Shinzon Shinzon was a clone of Human Starfleet captain Jean - Luc Picard , created by the Romulan s for the initial purpose of replacing Picard with a Romulan operative . Shinzon became the leader of the Reman people , staging a successful " coup d ' état " against the Romulan Senate and plotting the annihilation of Earth in the name of Reman freedom . ( ) Early life . Created by the Romulan Star Empire , Shinzon was a clone intended to conduct covert espionage within the United Federation of Planets . Shinzon was meant to replace Captain Jean - Luc Picard , one of Starfleet ' s and the Federation ' s most decorated and noted starship commanders of the 24th century . As part of this plot , Shinzon ' s design incorporated temporal RNA sequencing , which could be used to accelerate his physical age to Picard ' s at any time . Like his progenitor , Jean - Luc Picard , Shinzon was diagnosed with Shalaft ' s Syndrome at an early age . Hypersensitive to any kind of sound , young Shinzon suffered until a Romulan physician could be found who was capable of treating rare Human illnesses . Not long after Shinzon was created , though , power within the Romulan Empire had shifted and the Romulan Senate abandoned its plan , believing it to be too provocative an act if discovered . With no use for such a clone , the Empire exile d Shinzon from Romulus , sending him to work as a slave laborer in the dilithium mine s on Remus . Reviled by the Romulans working there , Shinzon became the target of abuse . In his time in the mines , he was severely beaten , having his nose and jaw broken by brutal Romulan guards , and also being forced to work for eighteen hours a day , being constantly lashed with Romulan whip s . One Reman , however , took pity on Shinzon , teaching him strength and compassion and protecting him when he could from the Romulans . This man would become Shinzon ' s Reman Viceroy in the conflict to follow . Rise to power . In 2374 , the Romulan Empire formally declared war on the Dominion , joining the Federation and Klingon Empire in the hostilities waging until 2375 . Enlisting the aid of the slaves on Remus , the Romulan military drafted Shinzon who quickly distinguished himself in battle and ascended the ranks . Like his Starfleet counterpart , Shinzon became regarded as a great tactician , leading twelve successful engagements against the Jem ' Hadar . Following the end of the Dominion War , Shinzon had both military experience and a capable army at his disposal . Forming an alliance with several Romulan officials , including Senator Tal ' aura and Commander s Suran and Donatra , Shinzon vowed to free his Reman " brothers " . Setting into motion a plan to overthrow the Romulan government , he and his cohorts constructed a massive warbird , the " Scimitar " . Operating out of a secret base , Shinzon and his people also developed a weapon , utilizing deadly thalaron radiation . Deploying a small thalaron projector in the Romulan Senate , Shinzon was able to kill all the Senate members . Shinzon ' s days , however , were numbered . Abandoned by his Romulan creators , Shinzon ' s temporal RNA aging program was never activated , and thus it began slowly breaking down his cellular structure . The only way for him to avoid death was to make a complete blood transfusion from the only genetically - compatible donor . Towards this end , Shinzon concocted an elaborate plot to lure the ( and by extension Picard ) to Romulus . He planted the pieces of a Soong - type android , B - 4 , on Kolarus III , where he knew that the " Enterprise " would find it . As a result , the " Enterprise " was the closest starship available when Shinzon offered to open peace negotiations between the Federation and the Romulans , and Picard sailed directly into the trap . Meeting with Picard . Upon meeting Picard , Shinzon delayed his plans , having acquired an intense interest in his originator ' s history and that of the Picard family . He also became smitten with Counselor Deanna Troi , who was the first Human woman ( albeit , only half - Human ) he had ever seen . During his first meeting with Picard and members of his crew , Shinzon remained hidden in the shadows ( he and his Reman " brothers " were not comfortable in the light ) and informed Picard of his intentions to negotiate peace with the Federation . After correctly guessing what Picard thought of such a negotiation , Shinzon revealed himself to his " doppelgänger " . This revelation shocked Picard , who now realized himself to be facing a younger version of himself . Shinzon then cut his own hand with his knife and gave the knife to Lieutenant Commander Data to have Doctor Beverly Crusher examine his blood . Afterward , he invited Picard to dinner in the Romulan Senate , insisting that they had " much to discuss " . During the dinner , Shinzon explained to Picard how and why he was created and his upbringing in the mines of Remus . Shinzon then asked with great curiosity about the history of the Picard family . Despite their obvious similarities , however , Picard was reluctant to forge a friendship with Shinzon and an alliance with his Romulan government until the Praetor had earned his trust . When Picard left , Shinzon was informed by his viceroy that they were wasting time and reminded the young clone of their mission . Afterward , Shinzon and the viceroy returned to the " Scimitar " . Instead of proceeding with their mission , however , Shinzon had the viceroy form a telepathic link between Shinzon ' s mind and that of Counselor Troi ' s so that he could make love with the woman he had become fascinated with . This telepathic form of rape was a violation and traumatic experience for Troi . It ultimately assisted in Shinzon ' s downfall . When further delay was unacceptable because of the accelerating deterioration of his condition , Shinzon ordered B - 4 to be beamed aboard the " Scimitar " to download the data the android had acquired from the " Enterprise " computer . Afterward , Shinzon kidnapped Picard by transporting him from the " Enterprise " s sickbay to the brig aboard the " Scimitar " . As soon as Shinzon left the brig , Picard managed to escape from the " Scimitar " with the help of Data , who had taken the place of B - 4 , and left the Romulan system aboard the " Enterprise " at maximum warp . During the subsequent trip , Data assured Picard that Shinzon would not have been him even if the two had lived the same lives , because Picard had always aspired to better himself and his understanding of the universe around him , while Shinzon sought nothing but death and destruction – both for those who had oppressed him , those he erroneously believed oppressed him , and those who he might harm for personal gain . The Battle of the Bassen Rift . Desperate , Shinzon ordered the " Scimitar " to pursue the " Enterprise " , and launched an attack in the Bassen Rift , a region where subspace communication s were unavailable . In the battle that ensued , Picard continued to elude capture with the assistance of Romulan reinforcements – Commander Donatra had betrayed Shinzon , realizing that Shinzon didn ' t just plan to attack the Federation with the thalaron radiation weapon , but actually planned mass genocide . She subsequently aided Picard in a battle for some time before her starship , the " " , was heavily damaged by a disruptor blast from the " Scimitar " . For some time , the battle was in Shinzon ' s favor , due mostly to his ship ' s ability to fire while cloak ed . Things changed , however , when Troi reopened the telepathic link that was made between herself and the viceroy , allowing the " Enterprise " to pinpoint the " Scimitar " s exact location . With its cloak disabled , the " Scimitar " began taking damage – but Shinzon was not through yet . After the " Enterprise " s shields took extensive damage , Shinzon ordered the viceroy to lead a boarding party to retrieve Picard . But the boarding party that had beamed to the " Enterprise " was pinned down , and the viceroy himself was killed by William T . Riker in a maintenance shaft . On the whole , however , the battle was not going well for the " Enterprise " . Shinzon had nearly crippled the starship and had even destroyed a section of its bridge , sending at least one Starfleet officer hurtling to his death . Overconfident , Shinzon had the " Scimitar " turn to face the battle - damaged " Enterprise " . Picard then turned the tables by ramming the " Enterprise " into the " Scimitar " , a move which Shinzon did not expect and which he could not avoid . With both starships heavily damaged , Shinzon ordered his Reman officer to activate the thalaron weapon and to fire at the " Enterprise " . He then ordered the officer to take the " Scimitar " into Federation space and complete their mission once every living thing aboard " Enterprise " was dead . To stop the thalaron weapon from firing , Picard beamed himself to the " Scimitar " . On the " Scimitar " bridge , Picard managed to kill all Reman crewmembers with his phaser rifle . As Shinzon ' s health worsened , he engaged Picard in a ferocious hand - to - hand combat which moved from the bridge itself to the thalaron radiation generator room . In the end , Shinzon was killed when Picard used a piece of wreckage to impale Shinzon as the clone lunged in for the kill . With his plans collapsing around him , the dying Shinzon used the last of his strength to pull himself down the makeshift spear and grab the captain by the throat . His last words to Picard were : " " Our destiny is complete " " . As Picard stood in shock , Data arrived and transported the captain back to the " Enterprise " . Data then fired his phaser at the thalaron generator , destroying himself and the " Scimitar " and effectively concluding Shinzon ' s plan for galactic conquest . ( ) Appendices . Background information . Shinzon was played by actor Tom Hardy and by an unknown actor as a boy . Other actors who were considered for the role were actor , movie star ( " The Talented Mr . Ripley " , " Cold Mountain " ) , and " Buffy the Vampire Slayer " star . In addition to shaving his head , Hardy had to wear a prosthetic nose and chin in order to more closely resemble Patrick Stewart , as he was supposed to be playing a younger version of Stewart ' s character . Ironically , in the film Shinzon cites his nose and jaw as being different from those of Picard . A deleted scene which took place early in the film revealed that Shinzon ' s motives in wiping out the population of Earth were twofold ; firstly as an act of revenge against Humanity , and secondly as the first step of a larger plan to invade the United Federation of Planets . By destroying Earth , Shinzon would also have wiped out the Federation Council and Starfleet Command , rendering the Federation unable to mount an adequate defense against the " Blitzkrieg " - style attack that the Romulans would then deploy . His ultimate aim was to make a name for himself as the man who destroyed the Federation , thereby eclipsing Picard in the history books . However , this entire subplot was removed from the finished film , thereby changing Shinzon ' s motive to being one purely of revenge . It remains uncertain as to when exactly Shinzon was created . He was most likely created some time in 2364 ( when the Romulans emerged from isolation ) . He could not have been created after 2365 , because he spent ten years in the Reman mines , but also fought in the Dominion War ( in which the Romulans fought from 2374 - 2375 ) . According to Beverly Crusher , in the novelization of the film , Shinzon was created approximately twenty - five years earlier , in or around 2354 . However , this date is out of continuity with the events of the series :