Attending the recent Lethbridge Entertainment Expo was actress Marina Sirtis, famously known for her portrayal of Counselor Deanna Troi on the hit sci-fi classic Star Trek: The Next Generation.  She took a moment to speak with GayCalgary Magazine about how much she enjoys smaller fan expos, her time spent filming the show, more recent projects and her decision to choose roles more political in nature.

"I like to do things that say something now, that have some kind of message," Sirtis reveals. One such project the actress has been involved with and is due for release in 2014 is the movie Rivers of Milk and Honey, which Sirtis explains is "about a Russian family, well actually they’re not Russian they’re Armenian but it was when Armenia was behind the Iron Curtain, and everyone spoke Russian, and they emigrate to America and it’s basically the story of the family. There’s a little dig at the American Health Care service which is one of the reasons why I did it. Because you know, you can only get health care if you’re rich in America, if you’re poor you get to die, really. So I wanted to do it just for that actually."

Another upcoming project for Sirtis which is slated for release in the new year is the movie A Dark Reflection, directed by Tristan Loraine and co-starring Rita Ramnani, Rowena Diamond and Sam Smith which, Sirtis promises, "the doo-doo is going to hit the fan" upon its release. The controversial movie, Sirtis explains, "is about the airline industry and how they’re poisoning us." Sirtis continues, "This is something that no one knows about, and the airlines have been getting away with this for decades."

When asked about why a show as politically ground breaking, particularly in terms of equal rights advocacy, as Star Trek: TNG was, yet failed to have an openly gay character, Sirtis is quick to come to the defense of creator Gene Roddenberry. "I’m going to tell you what Gene said, this is from the horse’s mouth. How would you know who was gay and who wasn’t? It’s not like you guys walk around with a sign on you right? So when Gene was asked this question he said Well how do you know that character isn’t gay? Or that person on the bridge isn’t gay? We did do storylines about homosexuality. But I agree with Gene, you know, how would you know who was gay and who wasn’t? ... You have to remember that our show was on in the late eighties and early nineties, and gay rights in the last twenty-five years have come so far. And although we’re doing a show about the twenty-fourth century, it’s generally written by twentieth century men. You have to kind of bear that in mind."

Despite the great advances in LGBTQ rights since the show’s broadcast, Sirtis has taken it upon herself to advocate further for the equal treatment of gay, lesbian and transgendered individuals. "I’m doing what I can to promote gay marriage, because I live in California so it’s all good there but you know in other states I would do whatever I can to get that passed everywhere in the United States."

To hear more of what Marina Sirtis has to say to all her LGBTQ fans, including her reaction to the best drag queen Deanna Troi cosplayer she ever saw, and just what became of the infamous Troi wig, watch the full video on our website.