entertainment business.
While speaking to Rosenbaum, Spiner admitted:
In the first movie, I felt I had some leverage, which actors rarely have, particularly actors of my stature rarely have. But they had a contract, they had it all worked out… and I knew we had to start shooting immediately because the script was already written. We finished the series and two weeks later started the movie. So the negotiations got really intense, really fast.
Basically, I said, look I’m not doing it unless I make x amount of money, and more importantly, I get another role. I only did that once – that there has to be something that’s not Star Trek that Paramount Pictures is doing right now… There was a clause in it that if they didn’t find another movie for me to do, they had to pay me off some nice figure.
“There’s that double-edged sword of being identified with one role”: Star Trek: TNG Used a Brilliant Trick to Ensure Brent Spiner isn’t Typecast With Data-like Roles
The negotiation worked out swimmingly for Brent Spiner because, in the end,Star Trek: The Next Generationwas followed up with sequels, leaving Paramount with no chance to employ him in projects outside the universe ofStarTrek:“As it turned out, they did not find another movie for me to do or want to find another movie for me to do. So they just paid me.”
Star Trek: The Next Generationseries which ran from 1987 to 1994 and was followed by 4 movies starring actors from the core cast is now available for streaming on Paramount+
Diya Majumdar
Senior Writer
Articles Published :2410
Diya Majumdar is a Senior Content Writer at FandomWire with over 2000 published articles on the website. Since 2022, she has been working as an entertainment journalist with a special focus on films and pop culture.Among the countless genres and themes of Hollywood, the ones that particularly favor Diya’s tastes include Game of Thrones, DC, and well-aged thrillers and classics.
