Marina Sirtis Reveals How James Darren Helped Her Get Cast on Star Trek: The Next Generation

Marina Sirtis revealed this weekend that if not for James Darren, she may never have been cast in Star Trek.

On Saturday, Star Trek: The Next Generation’s Marina Sirtis tweeted out a birthday message to James Darren, Deep Space Nine’s Vic Fontaine. The account Star Trek Fans & Events in Ireland had tweeted a birthday message for him, which she retweeted with the comment: “The wonderful @jameswdarren gave me my first job in Hollywood. Thanks Jimmy. If it hadn’t been for you I wouldn’t be where I am today.”

When pressed by fans for more details, she replied, “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.”

Hunter was a cop show that ran from 1984 - 1991. The summary on IMDb reads: “Rick Hunter is a renegade cop who breaks the rules and takes justice into his own hands. Partnered with the equally stunning and rebellious Sgt. McCall, the tough-minded duo set out to crack down on L.A.'s slimiest criminals.” Sirtis appeared as Kate Scanlon in the season three episode “Down and Under”, which was directed by Darren. And just in case you’re curious, that episode is available to stream now, on Amazon Prime Video.