Editing Reginald Barclay (section)

==Casting==
[[File:Dwight Schultz 2.jpg|thumb|[[Dwight Schultz]] (April 2006)]]
Schultz was a fan of [[Star Trek: The Original Series|the original ''Star Trek'']]; it was the first [[television series]] he watched [[color television|in color]].  Schultz would wait for each episode to air, and then meet with friends after school to discuss the [[theme (arts)|theme]]s and plot of each one.<ref name="1997-08 STTOMM" />  ''The Next Generation'' [[showrunner]] [[Michael Piller]] recalled that sometime prior to casting Schultz, the actor had told [[executive producer]] [[Rick Berman]] that he would love to appear on the show.<ref name="1995 Captains' Logs: Season Three" />  Schultz himself credits [[Whoopi Goldberg]] ([[Guinan (Star Trek)|Guinan]]) with his opportunity to play Barclay.  In 1990, Schultz was working with Goldberg on ''[[The Long Walk Home]]'' when he discussed with her that he was a big fan of ''The Next Generation'' and knew [[Brent Spiner]] ([[Data (Star Trek)|Data]]) and [[Jonathan Frakes]] ([[William Riker]]) from his time in [[New York City]].  Then, approximately a month after returning from ''The Long Walk Home'', Schultz heard from his [[talent manager]] that the powers-that-be at ''The Next Generation'' had extended a job offer.<ref name="2001 TV Zone" /><ref name="1996-01 Starlog" />  Piller and Berman did not think they would actually be able to land Schultz for the spot because the actor had done ''[[Fat Man and Little Boy (film)|Fat Man and Little Boy]]'' with [[Paul Newman]] and "was very hot".<ref name="1995 Captains' Logs: Season Three" />  Schultz anticipated playing "a large [[vein]]-throbbing, bulbous-headed [[extraterrestrial life|alien]]," and was initially disappointed to be offered Barclay instead.<ref name="2001 TV Zone" /><ref name="1997-08 STTOMM" />  Schultz thought Barclay was going to be merely a one-off character, and did not anticipate it becoming a recurring gig.<ref name="1997-08 STTOMM" />