Bad encounters with cast members

[Finn]

really disheartened and disappointed to hear Brent Spiner is such an ASSHOLE

I'll never be able to watch TNG the same way again

From what I understand, Spiner has social anxiety, and there are days where it can be really difficult for him when he has to show up at convention- some of them are obligations as he signed on for, or something.

 

[1001001]

really disheartened and disappointed to hear Brent Spiner is such an ASSHOLE

I'll never be able to watch TNG the same way again

My wife and I had backstage passes for a convention in San Francisco a couple of years ago. We spent a fair amount of time talking to Brent Spiner. He was great. I talked to him about his web series for a few minutes. He was certainly friendly and easy-going that day.

As others have said, everybody has their days...

 

[Greg Cox]

The one and only time I ran into Spiner, while he was manning a table at Shore Leave, he certainly seemed amiable enough. If anything he seemed overly patient with a few clueless fans who were monopolizing his time, despite the line growing behind them.

Given the line, there was no time to talk at length, but he was polite and personable to me and the other fans.

 

[Clym]

From what I understand, Spiner has social anxiety, and there are days where it can be really difficult for him when he has to show up at convention- some of them are obligations as he signed on for, or something.

he doesn't appear to have social anxiety - in the videos I've seen of him he's a prankster and a joker, he enjoys crashing his fellow actor's speeches to heckle them

here's a vid of him at Comiccon getting very shirty to an interveiwer just because she asked him about Trek:

To view this content we will need your consent to set third party cookies.
For more detailed information, see our cookies page.

Accept third party cookies

why would you go to comiccon - a sci-fi convention - if he didn't want to talk about his main role. Let's face it, the only role he's really known for and the one that's made him pretty wealthy I'd imagine. Without Trek, where would he be? Another unknown bit-part TV actor is my guess. Loser!

 

[Finn]

^The other people noted positive stoies, as well as folks who saw and met him in other threads about meeting trek actors.

As for trek talk, he doesn't have to talk about it. He isn't even that famous and wealthy anyway. He isn't even a B-lister. You have to remember it has been 29 years since TNG came out and he would have been doing those appearances a zillion times since. You may be hard-pressed to come up with a trek question about Data, his time on the set and his classmates that wasn't asked already. After all those years and appearances, it may be nice to talk about things more current or stuff that doesn't come up often. Yes, everyone has an off day and don't have to be an ass to others. But at the same time, one can't "require" an actor to talk about a show he did, that ended 22 years ago.

 

[cultcross]

I'm sure he was having a bad day or just jet lagged it something but I had a really disappointing encounter with John De Lancie a few years back, he was quite stand offish and although he had only the shortest of queues the whole meeting and signing lasted about 8 seconds, like he couldn't wait to go home.

Generally other times I've been a little disappointed it's because the person has so many people waiting they have to be sign-and-go, like William Shatner. Perfectly polite, but it was a hand shake and a move-along. Not even personalisation on the autograph which I think is a bit shit given what they cost.

In contrast, most people I've met have been disarmingly lovely and good at appearing interested. I've noticed as a general trend, comic actors tend to be better at it, maybe the think-on-your-feet confidence of comedy makes you good at talking to strangers.

Plus I completely agree with what someone upthread said about having something different or slightly unusual to talk about. Cosplay can be good conversation starter, too, if it's more than just another Trek uniform.

 

[DertyNerdy]

Jeri Ryan said she liked my borg T-shirt when i had a photo with her

 

[jamestyler]

he doesn't appear to have social anxiety - in the videos I've seen of him he's a prankster and a joker, he enjoys crashing his fellow actor's speeches to heckle them

Robin Williams never seemed sad. We don't walk around in t-shirts with our problems on them. We pretend we're something else and carry on.

why would you go to comiccon - a sci-fi convention - if he didn't want to talk about his main role. Let's face it, the only role he's really known for and the one that's made him pretty wealthy I'd imagine. Without Trek, where would he be? Another unknown bit-part TV actor is my guess. Loser!

One: Money.

Two: Even if he found it to be the most delightful experience of his life it doesn't mean he has to like being asked the same thing on a loop.

I've been asked the same questions in interviews for years - often overriding the point of me being there. It irritated me. Brent Spiner and many other Trek cast members get asked the same questions on a far higher frequency. I imagine irritation would be high - and it's not at all surprising that quite a lot of actors are happy to talk about something different when someone turns up at their table.

 

[cultcross]

Brent Spiner and many other Trek cast members get asked the same questions on a far higher frequency. I imagine irritation would be high

Oh I'm sure it is, I often think about how certain people's lives are totally dominated by one thing they did decades ago. Can you imagine how utterly sick one hit wonder artists are of their famous song?

However, we've got a scenario here where those actors have chosen of their own free will, and at considerable financial gain for themselves, to attend conventions where they will be known for their most famous sci fi role. I don't think it's too much to ask for them to fake interest in talking about it. Their profession is, after all, acting. They could choose not to show up at all and solve the problem of repetitive questions.

 

[jamestyler]

They could choose not to show up, of course. But considering one regular cast member needed a fundraiser to get him through an operation, I'm not so sure their wallets could pass up the wage so easily.

And chosen at their own free will or not, these people aren't anything more than human. I'm not condoning being outwardly or purposefully rude - but when the 600th person asks you to bang out a catchphrase, it's possibly asking too much to expect them to find charm in the day

 

[Doom Shepherd]

If you can get them talking about something OTHER than Star Trek, you've got it made.

Anthony Montgomery asked to hear the story behind my T-shirt that says "Blarg."
(It's from "Red vs. Blue.") That led to a brief discussion about the multimedia comic/online series he was working on, and he called Aron Eisenberg over to see it. It was really cool.

James Darren seemed to enjoy that what my wife wanted him to autograph was a comic of "Time Tunnel" with his photo in it.

Alice Krige was also thrilled to talk about "See You in the Morning" with my wife.

What I've learned from this is Bring the Wife to Cons. She has a lot less problems with the social anxiety and such than I do, plus she's got encyclopedic film knowledge.

 

[Admiral Bear]

JDL's known for being a bit of a grouch bag. Met him years ago when he was appearing at an event with Casey Biggs. They've known each other since drama school, so he was in a bit of a better mood than usual. Made sure to meet Casey first who remembered me from previous recent encounters, and made sure to furtively gesture in JDL's direction and whisper "what sort of mood is he in?"

Ended up getting an inscription from JDL on a large Q print, and a joint photo of me, him and Casey, so all went well, but as always, you have to take a situation and person as you find them.

That said, having seen Shatner's behaviour in the flesh, there's simply no excuse for him.

 

[Clym]

That said, having seen Shatner's behaviour in the flesh, there's simply no excuse for him.

oooh do elaborate!

 

[Admiral Bear]

oooh do elaborate!

Probably not the worst story of Shatner's behaviour by a long stretch. I was at Creation's London Trek con back in 2003, the first time AFAIK they'd come over here to the UK to put a show on, and probably the first time many people have laid eyes on Shatner. After 3 solid hours of nothing to do since the last guest (many people went to sleep lying on chairs in the main room), Shatner comes up on stage to do his 60 mins. It gets to the audience question time, and a severely disabled girl in a wheelchair, who's decked out in full red TOS Uhura uniform, approaches the front of the stage with her relative/carer. The carer asks if the disabled girl can have a photo with Shatner. Now, I'm not debating the rights and wrongs of the timing of the request. There's a time and a place for such things, although to be fair, Shatner wasn't doing a paid photshoot, and I suppose if you don't ask, you don't get. But the following missive, or should that be dismissive, came forth from his podgy pie hole, in to the microphone, and broadcast to a good 1000 people in the conference room:

No, I couldn't possibly. It will just delay me.

On cue, 1000 people suddenly thought to themselves, what an absolute asshole.

 

[Finn]

No. No, probably not the worst he has done at a convention

 

[stardream]

Something similar was asked of Sean Astin (I'm sorry that I don't remember what it was ) but his reaction was 'I'm sorry. They've got me on a tight schedule here.' He was quite apologetic about it.

 

[Amaris]

he doesn't appear to have social anxiety - in the videos I've seen of him he's a prankster and a joker, he enjoys crashing his fellow actor's speeches to heckle them

here's a vid of him at Comiccon getting very shirty to an interveiwer just because she asked him about Trek:

To view this content we will need your consent to set third party cookies.
For more detailed information, see our cookies page.

Accept third party cookies

why would you go to comiccon - a sci-fi convention - if he didn't want to talk about his main role. Let's face it, the only role he's really known for and the one that's made him pretty wealthy I'd imagine. Without Trek, where would he be? Another unknown bit-part TV actor is my guess. Loser!

I have strong social anxiety, and I love to joke and prank people. One does not negate the other.

 

[tim0122]

I have strong social anxiety, and I love to joke and prank people. One does not negate the other.

Also, some shy or socially anxious people (like Robin Williams) are more comfortable in front of strangers if they are joking around. Heck, I think that's the whole reason Williams started being funny in the first place, to help with his shyness. That's why some people act, too. Some actors are some of the downright quiet and shy people you could possibly meet.

 

[JonnyQuest037]

That's why some people act, too. Some actors are some of the downright quiet and shy people you could possibly meet.

This is absolutely true. It's not at all unusual for actors and performers to be shy or introverted people in real life. Hell, I do stand-up comedy, and I usually get more nervous about unscripted interactions with strangers than I do about my time on stage.

 

[Agony_Boothb]

Not Trek related but I've met Alan Tudyk. I work for an Australian Bag/luggage company called Crumpler and he came in one day and I sold him some luggage! He was either in town filming or for a convention I can't quite remember. When he came into the store I played it cool and greeted him as I would any other customer, all the while i was internally losing my shit. Tudyk was very down to earth and genuine ,and made no mention of who he was until I brought it up when he was paying for the bags. We talked a bit about Firefly and some of his other projects and how much he was loving Australia, I then showed him where he could get a taxi and off he went!

On a Trek related note, I've met Garrett Wang, really nice guy and very passionate about Trek. I've also seen Shatner and on the day i saw him, he was in a good mood and very hospitable to the crowd.