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- Academy Awards, USA - Best Actress in a Leading Role
- Blockbuster Entertainment Awards - Favorite Actress - Drama
- Empire Awards, UK - Best British Actress
- European Film Awards - Best Actress
- Golden Globes, USA - Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture - Drama
- London Critics Circle Film Awards - British Actress of the Year
- Online Film Critics Society Awards - Best Actress
- Satellite Awards - Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture - Drama
- Screen Actors Guild Awards - Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role
This is Brent Spiner. He is best known for his role as Data, the android from Star Trek: The Next Generation. Mr. Spiner brings Data to life with his quick, darting movements and continually wide-eyed expression. He is a fun, enthusiastic, and versatile actor who seems to have a knack for landing incredibly choice roles--Data, of course, Dr. Okun (the eccentric scientist from Independence Day), and Gil Godwin, the megalomaniacal, dictatorial director of entertainment on a cruise ship in the comedy "Out to Sea" are just a few of them. Mr. Spiner was born on Groundhog Day, 1949, in Houston. He grew up listening to Frank Sinatra and other (slightly cheesy) singers of the mid to late 1940s, and thus developed a passion for singing 'forties crooner numbers, and has even released his own album, "Ol' Yellow Eyes is Back." He performed on Broadway for a long time before landing his first major TV/screen role as Data. What other people think of Brent Spiner: The general consensus on Brent Spiner is overwhelmingly favorable. From all accounts, he is a very nice person in real life; one article in the Brent Spiner Magazine (see links below) states that he seems to be a "genuinely warm and open person." A friend of mine who went to college with him and now works as a stage design professor at the University of Guam tells me that he is "a real nice fellow, and a hell of a good actor." I have heard the word "cute" applied to Brent Spiner more that to any other actor, by both men and women, even those who do not find him at all sexy. He is also worshipped by women the world over. Probably both of these attitudes can be attributed largely to his looks (see picture) and to his most famous role as Data, whose good-natured, gentle and innocent personality is appealing to many people. Of course, despite all the good press, there are also those who dislike Brent Spiner. Those who dislike him most commonly accuse him of being "a ham." This might be true, but in Brent's defense, the level of hamminess he uses is always appropriate to the roles he plays. Anyway, an actor is no fun without a little bit of ham. (Picture courtesy of Yayoi's Brent Spiner Fan Page) Movies and TV Shows to See if You Want to Get to Know This Actor Better
- Star Trek--The Next Generation: This is probably the best place to start if you want to get to know Brent Spiner. This kind of acting (e.g.., Sci-Fi) is not technically Brent's specialty--in fact, he signed on to the show thinking it would probably flop after about a year--but he does a good job. He also plays a number of characters other than Data on the show. In one episode, Brothers, he plays three different characters (Data's evil brother Lore, his creator Dr. Soong, and Data). Tapes of this show are widely available. You should also see the three ST:TNG movies, Generations, First Contact, and Insurrection, probably the best one yet.
- Independence Day: This is the 1997 blockbuster starring Wil Smith and Jeff Goldblum. Brent Spiner makes an appearance towards the middle of the movie as Dr. Okun, and you almost have to know it's him before you see it to recognize him. This will tell you something about his versatility. This is another film in the Sci-Fi genre. Brent Spiner is probably attempting to break away from this kind of role.
- Out to Sea: This is the Lemmon-Matthau comedy about two brothers, one divorced and one a widower, who become dance hosts on a luxury liner in order to try and pick up some rich female companions. They are tormented by their ferocious director of entertainment, Gil Godwin (Brent Spiner). This is probably more along the lines of the kind of role Brent Spiner was trained to play. He sports a moustache and a British accent for this role, and looks alarmingly like my stage design professor friend. He also has the opportunity to sing quite often (this is something that he likes to do), and he hams it up quite nicely.
