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Brent Spiner's and Pee wee Herman

PicardSpeedo

PicardSpeedo

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Typo in Title: Should have been "Brent Spiner and Pee wee Herman." Forum won't allow me to fix it.

Were Brent Spiner's inspirations for Data's 'emotional' and 'funny' sides inspired by Pee wee Herman? The performances are strikingly similar. His various personas in "Masks" and "A Fistful of Datas" are also worthy of mention.

I'm genuinely wondering if Brent Spiner was a Paul Reubens fan, and if he was influenced by Paul's 'unique' acting styles. The timeline for TNGs production schedule lines up with when Paul Reubens was still famous - as opposed to infamous.
 
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This is the first I've heard of such a comparisson. I thought Brent was always supposed to be a bit eccentric, maybe that's all it was. He would do this thing with his voice, though, where it would sound like he were being choked and it seemed to want to have a comical edge to it. I don't know that it ever really acheived that, it just sort of sounded like "another" voice he could do, so he used it ...
 
Brent Spiner and Pee wee Herman

2takesfrakes said:
This is the first I've heard of such a comparisson. I thought Brent was always supposed to be a bit eccentric, maybe that's all it was. He would do this thing with his voice, though, where it would sound like he were being choked and it seemed to want to have a comical edge to it. I don't know that it ever really acheived that, it just sort of sounded like "another" voice he could do, so he used it ...
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Honestly, between Data's everyday appearance and the "choked" voice by Spiner, the approximation of Reubens seemed pretty spot-on. I wonder if Reubens recognized himself in the impressions?
 
The pale make-up, you mean? I do know that was Gene Roddenberry's doing and he'd subjected Brent and everyone involved in the decision to make-up test after make-up test, until settling on dipping Brent in gold, every day. Rick Berman complained in an interview that this process of choosing a complexion drove him mad. Data was even bubblegum pink at one point. Personally, I feel the look is comical, myself. Data should've been realised as a robotic puppet, the technology certainly existed at that time.

They could've molded it in Brent's image and had him there to voice the thing, to control some of its actions, to even stand in for it, for scenes that required physicality. And it could've been improved upon as technologies were developed in the industry. But no ... they put carnival paint on a Human being to realise this character. I feel it was a misstep, but Data's got a lot of fans and I know for a fact that a lot of women really love him and wish he were real, some way. PeeWee's an odd character to want to emulate, anyway, because he was pretty much a one-hit-wonder, or whatever, wasn't he? He had that one Tim Burton movie and then all of that just kind of went bye-bye ...
 
2takesfrakes said:
The pale make-up, you mean? I do know that was Gene Roddenberry's doing and he'd subjected Brent and everyone involved in the decision to make-up test after make-up test, until settling on dipping Brent in gold, every day. Rick Berman complained in an interview that this process of choosing a complexion drove him mad. Data was even bubblegum pink at one point. Personally, I feel the look is comical, myself. Data should've been realised as a robotic puppet, the technology certainly existed at that time.

They could've molded it in Brent's image and had him there to voice the thing, to control some of its actions, to even stand in for it, for scenes that required physicality. And it could've been improved upon as technologies were developed in the industry. But no ... they put carnival paint on a Human being to realise this character. I feel it was a misstep, but Data's got a lot of fans and I know for a fact that a lot of women really love him and wish he were real, some way. PeeWee's an odd character to want to emulate, anyway, because he was pretty much a one-hit-wonder, or whatever, wasn't he? He had that one Tim Burton movie and then all of that just kind of went bye-bye ...
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A stage show/HBO Special,two movies, a TV show that lasted four seasons and 15 Emmy wins for the TV show.
 
2takesfrakes said:
Data should've been realised as a robotic puppet, the technology certainly existed at that time.

They could've molded it in Brent's image and had him there to voice the thing, to control some of its actions, to even stand in for it, for scenes that required physicality. And it could've been improved upon as technologies were developed in the industry...
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With the associated production timeline hits and lack of performance nuance that would go along with it.
 
There a similarity in the way they move too, Pee-wee moves fasters, but the style of the walk and the way they both make turns.

Data: "Be sure to tell 'em, Large Marge sent ya."

"
 
Nerys Myk said:
A stage show/HBO Special,two movies, a TV show that lasted four seasons and 15 Emmy wins for the TV show.
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THREE movies. :)

And many, many guest spots on other shows, continuing up to this day. I guess people forget or are too young to remember how HUGE of a phenomenon he was, how often we all heard kids saying "I know you are, but what am I?" He was bigger than Dora, bigger than The Wiggles, bigger than Blue's Clues. Almost on par with Bart Simpson.
 
T'Girl said:
There a similarity in the way they move too, Pee-wee moves fasters, but the style of the walk and the way they both make turns.

Data: "Be sure to tell 'em, Large Marge sent ya."

"
Click to expand...

Not only that, but the extreme facial contortions, vocal oddities, and the manner in which they both tend to gesture are strikingly similar. Not to mention the slicked- back, jet black hair.
 
I was definitely in the target demographic for Pee Wee's Playhouse when it was on the air. And I loved it. One of my favorite shows as a kid.

Though, I gotta say, I don't think I've thought about Pee Wee Herman since...Mystery Men came out? I never would have made the Pee Wee/ Data connection myself, but now that it's pointed out, I can see it.

Was it intentional? I kinda doubt it. I bet Reuben and Spinner just had similar styles.

--Alex
 
Both actors probably had the same kind of training. Spiner was an accomplished mime artist, maybe Reubens was too.
 
I'm too young to have seen Pee-Wee's playhouse so all I remember of him is people saying he was a pervert growing up.

Also, wasn't Brent Spiner inspired by the likes of Charlie Chaplin and classic comedians? I think I heard that somewhere.
 
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