Star Trek's Marina Sirtis Regrets Passing On Men In Black After TNG Ended

It's always fascinating to learn about roles that actors regret turning down. Some of the most notable cases include Will Smith turning down the role of Neo in "The Matrix" and Gwyneth Paltrow saying no to "Titanic." Even the great Burt Reynolds passed playing James Bond. As with nearly everyone who's had to make crossroad choices, when it comes to career, hindsight is 20/20, and it's easy to look back and point out what could've been. Another actor who couldn't avoid this Hollywood misstep is Marina Sirtis, who came to her own crossroads just after she finished her long stint on "Star Trek: The Next Generation."

Speaking to Medium, she looked back to when, just before she was about to quit Hollywood and move back to the United Kingdom, "Star Trek: The Next Generation" creator Gene Roddenberry called to offer her the role of Counselor Deanna Troi, the character she would be known for. Sirtis spoke about how he was ahead of his time, creating a mental health officer for the Enterprise. "Well, Gene Roddenberry was a visionary in more ways than one, let's put it that way. I mean, he imagined a lot of stuff that we are doing today, seeing today, and using today," she said. That unique aspect of the character was surely one of the reasons why she was so popular amongst fans. However, when "TNG" concluded, what now stands out as much as the future roles she would play was the one she decided not to take.

After seven seasons spanning over eight years, "Star Trek: The Next Generation" concluded. As a part of all 176 broadcast episodes, Marina Sirtis played the role of Counselor Deanna Troi. Having been involved in a popular sci-fi franchise, it's no surprise that when she was offered two new scripts, one was in the same genre. Her choice seemed logical. "One was an indie about saving the rainforests, and the other one was a sci-fi movie," she recalled. Sirtis then revealed that the first script was for the blockbuster "Men in Black," which unsurprisingly gathered a galaxy's worth of attention compared to the one she chose.

For Sirtis, an offer to star in the film "Paradise Lost" seemed far more attractive than being part of another sci-fi project. "So I went to Puerto Rico to make this film about saving the rainforest," she admitted. Although she didn't reveal which character she would have played in the film, it's safe to assume that it was the role of Laurel, which ended up going to Linda Fiorentino. Although Sirtis continues to have a successful acting career, passing on the role was a valuable lesson. "So since then, I pretty much said 'yes' to everything because I obviously can't read a script to save my life because 'The Paradise Lost' went straight to video," she said, laughing.