Who Is Marina Sirtis? Here’s Everything You Should Know
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Marina Sirtis is an actress best known for her performance as Counselor Deanna Troi in “Star Trek: The Next Generation” and other Star Trek appearances.
On March 29, 1955, she was born in Hackney, London. Her parents are Greek, and she grew up in North London’s Harringay district. Despite her parents’ objections, she applied to the Royal Shakespeare Company-affiliated Guildhall of Music and Drama School while still in high school and was admitted. She graduated in 1976, when she was 21 years old.
Marina got her start in theatre with the Worthington Repertory Theatre Company’s rendition of Hamlet. She later worked with other European theatrical groups, including Coventry Rep, where she played Esmerelda in The Hunchback of Notre Dame and Magenta in The Rocky Horror Picture Show. Nic Young was in charge of both Joe Orton’s “What the Butler Saw” and “Hamlet,” in which she portrayed Ophelia.
Sirtis appeared in a number of films in minor parts prior to joining Star Trek. He played a police officer in the 1983 film “The Wicked Lady” with Faye Dunaway, the Charles Bronson sequel “Death Wish 3,” and the film “Blind Date.” When she was younger, she also had a number of noteworthy roles in British television shows. Among his other early assignments were numerous guest appearances on British television series. Sirtis appeared in “Raffles,” “Who Pays the Ferryman,” “Hazell,” “Minder,” “Up the Elephant and Round the Castle,” and “The Return of Sherlock Holmes” (1986).
Because of how different she appeared after seeing the film Aliens with Bob Justman, which starred Sirtis, Gene Roddenberry was inspired to urge her to audition for a role in Star Trek: The Next Generation. She recalls that when she received the call offering her the role of Troi, she was preparing to return to the United Kingdom because her six-month visa had expired.
Because it was difficult for the authors to write for Troi at first, they kept her out of four episodes in the first season, and Sirtis worried that her employment was in jeopardy. After the first season, she says she was ecstatic when Roddenberry approached her at Jonathan Frakes’ wedding and told her that “The Child,” the first episode of season two, would be about her character Troi.
“Star Trek: The Next Generation” featured the Greek artist in all seven seasons. Her character evolved from a more passive therapist to a more aggressive Starfleet officer. She has stated that her favourite episode from season six is “Face of the Enemy.” She is kidnapped and undergoes surgery to make her seem like a Romulan in that episode. This plot twist altered the character she was portraying, allowing the actor to perform differently. “I was able to accomplish things for the first time in five or six years.”
Sirtis has also appeared in the films “Star Trek Generations,” “Star Trek First Contact,” “Star Trek Insurrection,” and “Star Trek Nemesis” (2001). (2002). In addition, she appeared in the final three episodes of “Star Trek: Voyager” in 1999 and 2000, as well as the final episode of “Star Trek: Enterprise” (2005).
During the gap between seasons three and four of “Star Trek: The Next Generation,” Sirtis returned to the United Kingdom to film “One Last Chance,” a BBC drama special. She appeared in an episode of the short-lived sitcom “The Fifth Corner” in 1992, as well as in the horror/fantasy film “Waxwork II: Lost in Time.”
Sirtis continued to work after “Star Trek: The Next Generation” concluded in 1994. Her debut role, as an abused wife in the television show “Heaven Help Us,” was unlike anything she had done previously. She voiced Demona for two seasons of the animated Disney TV show “Gargoyles,” then she performed it again for an episode of the unproduced animated show “Team Atlantis.”
Sirtis portrayed a bad police detective in the 1996 British TV film Gadgetman. She played another bad girl as a guest performer on “Diagnosis: Murder” in 1998. The independent film “Paradise Lost,” in which Sirtis portrayed the lead part, was released in 1999.
Sirtis returned to science-fiction television in 1999 with “The Outer Limits” and Gene Roddenberry’s “Earth: Final Conflict.” In the 2000s, she portrayed a Russian scientist on “Stargate SG-1.” An interview with a prominent actor appeared in the October 2000 issue of SFX magazine in the United Kingdom. “Marina Sirtis is Everywhere,” said the cover.
In the long-running British medical drama “Casualty,” Sirtis played a politician with controversial beliefs regarding the National Health Service in 2001. This part drew a lot of attention. She earned the best actress prize at the ShockerFest International Film Festival in 2004 for her role in the film Spectres.
In September 2011, fans got together to try to get Sirtis on Doctor Who. A few weeks later, she talked about the group and her desire to be on the show at the Montreal Comic Con. A year later, she was in the fan-made Castlevania series that was posted on YouTube. She likes to go to Star Trek conventions and meet both her own fans and fans of the show.
Marina Sirtis is a vegetarian and a supporter of animal rights. She has been married to rock guitarist Michael Lamper since 1992 and speaks Greek well.
Sirtis returned to science-fiction television in 1999 with “The Outer Limits” and Gene Roddenberry’s “Earth: Final Conflict.” In the 2000s, she portrayed a Russian scientist on “Stargate SG-1.” An interview with a prominent actor appeared in the October 2000 issue of SFX magazine in the United Kingdom. “Marina Sirtis is Everywhere,” said the cover.
In the long-running British medical drama “Casualty,” Sirtis played a politician with controversial beliefs regarding the National Health Service in 2001. This part drew a lot of attention. She earned the best actress prize at the ShockerFest International Film Festival in 2004 for her role in the film Spectres.