Star Trek Guide

Star Trek: Marina Sirtis Reveals How a Deep Space Nine Actor Her Helped Her Get Cast In The Next Generation

Marina Sirtis played ship’s counselor Deanna Troi, the half-Betazed empath, throughout seven seasons of Star Trek: The Next Generation and four movies. Now she’s revealed that she may never have gotten the job without the help of a Star Trek: Deep Space Nine cast member.

That seems a little confusing since The Next Generation launched years before Deep Space Nine, but the relationship between these two actors pre-dates either show. Today happens to be James Darren’s birthday. Sirtis offered him birthday wishes on Twitter, revealing Darren got her the first job she ever landed when she first moved to Los Angeles.

“The wonderful James Darren gave me my first job in Hollywood. Thanks Jimmy. If it hadn’t been for you I wouldn’t be where I am today,” Sirtis tweeted. “He cast me in a show called Hunter five days after I arrived in Hollywood. The money I earned enabled me to stay in Los Angeles for my Star Trek auditions.”

From there, Sirtis joined the cast of Star Trek: The Next Generation as Deanna Troi. Years later, Darren joined the Star Trek family as the holographic lounge singer Vic Fontaine on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.

The story of The Next Generation's captain, Jean-Luc Picard, will continue in Star Trek: Picard starring Patrick Stewart. Sirtis has said that she isn't involved and knows nothing about the show

Marina Sirtis added that “None of us knows anything. They’re guarding that show like the nuclear codes.”

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Jonathan Frakes, Sirtis and Stewart's The Next Generation co-star who is directing the third and fourth episodes of the new show, has said, “The feeling is we would love to be part of it. But the feeling is also that it’s Patrick’s show. [Laughs.] Having said that, I can’t imagine a world where there’s no reference to what happened to the rest of The Next Generation cast. Patrick isn’t playing Capt. Jean-Luc Picard this time, he’s done with [that phase of his career in] Starfleet in this show. That’s about the only thing I do know about the show. Patrick and I had a steak dinner a couple of weeks ago and this man, who I’ve known for 31 years now, is so excited about this show he’s like a little kid. It’s fabulous! He’s thrilled and excited to be invited into the writer’s room and he’s a producer on the show and he’s part of the development of the story arc. It’s terrific. I mean he is a guy who is fully engaged.”

What do you think of James Darren being partly responsible for Marina Sirtis playing Deanna Troi? Let us know in the comments.

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