A Richard Dean Anderson Compliment Made Marina Sirtis Fumble Her Stargate SG-1 Lines

For "Star Trek" fans, Marina Sirtis is royalty. Known for her role as half-human, half-Betazoid character Deanna Troi on "Star Trek: The Next Generation" (alongside numerous other appearances in the "Star Trek" franchise), the actor actually had quite a prolific career outside of that seminal sci-fi series. At one point, she showed up on another long-running sci-fi series where she played a Russian doctor, only to find herself stumbling over lines after receiving a compliment from series star Richard Dean Anderson. It seems the former "MacGyver" star, who played Colonel Jack O'Neill (after Kurt Russell turned down the opportunity to reprise the role), refused to leave the set while an actor of Sirtis' caliber was there in order to deliver his lines off-camera, despite the fact he was scheduled to leave to spend time with his daughter. Evidently, that threw off Sirtis, who struggled to regain her composure after receiving such high praise.

In 2000, Sirtis played Russian scientist Dr. Svetlana Markova in the season 4 episode of "Stargate SG-1" entitled "Watergate." The installment found Stargate Command struggling to activate the titular portal before discovering that the Russians had managed to recover their own Stargate from the wreckage of the downed Biliskner, Supreme Commander Thor's personal vessel. Because the Russians' portal was stuck on an outgoing wormhole, SGC were unable to use their own Stargate, prompting Dr. Markov to ask the crew to investigate.

Eventually, Markov accompanies Dr. Daniel Jackson (Michael Shanks) and Major Samantha Carter (Amanda Tapper) as they actually pass through the Russian portal, leaving Colonel Jack O'Neill (Richard Dean Anderson) and Teal'c (Christopher Judge) to explore the Russian base. It soon transpires that the "water" on the Water planet isn't water at all, and is in fact a race of aliens. After Teal'c becomes infused with the tiny beings, they manage to escape back to their home world just as Markov, Jackson, and Carter return. All of which made for a thrilling adventure, though not quite as thrilling as receiving a compliment from MacGyver himself.

"Watergate" aired in August 2000, by which time Marina Sirtis was well-established thanks to her "Star Trek" tenure (thankfully, she was saved from being fired as Deanna Troi due to a "Star Trek" exit). But that didn't stop her from stumbling over lines after receiving a compliment from Richard Dean Anderson.

In a video via Omega Trek, Sirtis discussed her experience on "SG-1" and recalled shooting a scene on the runway prior to her character and the SG-1 crew boarding a plane. According to the actor, Anderson had it written into his contract that he could leave set after 6pm in order to spend time with his two-year-old daughter (family time was partly why Anderson ended up leaving "Stargate SG-1"). "He was going off, with my full blessing," said Sirtis. "We were shooting the scene where I arrive in the jeep to the airplane [...] It was like five to six and we shot his dialogue and I saw that his driver was waiting and I said, 'Richard, I just saw your driver's here.' And he went, 'No, Marina, I'm not going.'" As Sirtis remembered it, she insisted one more time only for Anderson to respond "Oh, no [...] When we get actors of your caliber, I stay to do my off-camera dialogue." This apparently threw Sirtis for a loop. "I got so flummoxed," she said. "I kept screwing up the lines. He made me nervous by saying that."

It's certainly high praise to have the lead of any show compliment you so openly. But Anderson himself was a well-established TV star outside of "SG-1" (which is partly why he was cast in the first place). As such, it probably was a bit overwhelming for Anderson to be so complimentary. Unfortunately, Sirtis' other recollection of filming the episode wasn't so positive, with the actor recalling how she injured her back shooting the scene in which she jumps out of the plane.