Though it’s been over 30 years since “Sister, Sister” was on our screens, we’re finally getting some good intel on what led actor Marques Houston to part ways with the popular show. And he’s not leaving anything out!
Suggested Reading
If you’ll remember, Houston played the adorably annoying next-door neighbor. Roger Evans, who never ceased to seize an opportunity to holler at twins Tia and Tamera. More times than not, however, his advances would be swiftly shot down, and he’d hear the catchphrase “Go home, Roger!” instead.
Now, sitting down for a new interview with Boyz II Men singer Shawn Stockman for his “On That Note” podcast, Houston explained that he initially embraced the phrase and wanted to lean into it and use it as a jump-off point that would lead to his own Urkel-like stardom.
However, because he was also rising as a music star with his then-group Immature and slowly getting older (and much cooler than Roger), the phrase and the character that came along with it started to feel like a burden.
“My Urkel moment, I didn’t really want it as much, because I was like, now I’m a teenager. When I was like 14, 15, I was like, ‘I don’t want to be a nerd no more.’ So I talked to the producers, and they were like, ‘Okay, maybe we can try to make the character a little cooler,’” Houston explained.
Sadly, a cooler character still wasn’t enough to shake off the nerdy persona, especially since he had his sights set on being a big music star with big impact.
He continued: “Stuff like that didn’t really work, so I ended up leaving the show because I felt like what I wanted was to be Boyz II Men. And in my mind, I’m like, that’s what I want. I want that global superstardom, that Michael Jackson, Boyz II Men, that’s what I want to be.”
Houston later shared that things ultimately reached a point where he had to choose between being a TV star and moving forward with his passion for music and the successes he and the group already had. Ultimately, he chose the music as he felt his character was “holding him back” from his bigger goals.
“I felt like Roger was kind of holding me back from being that, because like we talk about mystique,” Houston said. “I was losing the mystique because people could see me on TV being goofy. So all of the things we were working so hard for with Immature, I felt like I was just kind of throwing it out the window with being on television.”
Straight From 
Sign up for our free daily newsletter.