Brent Spiner, who played Data in Star Trek: The Next Generation, got to flex his acting muscles even though the android was emotionless.
BRENT SPINER remembers the time "WILLIAM SHATNER" hit on him
One of the most endearing characters in Star Trek: The Next Generation was Brent Spiner's Data. The android's journey from being curious about humanity and emotions to almost becoming one while working alongside the USS Enterprise crew was one of the most satisfying arcs for a character.
Although Data was largely emotionless, he became a canvas upon which many other variations could be put, and Brent Spiner did a phenomenal job with that. A director once told him that it would be boring to play an emotionless character for many seasons. Still, Spiner seemed to imagine that Data was more than an android.
The science fiction genre has been a vessel through which deep questions about humanity and its journey are explored and answered. The genre lends itself to many philosophical questions and can also be used as political commentary. For Star Trek: The Next Generation, these questions were often asked via Data.
