If at first you succeed, try, try again.
So went the thinking on "Star Trek: Insurrection," as Marina Sirtis
- who generated so many laughs during Deanna Troi's memorable drunk
scene in "First Contact" (1996) - once more infuses the proceedings
with a sense of humor. This time around, Troi and Riker (Jonathan
Frakes) flirt like mad, then indulge in a romantic bubble bath.
Shooting the bath scene, however, wasn't all fun and games.
"To be in a tub with Jonathan? There are about a million women out
there who would've changed places with me in a second," the
wonderfully chatty Sirtis says during a conversation at the Four
Seasons Hotel in Beverly Hills. "The reality of it was we were
sitting in water for a very long time.
"We ended up looking like prunes. They had body makeup on us that
started to wash off, so we had this scum in the tub. It was disgusting
by the end.
"There are a couple of outtakes where the bubbles didn't come up high
enough. I want to know where they are. I want them in my hand before
they end up on the Internet or in Rick Berman's private collection."
Of course, the new and bemused Troi is a far cry from the serious
counselor Sirtis portrayed for seven seasons on "Next Generation."
While the actress loved the opportunity to show off her comedy chops,
not everyone appreciates the character's transformation.
"There are `Trek' fans who don't like the change, but I think, in
general, most fans like it," says Sirtis, who lives in Los Angeles
with her husband. "The reaction I've gotten so often after 11 years
of doing conventions is, `Why can't Deanna be more like Marina? She's
really dull, and you're really funny.
"Without having had that same conversation with the ("Trek")
writers and producers, they've gone in that direction. I've actually
begun to realize that my character has probably changed more than any
other.
"You're usually cast to play something that's close to who you are,
because that seems to work best," Sirtis says. "But when I was
auditioning for `Next Gen' I was so nervous they didn't see the real
me. They saw this terrified little British girl.
"I did a panel conversation with Gene Roddenberry a year after the
show began and a journalist asked Gene who'd changed the most and,
without thinking, he said, `Marina.' I actually hadn't. I've always
been the obnoxious, loudmouthed person I am today.
Sirtis laughs.
"I sometimes wonder if I would have gotten the part had I gone in as
I really am."
Sirtis reports that she had a blast making "Insurrection," though
she vows to never again sport high-heels while mountain climbing. She
also enjoyed working again with her longtime friends and co-stars,
most of whom she met up with frequently between the productions of
"First Contact" and "Insurrection."
As always, Sirtis is a staple at "Trek" fan gatherings, living up to
her title, Queen of the Conventions. She's been particularly
ubiquitous of late, tub-thumping, as it were, for "Insurrection."
Unlike many actors from the various "Trek" shows, Sirtis does not
feel typecast, nor does she consider her "Next Gen" association a
liability.
"There's really no downside to being involved in `Trek,'" she says.
"I think that's because the nature of show business has changed.
"There was a time in Hollywood where, if you did TV, you just did TV,
and you did not do movies. Members of the original `Trek' cast
experienced that.
"Now, it's all different. TV people can do movies because studios
want people who have a following and can put bums in seats. So, it
doesn't hurt to have been in a successful TV series.'
Clearly not, for Sirtis has a couple of fresh projects on her plate.
"I've got an independent feature that I think is going to come
together, that I hope to do in the spring," she says excitedly.
"And, I'm doing a play in Philadelphia called `Hotel Suite,' by Neil
Simon.
"So, I've got my live theater thing going. Simon is involved with it
and, when the writer's involved, you always hope it might be for a
Broadway tryout."
c. Ian Spelling
Inside Trek & Sci-Fi, 12/23/98
to the Star Trek page.