Why the Role of DATA Gave BRENT SPINER Anxiety Early in His STAR TREK Tenure

Brent Spiner on the Pressure of Playing Data

Brent Spiner discusses the intense pressure of playing DATA early in his Star Trek run—especially how the role pushed him into real anxiety.

Learning Data: “Photographic memory” vs. reality

When someone asks whether Data’s actor must have photographic memory or learn quickly, Spiner explains that it wasn’t instant memorization. Instead, it felt more like a muscle he trained daily.

Grueling schedule, obsessive practice, and insomnia

He describes a brutal early workload—about 26 episodes a year. After long days, he’d try to study, but the thought of learning tomorrow’s lines made his stomach “turn over.”

He also had a strict rule for himself: he couldn’t sleep until he could say the lines perfectly out loud—and often that meant many nights with no sleep.

Producers adjust the workflow—then comes “five characters” panic

After the first season or two, a producer realized that everyone could “carry” their own episodes. That led to rotating responsibilities for Data/Picard/Riker.

But then Spiner’s anxiety spikes: he’s handed a new script for a Data episode where he must play five different characters—and he’s already in the middle of another show’s schedule.

Jerry Taylor’s reassurance

Spiner flies to a producer named Jerry Taylor, basically panicking that he can’t learn it in time. Her response is simple but powerful: “we have faith in you.”

Spiner instantly relaxes and realizes he can do it.

“Masks” as proof it worked

He points to the episode “Masks” as evidence he managed the challenge. He describes his performance as so extreme—“preposterous acting”—that other actors were laughing at him. He says the crew could tell the scene was chaos.

The funniest peak with Patrick Stewart

The funniest moment comes late at night, around 2:00 AM Saturday. Spiner and Patrick Stewart face each other—Spiner plays the goddess of the moon, while Stewart plays the god of the sun—but they can’t get through the scene because they keep laughing too hard.

The crew hated it, but they couldn’t stop it.

Why Spiner and Stewart were fun to work with

Spiner notes that Patrick can be intense, but also incredibly fun—suggesting that chemistry and playfulness made the work memorable, even when it derailed the seriousness of a scene.

Main takeaway

The video is essentially Spiner recounting how the demanding mastery required for DATA caused severe early-career anxiety—but also how a supportive producer and the ability to push through enabled standout, laugh-filled performances like “Masks.”

Personalities mentioned

• Brent Spiner
• Patrick Stewart
• Jerry Taylor (producer)