Before becoming known as Data in Star Trek: The Next Generation, Brent Spiner briefly had a role in a Star Wars radio drama. However, he was dismissed because he struggled to pronounce ‘Millennium Falcon’. His line was a message to a captain announcing that the ship had landed.
Spiner recalled the experience on Dropping Names with Brent and Jonny, the chat show he hosts with fellow Star Trek actor Jonathan Frakes. Guest Terry Matalas asked whether he had ever lost an acting job. Although Spiner was embarrassed and initially hesitated to explain, he eventually shared the story. When he attempted the ship’s name during the conversation, he stumbled over it again. He no longer remembers his character or which radio production hired him.
The radio adaptations of the original Star Wars trilogy began with A New Hope in 1981, followed by The Empire Strikes Back in 1983. Return of the Jedi arrived in 1996. Spiner eventually returned to Star Wars in a different role: during the 2010s, he provided the voice of Gall Trayvis in the animated series Star Wars Rebels.
