Cosplaying Mr. Data

I love Mr. Data.

I've had the good fortune several times to meet Brent Spiner, the actor who portrays Data -- and his brothers Lore and B4, and his father Noonien Soong, and his great grandfather Arik Soong -- but this blog post is not about the wonderfully skilled actor who brought him to life, but rather about how I cosplay Data and his evil brother Lore.

As a nerdy kid in the 80's when Star Trek: The Next Generation originally began to air, I identified immediately with Data and his quest to better understand humanity. I admired his positive attitude, his willingness to collaborate with others completely unlike him for the benefit of the greater good, and his sense of duty. I first began cosplaying Data in 1992. I've kept a pretty consistent hairstyle for most of my adult life; I slick it back with some hair gel in the morning after I shower just for the ease of quickly getting ready in the morning. There were times that I was out and about in jeans and a t-shirt, and the cashier at the grocery store would tell me that I looked like "that robot guy from Star Trek." Friends at work told me that I looked like Data as well, so I started with a licensed gold TNG Ops uniform Halloween costume from Rubies, with some black pants. I first wore Data to work on Halloween, with some white crème Halloween makeup on my face and my hair slicked back as usual, and it was a big hit.

I first began cosplaying Data in 1992. I've kept a pretty consistent hairstyle for most of my adult life; I slick it back with some hair gel in the morning after I shower just for the ease of quickly getting ready in the morning. There were times that I was out and about in jeans and a t-shirt, and the cashier at the grocery store would tell me that I looked like "that robot guy from Star Trek." Friends at work told me that I looked like Data as well, so I started with a licensed gold TNG Ops uniform Halloween costume from Rubies, with some black pants. I first wore Data to work on Halloween, with some white crème Halloween makeup on my face and my hair slicked back as usual, and it was a big hit.

That same year, I started to attend Star Trek conventions in the Seattle area, where I lived. Seattle was the top ratings market for TNG, Deep Space Nine and Voyager, and there were conventions in Seattle, Portland, and nearby Vancouver, Canada, about every four months. During one convention trip to Vancouver, BC, I picked up a nicer, more-accurate TNG Ops uniform and began to use that as I attended conventions.

After a job transfer to Salt Lake City, Utah, I was within an easy six-hour drive to Las Vegas for the annual convention there, and I've attended each year that it has been held at the former Las Vegas Hilton, or more recently, at the Rio Suite Hotel. During my first trip to the Las Vegas convention in 2002, I had an experience that helped me step up my Data cosplay. I was walking through a large, open area on the way to the convention hall, and a woman at the other end of the room saw me, and yelled out, "DATA!" I was used to being asked to pose for photos, so I continued to walk toward her, as she sprinted toward me with a huge grin on her face. When we were finally toe to toe, she looked me in the eyes, and a wave of disappointment washed over her face as she said, "Oh… you don't have his eyes." She then walked away. I decided right there to get some yellow contact lenses when I returned home so that I could take my cosplay to the next level.

A word of advice: if you choose to get contact lenses for a costume, see your eyecare professional. I don't wear glasses or contacts for vision correction, but I saw an optometrist who gave me an eye exam and ordered the zero-prescription contacts for me. If you try to find the cheapest deal you can and order contacts online, you run the serious risk of damaging your eyes with substandard materials that lack FDA approval. I've heard horror stories in the cosplay community about people who have had eye infections and have partial loss of vision due to contacts they ordered online without a prescription. I am also careful to care for and clean my contacts correctly to avoid problems.

As far as specific tips for cosplaying Data, this is what I have learned over the years and what I do:

• My hair is a dishwater blond, and Data's hair is a darker brown. I use brown Halloween-style hairspray after I have slicked my hair back to darken my hair to match his, and to even out my hairline to android-like precision.
  
  
• I keep my sideburns somewhat long, so I can trim them to a triangular Starfleet point before I apply my makeup.
  
  
• The makeup I use depends on what I will be doing. If I'll be cosplaying Data all day long, or going outside into the heat, or dancing or otherwise moving around a lot, I use professional stage makeup, like Mehron Clown White greasepaint. For shorter timeframes of just a few hours, I use Ben Nye Crème Foundation P-1 White makeup. Both kinds of makeup can be found at theatrical supply stores, or through online retailers.
  
  
• After I have applied the makeup, I use a powder brush with regular baby powder to set the makeup. While there are professional powders available used to set makeup, most I've seen have a pink or tan cast to them. Setting the makeup with powder keeps it from smearing and sweating off, and helps to reduce the sheen and reflective glare in photos, so that it looks like pale artificial skin, instead of makeup. I keep a small container of the makeup with me so I can touch up my lips if needed after eating or drinking.
  
  
• I use white gloves (actually glove liners I bought at a military surplus store) so that my hands match the color of my face. That way, I can pick up items in the dealers room, shake hands, hold props like my phaser or tricorder for photos, eat, drink, use the restroom and wash my hands, etc. without leaving behind makeup from my fingers. I can quickly and easily slip off one or both gloves to use my phone or whatever, and then put them back on.
  
  
• My main TNG uniform, as well as my First Contact duty uniform and dress uniform, were all purchased. I found some trousers at a thrift store that matched the fabric of my uniform, and I had a tailor add the split at the bottom hem to match the TNG look. I commissioned my Lore from the episode "Brothers." I found my blue doublebreasted suit, tie, and grey Fedora that Data wears in "The Big Goodbye" at a thrift store. I pieced together Data as Jayden the Iceman from "Thine Own Self" from thrift store finds and leggings from the mall. A friend who owned a costume shop that was going out of business gifted me a musketeer outfit for Data from "Hollow Pusuits." I made the hat from a Halloween big daddy hat from an after-Halloween sale, and I sewed on a feather boa for the trim. I made Lore from "Descent" from athletic armor from a thrift store that I spraypainted black. I found Data as Friar Tuck
  from "QPid" at an after-Halloween sale. Data as Sherlock Holmes was another suit, hat and vest from a thrift store, and the cloak was a gift from a friend. Data as Frank Hollander from "A Fistful of Datas" was all thrift store finds, as was Data' suit, vest and cravat from "Time's Arrow." Most of my boots and episode-specific shoes were found at thrift stores as well.
  
  
• For recognizability and fun photos with other fans, I like to carry props with me. For regular TNG Data, I have a mechanical toy cat that moves, meows and purrs that I carry as his pet cat Spot, as well as my original Playmates phaser and tricorder toys that light up and make sounds from the series. I found the same kind of cassette tape holder used in the series as an engineering case that I painted to look like what appeared on screen. For Data as Jayden the Iceman, I used a tool box from a hardware store and added some stickers I printed to look like the radioactive waste container Data carries in the episode. I also took pieces of packing foam and wrapped them in aluminum foil that I keep inside the box and give out as prizes to people who recognize me and can name the episode. For Data from "Time's Arrow," I made an ophidian cane out of a mop handle from the thrift store, some foam tubing and a toy snake head. I enjoy the challenge of re-creating props on a budget from thrift store finds.
  
  
• I have the complete set of TNG DVDs and I watch episodes on Hulu as well. I've memorized a few lines that Data is known for, and I try to imitate his voice. For example, when people come up to me and ask me how I am, I respond by saying "I am functioning within established parameters," without cracking a smile, and I try to respond to other questions in conversation without using contractions. I also practice Data's head movements, and although I'm right-handed, since Data is LEFT-handed, I hold my phaser or other props in my left hand for photos.

 

My favorite activity at conventions is just interacting with other fans, getting photos and sharing costuming tips. For the past several years, I have been part of groups with friends that have recreated the looks from such episodes as "Time's Arrow," "The Big Goodbye," 'Qpid," "A Fistful of Datas" and others.

Looking to the future, my wish list for future Data and Lore cosplays includes Lore's gold engineering jumpsuit from "Datalore," Data's British Royal Navy holodeck uniform from Star Trek Generations and Data's prisoner jumpsuit from "The Most Toys."

 

Eric Allan Hall has been costuming since 1987. A lifelong Star Trek fan, he's  been featured in his Borg costume in the documentaries Trek Nation, by Rod Roddenberry, and in William Shatner's Get A Life. Transplanted to Utah from the Seattle area in 2001, Eric has attended about 80 conventions since he first started cosplaying – often with his family. 

via Star Trek Latest News