Guy Vardaman Guy Vardaman is a stand - in performer who often appeared in the role of Darien Wallace on . He also served as photo double for Data during the majority of the show ' s run , from the first season ' s through the finale episode , , as well as for . Additionally , he was a research consultant for the show ' s creator , Gene Roddenberry . Early days . Hailing from Glendale , California , Vardaman spent a good part of his life in San Jose . He grew up watching , becoming a huge fan of the series . He never dreamed that he would become a part of the " Star Trek " universe himself . To support himself while he was in school , Vardaman joined the Screen Extras Guild to acquire a part - time job . Less than two weeks later , while signing up with casting , he was spotted and approached for a job on " Star Trek : The Next Generation " . As it turns out , the man originally approached for the job was unavailable , prompting the need for a replacement . Despite some initial reluctance from the wardrobe department , Vardaman was fitted with an operations yellow Starfleet uniform and reported for work the following day . ( ) On the set . Beginnings . Vardaman joined the crew of TNG when he was sent to be an extra for the episode through Central Casting . Being a fan of the original series , Vardaman found the assignment to be " quite a kick " . During those first few days , he was often mistaken for Brent Spiner , the actor who played Data . Those who made this error normally did so in distress , since Spiner was supposed to be in make - up , and Vardaman was not . These incidents ultimately led to Vardaman being assigned as Spiner ' s photo double just a few episodes later . ( " Select Historical Data Year Six – Extra Help on the Set " , TNG Season 6 DVD special feature ) Vardaman ' s first on - screen appearance was as a passerby on the Dixon Hill holodeck program in " The Big Goodbye " . His first appearance as Starfleet officer Darien Wallace came in the episode . Though his first day of shooting was for a scene on the bridge in , he was first seen as Wallace in " Datalore " as that episode was aired first . He went on to appear as the character in 62 more episodes ( counting his appearance in a photograph in ) . Darien Wallace was also featured on a card for the " Star Trek Customizable Card Game " . This was done as a " thank you " by the people at Decipher for his help in selecting images and names to be used on the cards ( see behind - the - scenes below ) . Although introduced in the first season , the character was not named until the sixth season ' s , when Jonathan Frakes ( as Riker ) pointed out Vardaman and another extra and referred to them as " Wallace and Towles " , after the two script typists for the TNG and " Deep Space Nine " writing staffs . ( TNG Season 6 DVD ) A biographical screen in " Eye of the Beholder " revealed the character ' s full name to be Darien Wallace , after graphics supervisor Mike Okuda called Vardaman while prepping the graphic and ran the first name suggestion by him . In his role as a Starfleet officer , Vardaman was seen manning both the ops and conn stations on the bridge . He was often seen in corridors or in main engineering and also in Ten Forward , in Season 5 usually wearing a grey casual suit when having a drink . He has worn the colors of all three Starfleet divisions . He was usually seen wearing operations yellow , but he did wear science blue for an episode of the first season and also wore command red on several occasions . The only times he wore red , however , was when he was assigned to the conn . However , there were those on the production staff who felt that his scenes at the conn looked a bit awkward due to his physical similarity to Brent Spiner , who was seated at the console next to him . There are even shots in where both Vardaman ' s and Spiner ' s hands are at the same position on their respective consoles – ironic since one of Vardaman ' s duties as Spiner ' s photo double is to be the actor ' s hands during certain close - up shots . While it made sense for Vardaman to resemble Spiner since he was the actor ' s photo double , the production crew " thought it looked too strange " when he was seated next to Spiner . In , his original Seasons 1 - 3 gold uniform was no longer available , so he was seen in red once again , wearing his uniform from . He never had to wear the " skant " uniform of Season 1 . Doubling for Brent Spiner . As his doubling for Brent Spiner required him to be dressed like Data , Vardaman was fitted for numerous special outfits that Brent Spiner wore as well , including the suit Data wore as Carlos in , various Sherlock Holmes outfits , Frank Hollander ' s suit and Lore jumpsuits . This also meant that he was provided with the regular two - piece uniform , worn by the main characters beginning with season 3 . Though he was still seen wearing the old one - piece jumpsuit in season 3 , he was one of the few extras seen in later seasons , wearing the more comfortable two - piece duty uniform , not the modified Lycra jumpsuits . At the beginning of Season 5 , he was fitted for a casual grey two - piece suit that he was often seen wearing in Ten Forward , beginning with . Only very few extras who were working on the set for several seasons got fitted for additional outfits . Finally , since Dwight Schultz wore Vardaman ' s costume when appearing on the show as Reginald Barclay , it was also Wallace ' s uniform that was auctioned off at the auction for US $ 2 , 640 in early . On doubling for Data , Vardaman stated that Spiner would often discuss with him an upcoming scene and was very particular regarding how closely Vardaman ' s hands resembled his own and even how Vardaman used his hands on - screen , for the sake of consistency . " " In some cases , " " stated Vardaman , " " [ Brent ] would coach me on how he wanted the buttons to be pressed so that it was consistent . . . once I started to do the photo doubling , he also was very loyal to me and [ ensured ] that I continued doing the photo doubling so that the work was consistent and if there was a close - up shot , either Brent did it or I did it . " " ( TNG Season 6 ; Season 4 DVD ) On his way driving to rehearsals for scenes from , where he would have doubled for Brent Spiner in his dual roles as Data and Lore , another driver suddenly changed into Vardaman ' s lane and caused a head - on collision of the two cars . Vardaman had to remain bedridden for very long time , explaining Wallace ' s absence in the first half of season 4 . By the time of , he was still unsteady on his feet ( while in the hospital , he had also contracted spinal meningitis ) so he is only seen lying on a bed in sickbay , apparently injured after the was violently shaken when trying to break loose from a cosmic string . In " The Wounded " , he is only seen sitting at conn , and finally in , the 18th episode of that season , he returned in full swing . Hand doubling . His hand - doubling included much more than pressing buttons , however . To name just a few : he was first seen as Data ' s hands in his very first appearance on " Star Trek " , in , where he crushes the gun of one of Cyrus Redblock ' s thugs at the end of the episode . It is that the nanite s crawl into in the computer core in . He also doubled Data ' s hands when Data served Spot his cat food in , the android , taken over by several D ' Arsay characters , including Ihat , is teaching Captain Picard the symbol for Masaka ' s temple in and draws the sign into the sand . Finally , when Data reverses the polarity of an axial servo in his arm to open a hidden door in the Amargosa Diaspora ( " " Open Sesame ! " " ) in , it is Vardaman ' s arm as well . He also did hand signs for the mediator Riva in and was taught the signs by Brent Spiner . As a Klingon . Vardaman went on to play the part of a Klingon numerous times – twice in a " Star Trek " film . The first was the Klingon officer serving on board Chang ' s Bird - of - Prey in ; the second was the Klingon officer serving on the Duras sisters ' Bird - of - Prey in . His characters in both of these films stood in the same location on the bridge of each Bird - of - Prey – behind and to the right of the captain ' s chair . He also appeared as a member of the Klingon High Council in and as the Klingon helmsman aboard K ' Vada ' s Bird - of - Prey in and . He even played a Klingon in a Hallmark commercial promoting a Klingon Bird - of - Prey Christmas ornament , along with Robert O ' Reilly . This commercial was done entirely in Klingon ( with English subtitles , of course ) . The Klingon language itself was written by Marc Okrand for authenticity . The commercial has a Klingon commander ( played by O ' Reilly ) rewarding his officers for their victory in battle by giving them a gift – a Klingon Bird - of - Prey Christmas ornament . We then see an insert shot of the ornament in Vardaman ' s hand , after which Vardaman ' s Klingon remarks " " That was very nice of him " " , to which the other Klingon suggests giving their commander a " thank you " card . He also played unnamed Romulans twice on TNG , first in the episode and then in . Despite having appeared in over 60 episodes , Vardaman only spoke two words on - screen . As Wallace , he said " " Good " " in , and as the Klingon officer in " Generations " , he was heard shouting " " petaQ ! " " Also in " Generations " , he was seen mouthing the Klingon phrase " " Qapla " " , but it was not audible , similar to a mouthed " thank you " to Diana Giddings in . He also did not receive screen credit for any of his appearances . According to the call sheets , Vardaman was scheduled to appear in the fourth season episodes , , and in scenes in Ten Forward but was either not filmed or cut from the final episodes . Other stand - in work . Vardaman was also the permanent stand - in for Wil Wheaton , who played Wesley Crusher during the show ' s first four seasons and appeared several more times in later seasons . Additionally , Vardaman served as a stand - in for Leonard Nimoy in the episodes " Unification I " and " Unification II " . He also stood in for many other guest characters on the show , including Henry Woronicz and Spencer Garrett in the episode , David Ogden Stiers in the episode , Franc Luz and William Newman in , Robert O ' Reilly in , John de Lancie as Q in all of his episodes with the exception of , , and , Matt Frewer in the episode , Ben Lemon in the episode , David Oliver in the episode , and Dwight Schultz as Barclay in episodes such as , who also wore Vardaman ' s uniform in his episodes . His stand - in duties also required him to photo double other characters , or parts of their bodies . He was Tam Elbrun ' s hand when he touched the interior wall of Gomtuu in and was Picard ' s hand when he was at the conn in . Additionally , he was Worf ' s shoulder once , as well as Geordi La Forge ' s feet . He was even Beverly Crusher ' s torso in various insert shots when it was just required to see a part of her uniform in a reflection or something similarly small . Behind the scenes . Besides being a stand - in and background performer , Vardaman assisted Richard Arnold in compiling pictures for the 1989 " Star Trek " calendar for Pocket Books , which brought Vardaman to the attention of " Star Trek " creator Gene Roddenberry . As a result , Vardaman became a " Research Consultant " on TNG along with Arnold . He and Arnold were planning on swapping episodic credits , but this never came about and Vardaman ' s work went uncredited on - screen . Vardaman worked as a " Research Consultant " from TNG ' s first season until Roddenberry ' s death in . In addition , he " was a liaison to licensing , motion picture publicity , television promotion and home video " , also until Gene ' s death . In the TNG Season 5 DVD feature " A Tribute to Gene Roddenberry " , Vardaman spoke of Gene as being intensely loyal to his friends and thoughtful in everything he did . " " On the one hand , " " Vardaman stated , " " He had to be an executive producer , and sometimes that is not a very pretty job . " " On the other hand , he noted , " " Gene Roddenberry , the person , was one of the kindest people I ' ve ever met . " " After Roddenberry ' s death , Vardaman worked in TNG ' s production office and later in the licensing division , a move which limited his on - screen appearances on the show during the sixth and seventh seasons . While working in the licensing division , Vardaman worked with Decipher in choosing images and names for cards in their " Star Trek Customizable Card Game " . Some of the names Vardaman used were inside jokes ; a Klingon he called " K ' Var " , for example , was named after his sister , Kaycee Vardaman . Another Klingon named " Kromm " was a reference to a monitor lizard he once owned , named " Crom " . Vardaman also supplied canon ical facts regarding certain characters . In appreciation for Vardaman ' s assistance , Decipher created a Darien Wallace card . The image used on the card was a shot taken while filming the episode " Descent " on location , with a shot of Starfleet Headquarters in the background to replace the parking lot . The shot was actually supposed to be used as a uniform reference for the CCG and Vardaman ' s head was to be replaced . For this reason , Vardaman was not concerned about smiling or squinting when the photograph was taken . Vardaman did not learn about the Wallace card until after the cards were printed and he was presented with a boxed set . Vardaman is also a computer animator , and did occasional animation work on TNG , such as the Romulan overlay seen through La Forge ' s VISOR in the episode . Mike Okuda sped up the final animation . Other projects . Vardaman also worked as an extra on shows such as " Cheers " and " Matlock " . In addition to being an animator for TNG , he also served in this function on the television pilots for " The Flash " ( 1990 ) and " Red Dwarf " ( 1992 ) . He was also a computer animator for a TV special called " " . This special was used to promote while also tying in characters from " The Next Generation " . After TNG ended in , Vardaman went on to work for Paramount Digital Entertainment , where he produced Paramount Pictures ' s official " Star Trek " website , StarTrek . com . He maintained the site from its infancy as the " Star Trek : Continuum " on the Microsoft Network ( or MSN ) in 1995 until late 1999 . While working for that site , he hosted several online chats with various " Star Trek " regulars , including Brent Spiner , Robert Duncan McNeill , Jonathan Frakes , Terry Farrell , Robert Beltran , Jeri Ryan , Roxann Dawson , Chase Masterson and Mike and Denise Okuda . Afterward , Vardaman began working at Warner Bros . Online , ultimately becoming the Vice President of Production . Beginning with No . 71 and serving in that function till the final issue , No . 304 , Vardaman worked as Art Editor for the " Star Trek Fact Files " . He collected and researched art references for the artists in England who drew the ship schematics and various graphics for the magazine . Vardaman has also been a guest speaker at many " Star Trek " conventions . He recalls the conventions as being " a lot of fun " . In 2009 Vardaman lent his voice to the fan produced web series " Star Trek : The Continuing Mission " . Current status . Vardaman currently lives in Burbank , California with his wife Mary , son Luke and daughter Rachel and is working to teach science to children with the " Snark - a - Snoops " children ' s production . Although it is currently a live stage production , attempts are being made to transfer the show to television . Appendices . Background information . The character of " Guy Fleegman " , a background extra on a " Trek " - like television series in the " Star Trek " parody " Galaxy Quest " , was named after Guy Vardaman . Vardaman stated that he was told a year in advance that a film would have an " homage " to him , and Vardaman initially believed this would occur in the film " Free Enterprise " , a comedy revolving around a pair of Trekkies and starring William Shatner as a lampoon of himself . Vardaman viewed " Free Enterprise " and thought that some of the events depicted in the film mirrored parts his own life , and thought that was the homage he had heard about . However , months later , Vardaman and a friend watched " Galaxy Quest " and , according to Vardaman , " " I just about fell out of the chair ! " " He had completely forgotten about any " homage " until he saw the movie in theaters . The Vulcan Admiral Savar from the episode was named after him .