The Most Toys - Saul Rubinek vs David Rappaport (actors comparison) 

I seriously doubt he could have done better. Which goes to show what an incredibly underrated actor he is.

I think so as well. He was a good cast

even the dialogue is slightly different i didnt know they were able to change once the script was written

This is how it is. While actors are expected to know the dialog rote, the most important thing is the performance, and not a few word changes. Further, the actor chooses how to deliver the lines, but the director may suggest changes on other takes.

Difficult to know what changes may have happened to the script during rewrites since they wree redoing these scenes anyways.

This is the example that stood out for me as well. That little motion tells us a LOT about his character, while Rappaport's nod tells us nothing. It's a great example of how subtle little touches can define a character - with Rubinek, we can tell he's a douche who expects (and usually gets) instant obedience to his whims, but he doesn't LORD it over others, he just sees it as a fact - the casual nature of the gesture shows us that he expects his underlings to anticipate his desires, needing only a brief signal for his orders to be carried out. That tiny little gesture conveys an absurd amount of information to the viewer - it's clear that Rubinek has a fully formed character in his mind, with defined characteristics and idiosyncrasies. It's a perfect example of the value a talented actor can bring to a project - how they can take words on a page and breathe life into them in a way that untrained people cannot.

Poor choice of words considering Rappaport tried to kill himself while filming

He didn’t just nod, it’s obvious he’s hiding something.

To be fair, Rappaport wasn't exactly in top form, considering he tried to kill himself shortly after these scenes were shot and eventually succeeded before the Rubinek version aired. Still, I agree, Rubinek's version is superior.

After Star Trek, Saul Rubinek went on to become a 'collector' for Warehouse 13... Artie Nielsen ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-D38CAvdBfH8.html Interesting !

David is playing the character a lot smaller.

David seems too stiff doe this roll...Saul presented it better.

Rapaport is garbage compared to Saul.

@@eazye519 Yea, I agree - my initial impression is that Rappaport is way too wooden. I'd be curious how menacing he would be in proper context, with the soundtrack playing and all that jazz. But from what I see here, Saul appears to be a much better actor

I liked Saul for most of it a little more, but comparing the scenes where they are imprisoned Rappaport really knocked it out.

Such a sad story about David Rapaport, but clearly he did good work in this role. This episode was my first exposure to Saul Rubinek, and I still think, as I did on first viewing, that he knocked this out of the park. I mean, how vile do you have to be to make Data pull the trigger with the phaser set on kill rather than stun? Saul’s acting chops have been confirmed in everything I’ve seen him do, from Unforgiven to the Jesse Stone movies. But this role had an emotional impact no others have quite matched, and if we consider this comparison as an act-off between Rubinek and Rapoport, I give the win to Rubinek, by more than a nose.

@@michaelwalter6041 Yeah, Rubinek definitely takes the honours! Best role I saw him in was as film producer “Lee Donowitz” in “True Romance”! His were some of the best scenes in the whole movie! And btw, it’s Rappaport not Rapoport.

I really like how Rubinek came off as smarmy and subtly phony. Mr. Rappaport didn't have any of that-his delivery seems pretty phoned in, in compassion. I also like Rubinek's look more, too. I'm sure they could have found a much better role for Rappaport, though. Alas, it wasn't to be.

@@michaelwalter6041 I don't think that the Varon-T disruptor (not a phaser) has a stun setting, as it was never suggested that it does.

at Kevin Compise - Saul - for sure nailed it / killed it Big time for sure. Saul was just a cold calculated emotionless villain of the weak. and this is how its supposed to be some times like it was for this episode.. David he was too emotional and struggling with depression in real life.. David did not need to be that darn over the top / and good with his acting for a villain of the week character. The acting with David was so damn good they were setting up for a two parter with him like he would get up out of his Cell bed and then its like what are we (the Enterprise crew) going to do with this guy? and then we see him in another episode in the next week... but like it was just too over the top in his acting to where you wanted to see more of him in the next episode, he was meant to be a forget-able character . for possible we could have seen this character in the next episode , considering he was safe in his cell, but he killed himself in real life.. at Kevin - so without a doubt Saul killed / nailed it just the way its supposed to be not some over the top acting that was too good for the episode , Its true the man was a dwarf ,but his acting for this scene was larger than life it self. the acting needed to be normal person size not larger than life size.

Yes, I agree Rapaport facial emoting was stifled by the make up. He was an interesting choice for the role: it shows monsters can come in all sizes. I wonder how we would react to the opposite situation where Rapaoort was canon. However, to me though, it IS the facial expressions and gestures Saul presented gave it a more authentic feel to me: less cartoony. And that Saul, a typical being, with a bit of a belly and not big and strong, not the usual visual of a monster still provides that idea that they can be anywhere or anyone. Superb episode of Data's growth either way.

Not really fair as the Rappaport scenes aren't the finished product.

@@haveringpish I can only judge from what I saw.

Keep in mind, Rubinek probably had several takes over a number of days, he may have had different/better direction based on previous takes with Rappaport, this isn't a good comparison.

Agreed. It's my favorite TNG episode, and Saul makes it what it is!

His performance was very rich, complex... human.

Absolutely. It's awful what happened with Rappaport, but Saul definitely did phenomenal with the role.

Completely disagree. David had a unique presence that was very creepy. I've never found Saul creepy

And yet if many others had been in the role the episode would have still been great. You'd then make the same conclusion: X is perfect. I can't imagine anyone else in it.

Rubinek's Fajo was more of a used car salesman, fast talker and selfish, smarmy creep.

Interesting I would say that I think David's performance was more sinister in the sense that he only had that one trait, Rubinek's performance came off as mischievous at times, only then to become sinister. That said David didn't shoot the other scenes so because of his death so it's hard to say if he wouldn't have played it differently in other scenes.

I wonder if David’s struggle with internal mental health issues made it impossible for him to act to his potential. But Rubinek was a far more interesting character. So sad that David did not get the help he needed to control his issues and be happier. Mental first aid should be taught to everyone in grade school.

Good catch

How tragic...

I watched 'The Wizard' when I was a kid. One of my favorite shows at the time. They should reboot it for Netflix.

@@davidmaestas2915 They would just cast a black woman in the role.

@@whutzat Shoo little MAGAt

@@Heldemon You first, Antifa spawn.

Agree 100%. It's crazy to read anything from his portrayal here. While I vastly prefer Saul Rubinek in this role, I don't get the impression that Rappaport had "given up" in any way, he just had a very different mental image of who Kivas Fajo was (and perhaps less experience with nonverbal acting). People are just applying characteristics to him in retrospect because they know what happened later.

It's possible to have the opinion that it was an inferior performance without it having to do with having to do with the circumstances surrounding his demise.

Rubinek had the superior performance any way you want to look at it.

@@fredlodge1275 I don't believe Rappaport was right for this role, but his career spoke for itself. He didn't have anything to prove by taking this role.

Noted!

@@TrekkieChannel :-) My reasons being: 1. Showing Rubinek second would be in line with the shooting chronology. 2. I'd prefer to see the 'good' performance first, and think "hey, that was good - could that be improved upon" - then be in awe as the same lines are knocked out of the park by a genius who was born for the role! LOL It's kind of like the comparison footage that's on RU-vid of Janeway played first by Geneviève Bujold - and then Mulgrew comes along and absolutely hits it into the stratosphere! LOL

Except 90% of Brent's performance was based on neither one. They were close-ups, most likely played to a script supervisor when the other actor isn't in frame

@@divinemissem5677 There are a-hole actors (Wesley Snipes for one) who prefer to relax in their trailers while their colleagues are doing their close-ups and have the script supervisor read their lines. However, many actors stay and play the scene even though they're off-camera, out of help and respect for their fellow thespians.

Excellent observation! I felt the same way too. Data is emotionless so Rubinek's more colourful performance gave Spiner more to work with. He was able use more inflection in his lines without appearing to give Data any emotion. Had Spiner read his lines that way with Rappaport, I would have wondered why Data was getting emotional. It also lets Data be "angry" at the end with just enough doubt to make the audience give him a pass.

As I was watching Rappaport I was thinking the same thing - they really over did his makeup. Makes it hard not see the character as cartoon-ish.

I agree, and I thought his performance was solid despite the constraints you mention. The entire episode hinges on this one antagonist, and it would have held up with David in the role.

Thank you! What was the design team thinking??

This is a really good point that is easy to overlook - it's much harder to act when you're covered in prosthetics. I still find Saul's performance leagues better, but it's interesting to wonder what David's performance would have looked like without all that shit all over his face.

Granted, the lack of sound design does make a difference, and Mr Rappaport didn't do a bad job, bringing plenty of whimsy to the role, but for me his portrayal lacked the authority, the charm, and the menace that Mr Rubinek gave Fajo. Saying that, I think Mr Rappaport would have been good in other Trek roles, perhaps a more light-hearted good-guy role?

David killed himself a few days after shooting these scenes. I don't think his mind was in the game by this point, he was a good actor, but if he was days away from killing himself he probably had other things on his mind than his performance. F

@@stevepalpatine2828 really? Most suicides occur by quick decisions not by thinking about it for a long time.

David also killed it a couple weeks later.

@@HangoverTelevision how do you know that? Did you ask the dead people?

Spiner said they believe Rappaport killed himself over a romance/love situation gone bad over the weekend after they’d had two great days of shooting/filming his scenes and that he was a great guy and his suicide was a shock to everyone.

@@steveshepard88 Spiner got it wrong and couldn’t even remember his name

@@mem1701movies what’s the true story then brah?

Are you insane? This is one of the best episodes of the entire series because of Saul. The first guy was horrible.

David absolutely seems more threatening in the final scene - you could imagine an episode where he escapes Federation prision and seeks Revenge against Enterprise, 'Kahn' style.

@@SeaJay_Oceans I agree, the ending with the holding cell is where I always struggled with Rubinek's portrayal which seem forced and unnecessary (even before I even seen any of these clips of Rappaport). I felt like the episode should've ended where Data held his phaser pointed to Fajo and yet materialized back on the Enterprise. But with Rappaport in that holding cell I get this frightened feeling that Fajo is going to deliver some serious payback to Data and more so to Data's friends.

MUCH better.

I wonder if Saul was contracted to play an upcoming character.There must be a story behind his being asked to replace David.

@@jimmyfischer8170 They shot these scenes on a Thursday and Friday, and were supposed to finish up after the weekend, but David killed himself that weekend, so the producers had to bring in Saul to reshoot the scenes.

@@stevepalpatine2828 Thanks, I have since researched what happened and heard BRENT SPINER tell what happened.I should try doing some research first in the future,the internet is great for that.Still sad and tragic though.

As far as I remember, Saul is a ST fan and friends with someone on the show. He asked to take a set tour and was allowed, which was just around the time where Rappaport attempted suicide. The producers then asked him to try for the role, and quickly decided to re-shoot the scenes with him (plus the remaining ones), sort of in a hurry. For Rappaport this was a terrible time and a tragedy overall, bit I too think that Rubinek delivered a much much more nuanced and enjoyable performance for the role. To the point where I think this episode would never have been as well regarded as it ended up being. As unfair as it may sound, having seen Rappaports interpretation of the role now for the first time, it almost seems as a bad parody of Rubinek's version :-/

I feel like it's going a bit far to suggest they can't be compared, though I agree that they are very different interpretations. I personally prefer Rubinek here partially because I adore nonverbal acting and he does a great job with that in this role, but also because of how I like my villains. While David undoubtedly brings a lot more naked menace to the role, I've always found charismatic villains to be much more compelling and fully realized. Open menace is certainly... Well, menacing (go figure), but it also tells us very little about the character. I imagine a description of Rubinek's Fajo would include a lot more adjectives than Rappaport's Fajo, despite having literally the same lines, actions, and arc, which tends to mean a character has more depth, seems more complete and real, exists outside of just the role we see him in. From that perspective, I think Saul dud a better job of being believable as a PERSON rather than just a threat.

No, when Saul took over, David had attempted suicide but was unsuccessful. He didn't actually die until I think a few weeks later, after production was completed.

It's such a sad story about an ironically sad story.I gotta wonder how I would have felt about the episode if David had completed it.The use of prosthetics mainly his nose was curiouse decision considering Saul wore none.Did the STAR TREK people feel that without the makeup David would not be believable as the calculating evil character he would be portraying ? Like I said before this was a stand-out episode for me for a few reasons,SAULS acting included.It seems they wanted an Actor who would appear rather harmless at first which David did becouse of his size and adding the nose was an attempt to make Him more monsterouse and effectively to him may have been taken as an insult to his acting ability.I know I am reading too much into something I know nothing about but I wouldn't doubt there was some doubt talk on the set.And comming up with Saul to take over the part,an actor who was considerably known for strong performances,on short notice suggests they had allready previously offered him a TREK role.I wonder what Saul would say about it all ?

Excellent description of the differences in these portrayals. I agree that Saul feels much more like a fully realized person than just a threat of the week, specifically because he shows us multiple facets of the character, while David is mostly just boilerplate evil.

David sounds like he reading directly from cue cards Saul sounds more natural

Rubinek is much more sinister. With respect to Rappaport, he sounds like he's just repeating his lines

True,but David's make-up along with his size makes him seem less human.I bet if they removed his make-up we may have sympathized too much with him which would have diminished the episodes effect.

Yea, it was like Fajo was just a misguided human merchant to me. It's clear they weren't going for that in the teleplay, so it was a bit hard to wrap my finger around it when the broadcast came out not knowing any of these backstory issues with Rappaport. But with these restored scenes, I can see how Rappaport was trying to play an alien character, not as a human. Big difference.