Peter Dennis Peter Dennis was an English actor who played Isaac Newton in the episode . He returned to " Voyager " five years later in to play Admiral Hendricks in the episode . He is perhaps best known for his one - man show , " Bother ! The Brain of Pooh " , in which he performed selections from ' s " Winne - the - Pooh " stories . Personal life . Dennis was born in Dorking , Surrey , England . When he was 19 , he was drafted into the British Army , where he served for six years . Afterward , he became a personal assistant to the chief executive officer of the British engineering company Guest , Keen and Nettlefolds ( now known simply as ) . He resigned from the company the day after watching his first play , a production of " Look Back in Anger " , and he graduated from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art ( RADA ) three years later . Dennis had one child from his first marriage , a son named Shane . Dennis and his first wife divorced in 1961 . In 1994 , his son was killed in St . Louis , Missouri , an unintended victim in a drive - by shooting . Dennis married actress Diane Mercer on 24 March 1979 . He died of cancer at his home in Shadow Hills , California , on 18 April 2009 . He was 75 years old . Career . 1960s - 1980s . Early in his acting career , Dennis appeared on such British television shows as " No Hiding Place " , " The Avengers " , " The Troubleshooters " , " Detective " , and " New Scotland Yard " . Between 1973 and 1976 , he played the recurring role of Sutton on the drama series " Hadleigh " . He made his film debut in the British comedy " Confessions of a Window Cleaner " in 1974 . He then appeared in " The Stud " with Joan Collins in 1978 . In the 1980s , Dennis was seen on such British series as " Grange Hill " , " Never the Twain " , " Yes Minister " , " Minder " , and " C . A . T . S . Eyes " . He also appeared with Christopher Neame in the 1983 mini - series " The Cleopatras " and the 1988 two - part TV movie " The Great Escape II : The Untold Story " , the latter which was directed by Jud Taylor . In addition , Dennis played General Bernard Law Montgomery in Part Nine of the 1989 mini - series " War and Remembrance " . Steven Berkoff , Jeremy Kemp , and William Schallert appeared in this segment , as well . 1990s - 2000s . Following supporting roles in the 1990 British films " A Man Called Sarge " and " The Rainbow Thief " and an appearance in the first " Prime Suspect " , Dennis relocated to the United States in 1991 and began appearing on American television shows . The first was an episode of " Murder , She Wrote " co - starring Nick Tate , which aired a few days before his episode of " Murphy Brown " with Brian McNamara . He then had a two - episode recurring role on " The Adventures of Brisco County Jr . " , working with Vaughn Armstrong , Tzi Ma , John Pyper - Ferguson , and David Youse . Dennis has since appeared on such series as " Friends " , " Profiler " ( with Edward Laurence Albert and Michael Ensign ) , " Tracey Takes On " . . . ( with Tommy Hinkley ) , " Seinfeld " ( with Jason Alexander and Tucker Smallwood ) , and " Diagnosis Murder " ( with Richard Cox ) . He has also appeared in two series created by J . J . Abrams , " Felicity " ( in 1999 , with Amanda Foreman , Greg Grunberg , and Chris Sarandon ) and " Alias " ( in 2001 , with Robert Clendenin and Keone Young ) . Perhaps Dennis ' most notable film role is that of Leslie Bough in the acclaimed 2004 comedy " Sideways " , which starred fellow " Voyager " guest performer Virginia Madsen . His other film credits include " Hellborn " ( with Tommy " Tiny " Lister , Jr . , Tracy Scoggins , and David Jean Thomas ) , " Man in the Chair " ( with Christopher Plummer , Ellen Geer , George Murdock , and Tracey Walter ) , and " Ten Inch Hero " ( with Alice Krige ) . He also voiced an ogre hunter in the hit 2001 CGI - animated film " Shrek " and was a voice actor on the films " Eragon " and " Beowulf " ( the latter of which featured Dominic Keating ) . Dennis ' final acting appearance was in a 2008 episode of the NBC medical drama " ER " . His episode , " The High Holiday " , also featured Michelle C . Bonilla , Scott Grimes , and Leland Orser . " Bother ! " . Dennis premiered his one - man show , " Bother ! The Brain of Pooh " , at the ADC Theatre in Cambridge on 14 October 1976 . In December 1986 , the show received its American premiere at the Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute in Hollywood , California , where it was honored with the Drama - Logue Award and the LA Theater Award . Dennis performed the show over three hundred more times at more than a hundred different venues throughout America and Europe .