His first appearance as Starfleet officer Darien Wallace came in the episode " Datalore". Vardaman's first on-screen appearance was as a passerby on the Dixon Hill holodeck program in "The Big Goodbye". ("Select Historical Data Year Six – Extra Help on the Set", TNG Season 6 DVD special feature) These incidents ultimately led to Vardaman being assigned as Spiner's photo double just a few episodes later. Those who made this error normally did so in distress, since Spiner was supposed to be in make-up, and Vardaman was not. During those first few days, he was often mistaken for Brent Spiner, the actor who played Data. Being a fan of the original series, Vardaman found the assignment to be "quite a kick". Vardaman joined the crew of TNG when he was sent to be an extra for the episode " Too Short a Season" through Central Casting. ( The Official Star Trek: The Next Generation Magazine issue 5) Despite some initial reluctance from the wardrobe department, Vardaman was fitted with an operations yellow Starfleet uniform and reported for work the following day. As it turns out, the man originally approached for the job was unavailable, prompting the need for a replacement. Less than two weeks later, while signing up with casting, he was spotted and approached for a job on Star Trek: The Next Generation. To support himself while he was in school, Vardaman joined the Screen Extras Guild to acquire a part-time job. He never dreamed that he would become a part of the Star Trek universe himself. He grew up watching Star Trek: The Original Series, becoming a huge fan of the series. Hailing from Glendale, California, Vardaman spent a good part of his life in San Jose.