Marina Sirtis -- Who was the hardest person to work with on Star Trek TNG?

Old interview from a Star Trek Convention archived.

[TheOtherGuys]

From what I've heard, the hardest person to work with on set of TNG was Spot. Never knew his lines, always missed his mark, always eating on set...

[Iskelderon]

Defrosting Patrick from the stoic Shakespearean actor to the lighthearted but still insanely skilled guy who can give as good as he gets, will always be their greatest achievement.

[RacerX]

I love Marina Sirtis. She is so in your face and totally real. Hilarious to listen to her talk.

[euansmith]

It is great hearing Marina Sirtis talking in her own voice.

[gothamus]

Brent Spiner tells the same story about the director that couldn’t work with them and how Patrick Stewart was so serious at first but then he finally loosened up. He does a hilarious impression of him when he tells it.

[Voodoomaria]

I saw Marina Sirtis in one interview, that gave me INSTANT respect for the woman that, has, to this day NEVER wavered.
They asked her about the Fans at the convention, and dealing with some of the more awkward ones.
She said she loved the fans, ALL of them, the fans were the reason for their success, and she would NEVER be disrespectful of the fans.
She said "Don't EVER disrespect the fans in my presence, I WILL slap you"
and she MEANT it.

[josh]

If case you haven't heard of it yet, Gates McFadden has a phenomenal podcast where she interviews the cast (starting with her costars on TNG, but branching out to the other trek shows). They don't talk about Star Trek much, it's more talking about the guest's life. Really interesting and touching conversations. It's called "InvestiGates: Who Do You Think You Are?" I can't recommend this show enough.

[markiangooley]

My best friend met her at a convention ages ago and was charmed not only by her looks but her kindness.

[JB-nxel]

I saw her at various conventions, back in the day in the 90s. She's a hoot. Very charming and entertaining and will spill the tea. Just a pleasure to meet.

[nodak]

Knowing how they got along irl makes me love the show even more.

[Mxyzptlksac]

She’s always a joy at panels. Especially when she first appeared she was more timid… now she takes over

[ClausB]

She's the Carrie Fisher of Star Trek

[davewanamaker]

It sounds like they had a joy to acting in the series. I have a friend who met Jonathan Frakes when he came to Iowa and Jonathan was very patient with fans and I have to think he must be a really decent guy. I saw photos of him and my friend and he had such a genuine smile.

[Hackenberg]

Patrick Stewart said, "The Americans taught me to be funny." I have a feeling that the Americans were mostly Spiner and Frakes.

[bernlin]

I love how she's never afraid to break some sort of "social code" and speak out of turn. Pretty unique amongst all the cast that have work in the Star Trek world (for good and for bad lol).

[markwarren]

I always heard that Avery Brooks was very serious and intense on set and his no-nonsense vibe influenced the rest of the cast. The Captain on a Trek show really is the leader of the cast in many ways.

[lightanddreamsphotography]

I met Marina at a Star Trek conference a few years ago and she was hilarious. I paid to have my photo taken with her, which is normally a 5 second conveyor belt moment, but somehow we ended up talking about football and her love of Tottenham Hotspur, and mine of Lincoln City FC!

[andyb]

I had a boss in the foodservice industry whose prevailing attitude was "if you have time to joke around and laugh, you aren't working hard enough"

For some reason, he had a hard time keeping people around and problems earning his employees' loyalty.

[odysseusrex]

Wow! That was terrific, thanks so much for posting this.

[Nightowl]

Look at her just OWN that stage, what a wonderful way she has about her. Great interview…