Ben A. Pruchnie/Getty Images Marina Sirtis poses for photographs during the Destination Star Trek event at ExCel
It’s been over 30 years since Marina Sirtis joined the Star Trek universe as ship’s counselor Deanna Troi. She portrayed the character in 176 episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation. She reprised the role in Star Trek: Voyager, Star Trek: Enterprise, Star Trek: Lower Decks, and Star Trek: Picard as well as multiple Star Trek movies. The role has arguably been the most iconic of her career.
However, the actress’s career is far from Star Trek-centric these days. Though she recently stepped into Troi’s shoes for her guest appearances on Picard and Lower Decks, most of her work in recent years has been outside of the Star Trek universe.
What Has Sirtis Been Doing Lately?
Robyn Beck/Getty ImagesActress Marina Sirtis arrives for the Jules Verne Adventure Film Festival & Exposition launch event, 06 October 2006 at the Shrine Auditorium
Though she hasn’t had many big recurring roles or blockbuster movie credits, Sirtis has worked a lot since TNG and the related movies wrapped.
In the years right after her Star Trek popularity peaked, she guested on several other science-fiction shows including Earth: Final Conflict, Stargate SG-1, The Outer Limits, and Paradise Lost. Later, she stepped away from sci-fi for a bit, appearing in episodes of shows like The Closer, Without a Trace, and Grey’s Anatomy.
Sirtis also landed a few recurring roles. She appeared in three episodes of Tracee Ellis Ross’ Girlfriends, three episodes of NCIS, and three episodes of the supernatural thriller Riley Parra. Additionally, she lent her voice to a couple of superhero cartoons, appearing in multiple episodes of each.
Television hasn’t been Sirtis’ final frontier though. Recently, her work has been mostly in indie films and on stage. In 2018, she teamed up with fellow former Trek star Robert Picardo for a short film called The Assassin’s Apprentice. The movie was big on the film festival circuit and ended up racking up several award nominations. Sirtis took home two of those awards herself.
In an interview with TrekMovie.com last year, Sirtis revealed that she was working on an indie film called A Thousand Little Cuts. She said that she felt the film was about a “very important topic,” domestic abuse. Sirtis went public with her own experiences of abuse in an interview with the British publication, The Times in 2019.
That same year, Sirtis was also starring in a stage production in London, which almost prevented her from appearing in season one of Picard as she told TrekMovie.com. Luckily, the producers worked around her schedule to make sure she could be in the show.
A Big Move
The latest big news in Sirtis’ life came just a few days ago when she announced on Twitter that she will be moving back to the U.K. Though she’s done some work in the U.S., most of her recent work has been abroad. So, the move was a career decision as much as a personal one.
After the announcement, Sirtis spent plenty of time responding to her followers, thanking them for their kind words, and answering questions about the move.
Her former co-star, Picardo, chimed in as well.
@Marina_Sirtis Aaaaashhhh. Sad/happy news. Sad for us who love and will miss you.
What About ‘Picard’ Season 2?
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Sirtis’s tweet didn’t reveal when she would be moving, and she hasn’t given more information about the timeline in subsequent tweets. With filming for season two of Picard supposedly just a few weeks away, the timing of Sirtis’s move could indicate that she’s not joining the Picard cast for the second season.
So far, there’s no confirmation that Sirtis and her onscreen husband Jonathan Frakes will be back for season two. In September, Frakes told TrekMovie.com that he wanted the Riker family to come back, but that he didn’t know if it would happen.
Hopefully, Sirtis will be able to fit more Star Trek work into her busy schedule if the opportunity arises.
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