After years of playing Counselor
Deanna Troi in the Star Trek series and movie
spin-offs, Marina Sirtis is surprisingly down-to-earth. By
Jane Oddy.
Marina Sirtis has come a long way. Born in North London,
her Greek immigrant parents opposed her ambition to become an
actress. Luckily, she persuaded them to change their minds
when she secretly applied for – and gained – a place at the
prestigious Guildhall School of Drama.
After graduating and treading the boards in various
forgettable regional theatre productions, Marina headed for
Hollywood in search of fame and fortune. And in far-off Los
Angeles it finally happened for her when she landed a dream
role in Star Trek: The Next Generation. Fans of Star
Trek all over the world now know her as Deanna Troi – the
half-human, half-Betazoid psychologist with an amazing ability
to read minds and emotions.
Although Next Generation has ended its TV run, it
was by no means the end of Marina's adventures in outer space.
She also starred in the sci-fi series' big-screen adaptations,
including the latest, Nemesis, in which she finally
marries Commander William T Riker (Jonathan Frakes). The
actress smiles: "The wedding was for the fans. For me it was
all about the dress like most brides! It was my first filming
on the movie and we all got together and we had a party for
two days."
Marina herself has some strong views on marriage, as her
parents discovered when they tried to find a Greek husband for
her years ago. In Greece it is normal practice for brides and
grooms to be brought together by the elders of their families.
But after being raised in London, she was less than happy to
find that a matchmaker was deciding her future. "I came home
one night and there were some people leaving the house," she
says. "This matchmaker said, 'We've found a lovely boy for
you'. I said, 'Do you think I'm ugly?'. And this woman said,
'Oh no, you're lovely'. So I said, 'Well, don't you think I
can find my own husband?'. My mother was furious. But they
never tried it again."
After moving to Hollywood and landing her Star Trek
role, Marina found love on her own terms and met American rock
guitarist Michael Lamber. They married in a Los Angeles
ceremony attended by Trekkie co-star Patrick Stewart (Captain
Picard) 11 years ago. Today Marina and Michael, live in a
sprawling Spanish-style home in the exclusive Hollywood Hills
with their cats and dogs. "We lead a quiet life. Minnie Driver
is our neighbour and she does enough partying for both of us!
I did the whole party scene when I was young and I first came
to America. It's not that I avoid people but I feel like I'm
too old for it now to be honest!."
While she might feel too tired to party, 43-year-old
Marina's lost none of her enthusiasm for Star Trek.
Although she works on other movies and TV projects, she still
regards her Star Trek job with awe. "It's the most
amazing thing to ever happen to me," she says. "Getting the
role of Troi took six weeks of auditions and when I finally
got the part it was like a dream come true. Yes, Cinderella,
you shall go to the ball. In the early years, as the youngest
woman on the regular cast, I got to do all the
girlfriend/boyfriend, sexy stuff so I was lucky I was the
obvious choice to do all that."
She regularly goes to the Star Trek weekend
conventions and enjoys meeting Trekkie fans face to face. "I'm
very grateful to the fans," she says. "I have some great stuff
in my life because these people turned their TV sets on for
seven years and watched the movies. It would be the height of
ingratitude if I said anything bad about them. I hate to hear
other actors describe having these fans as a hardship. I want
to shake them! Just stay home and act in front of the
mirror!"
There are rumours that the latest movie may be the last
outing for the Starship Enterprise but Marina is
unsure: "As long as they find me something new to do, I'll be
quite happy. I think that's all you can ask for after 179
episodes and four movies. So long as you come up with
something new, I think that's quite an achievement."