Colm Meaney

Colm Meaney
Meaney at the 2016 Toronto International Film Festival
Born	(1953-05-30) 30 May 1953 Dublin, Ireland
Education	Abbey Theatre School
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1978–present
Spouses	Bairbre Dowling ​ ​ (m. 1977; div. 1994)​ Ines Glorian ​ (m. 2007)​
Children	Brenda Meaney
Awards	Full list

Colm J. Meaney (/ˈkɒləm/;Irish: Colm Ó Maonaigh; born 30 May 1953) is an Irish actor. Known for his performances across screen and stage, he has received seven nominations from the Irish Film & Television Academy, winning twice for 2001’s How Harry Became a Tree, and 2017’s The Journey. Other film credits include Roddy Doyle's Barrytown franchise, Con Air, Layer Cake, The Damned United, Get Him to the Greek, and The Snapper, for which he was nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor in a Motion Picture - Comedy or Musical, and won the Silver Hugo Award for Best Actor at the 1993 Chicago International Film Festival.

On television, Meaney is best known for his portrayal of Miles O'Brien in both Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987–1994) and Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (1993–1999), appearing in a total of 225 episodes. Other television credits include five seasons as Thomas C. Durant on the AMCwesternHell on Wheels (2011–2016), James Burbage on the TNThistorical fiction series Will (2017), and Finn Wallace on the Sky Atlantic crime series Gangs of London (2020). Meaney’s numerous guest appearances include roles on Moonlighting, MacGyver, Murdoch Mysteries, Law & Order, The Simpsons, and It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia.

Also a veteran of the theatre, Meaney has starred on Broadway and the West End in Eugene O'Neill's The Iceman Cometh and A Moon for the Misbegotten, Tennessee Williams' Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, and Hugh Whitemore's Breaking the Code. Additionally, he has appeared in numerous productions with the National Theatre of Ireland, including Sean O'Casey's Juno and the Paycock, The Silver Tassie, and The Shadow of a Gunman.

In 2020, Meaney was ranked 24th on The Irish Times list of "The 50 Greatest Irish Film Actors of All Time." In 2025 he received the Irish Film & Television Academy’s Lifetime Achievement Award.

Early life and education

Meaney was born in Glasnevin, Dublin, the son of Kathleen and Patrick Meaney, who was a van driver for Johnston, Mooney & O'Brien. His brothers are Liam, Padraig, and Sean Meaney. He developed a love of acting at the age 14, and after completing his leaving cert matriculated to the Abbey Theatre School. Upon completing his studies, Meaney joined the company of the National Theatre of Ireland.

Career

Stage

Meaney started his career acting in numerous productions with the Abbey Theatre from 1971-1980.

In 1971 Meaney joined the company of the National Theatre of Ireland, appearing in 24 productions over the next nine years. Credits from this period include William Shakespeare's The Winter's Tale, W. B. Yeats' King Oedipus, George Bernard Shaw's Saint Joan, Dion Boucicault's Arrah-na-Pogue, and Sean O'Casey's Juno and the Paycock. For much of this period, Meaney split his time between Dublin and London, touring the UK with several theatre companies, including the 7:84 theatre group founded by John McGrath. Meaney made his Off-West End debut in 1975, appearing in McGrath's plays Fish in the Sea at the Half Moon Theatre and Yobbo Nowt at the Shaw Theatre. The following year he appeared in a stage adaptation of Lin Piao's History of the Tenth Struggle at the Institute of Contemporary Arts. Meaney made his American stage debut in 1982 at the Great Lakes Shakespeare Festival, where he would remain a summer company member until 1985. Credits from this period include William Shakespeare's Henry V, J. M. Synge's The Playboy of the Western World, Dylan Thomas' A Child's Christmas in Wales, C. P. Taylor’s And a Nightingale Sang, and the American premiere of The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby. The play is an 8½ hour-long stage adaptation of the Charles Dickens’ novel of the same name, performed in two parts. The production was a critical and commercial success, later transferring to Merle Reskin Theatre in Chicago, Illinois.

Meaney made his Off-Broadway debut in 1984, appearing as Kevin in Hugh Leonard's The Poker Sessions at Theater Off Park. In 1986 he relocated from New York City to Los Angeles. That same year he starred in Sławomir Mrożek's Alpha,Harold Pinter's The Birthday Party, and Peter Sheridan's Diary of a Hunger Strike, all at the Los Angeles Theatre Center. Meaney's performance in the later earned him a Drama-Logue Award nomination for Best Actor in a Play. In 1987 Meaney appeared as Mick Ross in the American premiere of Hugh Whitemore's Breaking the Code at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. Later that same year the production transferred to the Neil Simon Theatre on Broadway. From 1992 to 1993 Meaney appeared in a multi-city tour of Tom Stoppard's Every Good Boy Deserves Favour, directed by his Star Trek co-star Patrick Stewart. Tour venues included Orange County Symphony in Garden Grove, CA; The Chicago Theatre in Chicago, Illinois, and The Fox Theatre in Minneapolis, Minnesota. In 1999 Meaney starred in Peter Parnell's stage adaptation of John Irving's The Cider House Rules at the Atlantic Theater Company. Meaney won an Obie Award for his performance.

Meaney made his West End debut as Phil Hogan in the 2006 revival of Eugene O'Neill's A Moon for the Misbegotten at The Old Vic. Directed by Howard Davies, the cast also featured Kevin Spacey and Eve Best. For his performance, Meaney was nominated for the Olivier Award for Best Performance in a Supporting Role. The following year the production transferred to the Brooks Atkinson Theatre on Broadway. Meaney would later return to Broadway in the 2018 revival of Eugene O'Neill's The Iceman Cometh at Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre. Directed by George C. Wolfe, the cast featured Denzel Washington, Bill Irwin, David Morse, Tammy Blanchard, and Austin Butler. In 2023, after more than a 40 year absence, Meaney returned to the Irish stage in Landmark Productions revival of the Enda Walsh play Bedbound at the Galway International Arts Festival. Starring opposite his daughter Brenda Meaney, the production later transferred to an additional engagement at the Olympia Theatre, Dublin.

Television and film

Meaney (right) with Star Trek: Deep Space Nine co-stars Marc Alaimo(left) and Armin Shimerman(middle)

Meaney's first television appearance was in Z-Cars on BBC One, in 1978. He guest-starred on shows such as Remington Steele and Moonlighting before embarking on a successful film career; he received a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actor for his role in The Snapper.

Meaney first appeared on Star Trek: The Next Generation in its 1987 pilot episode, "Encounter at Farpoint", as an unnamed helm officer. His character became a frequently recurring one, and was given the name of Miles O'Brien as he became more prominent in the crew as Transporter Chief. In 1993, Meaney left The Next Generation for a main role in its spin-off Star Trek: Deep Space Nine and remained on that show until its final episode, in 1999. With 225 total appearances on Star Trek, he is second to Michael Dorn with the most appearances on the franchise.

Meaney played Colum O'Hara in the 1994 miniseries Scarlett, the sequel to Gone With the Wind. He has played a minor recurring role as Cowen, leader of the Genii on the series Stargate Atlantis, guest-starred on Law & Order, Law & Order: Criminal Intent and appeared as Bob O'Donnell on the ABC show Men in Trees. Meaney appeared in the film Die Hard 2, playing the pilot of the plane Windsor 114 that was later crashed by Colonel Stuart.

He was the only actor to appear in all three film adaptations of Roddy Doyle's The Barrytown Trilogy, as the father of the Rabbitte family. His stage appearances include the Old Vic production of Eugene O'Neill's A Moon for the Misbegotten. Meaney starred in the British comedy film Three and Out (released in the UK on 25 April 2008). In July of the same year An Post (the Irish Post Office) issued a postage stamp showing Meaney as Joe Mullen in the film Kings.

In 2009, Meaney co-starred with Gerard Butler and Jamie Foxx in Law Abiding Citizen, playing Detective Dunnigan. In March 2009, Meaney voiced an Irish bartender on the St. Patrick's Day episode of The Simpsons, "In the Name of the Grandfather". In the same month the film The Damned United was released, a mostly fictional retelling of the 44-day period in which Brian Clough was manager of Leeds United F.C. Meaney played former Leeds manager Don Revie. He co-starred in Soldiers of Fortune. In 2013, Meaney co-starred in Alan Partridge: Alpha Papa. In 2014, he appeared as The Horse in the BBC's three-part crime story The Driver. For five seasons he portrayed railroad magnate Thomas C. Durant on AMC's drama series Hell on Wheels.

Personal life

From 1977 to 1994, Meaney was married to fellow actor Bairbre Dowling, with whom he frequently appeared opposite on stage and screen. Together they had one daughter, actress Brenda Meaney, born in 1984.

Meaney married French costume designer Ines Glorian in March of 2007. Their daughter Ada was born in 2005. The family lives in the Majorcan town of Sóller, with homes in Los Angeles, California, and Dublin, Ireland.

Meaney is a supporter of Sinn Féin.

Acting credits

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1981	Nailed	Younger Protestant	ITV, Television film
1983	Playboy of the Western World	Shawn	PBS, Television film
1984	The Hidden Curriculum	David Dunn	UTV, Television film
1986	Omega Syndrome	Sean
1987	The Dead	Mr. Bergin
	Kenny Rogers as The Gambler, Part III: The Legend Continues	Tinkerer	NBC, Television film
1989	Perfect Witness	Meagher	HBO, Television film
1990	Come See the Paradise	Gerry McGurn
	Dick Tracy	Cop at Tess's
	Die Hard 2	Pilot
1991	The Commitments	Jimmy Rabbitte, Sr.
1992	Under Siege	Daumer
	The Last of the Mohicans	Maj. Ambrose
	Far and Away	Kelly
	Into the West	Barreller
1993	The Snapper	Dessie Curley	Nominated – Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy
1994	War of the Buttons	Geronimo's father
	The Road to Wellville	Dr. Lionel Badger
1995	The Englishman Who Went Up a Hill But Came Down a Mountain	Morgan the Goat
	Ripple	Nathan	Short film
1996	The Van	Larry
	The Last of the High Kings	Jim Davern
1997	Con Air	Agent Duncan Malloy
	Owd Bob	Keith Moore
1998	This Is My Father	Seamus, owner of the Bed and Breakfast
	Monument Ave.	Jackie O'Hara	a.k.a. Snitch
	October 22	Steve
	Claire Dolan	Roland Cain
	Money Kings	Al Sheehan	Cinemax, Television film (a.k.a. Vig)
1999	Mystery, Alaska	Mayor Scott Pitcher
	Chapter Zero	Frank Lazarus
	Four Days	Fury
	Most Important	Dan O'Neill
2001	Backflash	Gin O'Malley
	How Harry Became a Tree	Harry	Irish Film and Television Award for Best Actor
2002	King of Texas	Mr. Tumlinson	TNT, Television film
	R.U.S./H.	Capt. Mike Gunnison	CBS, Television film
2003	The Boys from County Clare	Jimmy
	Intermission	Jerry Lynch
2004	Blueberry	Jimmy McClure	(a.k.a Renegade)
	Bad Apple	Gibbons	CBS, Television film
	Zenon: Z3	Commander Plank	Disney Channel, Television film
	Layer Cake	Gene
	Battle of the Brave	Benjamin Franklin
2005	Turning Green	Tom
	Briar & Graves	Father Alister McSweeney	Fox, TV Movie
2006	Caved In: Prehistoric Terror	Vincent	Syfy, Television film
	Five Fingers	Gavin
	A Lobster Tale	Cody
	Sixty Minute Man	Charlie	ABC, Television film
2007	Kings	Joe Mullan	Nominated – Irish Film and Television Award for Best Actor
	The Metrosexual	The Mayor	Great Lakes Film Festival Award for Best Supporting Actor
2008	Clean Break	Trevor Jones	(a.k.a Unnatural Causes)
	Three and Out	Tommy	(a.k.a A Deal Is a Deal)
2009	The Damned United	Don Revie
	The Race	Frank Kensay
	Law Abiding Citizen	Detective Dunnigan
2010	Get Him to the Greek	Jonathan Snow
	Alleged	H. L. Mencken
	Parked	Fred Daly
	The Conspirator	Gen. David Hunter
	The Flight of the Swan	Giannopolus
2011	El Perfecto Desconocido	Mark O'Reilly
2012	Whole Lotta Sole	Detective Weller	(a.k.a Stand Off)
	Bel Ami	Monsieur Rousset
	Soldiers of Fortune	Carter Mason
	The Hot Potato	Harry
	The Cold Light of Day	CIA Agent
2013	Alan Partridge: Alpha Papa	Pat Farrell
	One Chance	Roland Potts
	A Belfast Story	Detective
	Free Birds	Myles Standish	Voice
2014	The Yank	Fintan McGuire	(a.k.a My Not So Irish Bride)
	The Devil's Hand	Elder Beacon
2015	A Dangerous Arrangement	Leslie	TVM, Television film
2016	Norm of the North	Grandfather	Voice
	Pelé: Birth of a Legend	George Raynor
	The Journey	Martin McGuinness
	The Secrets of Emily Blair	Father Avital
2017	Halal Daddy	Martin Logan
2018	Cat on a Hot Tin Roof	Big Daddy	NT Live, Television film
2019	Tolkien	Father Francis
	Seberg	Frank Ellroy
	The Last Right	Detective Donall Crowley
2020	The Banker	Patrick Barker
	Pixie	Dermot O’Brien
2021	The Monkey	MacDonell	Short film
	Lady Betty	Paddy	Short film
	There's Always Hope	Jonathan Stack
2022	Confession	Father Peter
	Save the Cinema	Martyn
	Marlowe	Bernie Ohls
	Unwelcome	"Daddy" Whelan
	Three Day Millionaire	Mr. Barr
2023	In the Land of Saints and Sinners	Robert McQue
	The Problem with People	Ciáran
2024	No Way Up	Brandon
	The Ballad of Davy Crockett	Caleb
	Duchess	Frank Monaghan
	Bring Them Down	Ray
TBA	The Panic	J.P. Morgan	Post-production

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1973	Thursday Play Date	Freddie	Episode: "Hatchet"
1978	Z-Cars	McGlin	Episode: "Pressure"
1981	Les roses de Dublin	Michael Kavanaugh	Main role, 6 episodes
1982	Play for Tomorrow	Kevin Murphy	Episode: "Easter 2016"
	Strangers	Smollett	Episode: "Charlie's Brother's Birthday" (Part 1)
1986	Moonlighting	Katharina Suitor	Episode: "Atomic Shakespeare"
1987	Remington Steele	Man in Tavern	Episode: "Steele Hanging in There: Part 2"
	Tales from the Darkside	Constable	Episode: "Beetles"
1987–1989	One Life to Live	Alf	Unknown episodes
1987–1992, 1994	Star Trek: The Next Generation	Chief Miles O'Brien	Main role, 52 episodes
1990	Equal Justice	Nucchi	Episode: "The Art of the Possible"
	Father Dowling Mysteries	Ernie	Episode: "The Undercover Nun Mystery"
1991	The New Adam-12	Father	Episode: "Panic in Alverez Park"
	MacGyver	Dr. Irwin Malcolm	Episode: "Good Knight MacGyver: Part 1"
1992	Jack's Place	Mikey Ford	Episode: "Forever"
1993	Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman	Jake Slicker	Episode: "Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman"
	Screen Two	Dessie Curley	Episode: "The Snapper"
	Brooklyn Bridge	Mr. Kramer	Episode: "Good as Gold"
1993–1999	Star Trek: Deep Space Nine	Chief Miles O'Brien	Main role, 173 episodes
1994	Scarlett	Father Colum O'Hara	2 episodes
1996	Gargoyles	Mr. Dugan (voice)	Episode: "The Hound of Ulster"
1999	The Magical Legend of the Leprechauns	Seamus Muldoon	2 episodes
2002	Random Passage	Thomas Hutchings	Miniseries Nominated – Gemini Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Dramatic Program or Mini-Series
2004	The Murdoch Mysteries	Inspector Brackenreid	2 episodes
2004–2006	Stargate Atlantis	Chief Cowen	3 episodes
2005	Law & Order: Criminal Intent	Judge Harold Garrett	Episode: "In the Wee Small Hours"
2006	The Unit	Charge D'Affaires	Episode: "Security"
	Covert One: The Hades Factor	Peter Howell	2 episodes
2007	Men in Trees	Bob O'Donnell	2 episodes
2008	Law & Order	Wyatt Landon	Episode: "Lost Boys"
2009	ZOS: Zone of Separation	George Titac	Main role, 8 episodes
	The Simpsons	Tom O'Flanagan (voice)	Episode: "In the Name of the Grandfather"
	Life on Mars	Lieutenant Gene Hunt	Episode: "Unaired Pilot"
	Mercy	Dr. Parks	Episode: "I Believe You Conrad"
	Alice	King of Hearts	2 episodes
2011–2016	Hell on Wheels	Thomas "Doc" Durant	Main role, 52 episodes Nominated – Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actor on Television (2013) Nominated – Irish Film & Television Award for Best Actor TV (2013)
2014	The Driver	The Horse	3 episodes
2015	Childhood's End	Wainwright	Episode: "The Overlords"
2017	Will	James Burbage	Main role, 10 episodes
2020	Gangs of London	Finn Wallace	Main role, 8 episodes
	The Singapore Grip	Brendan Archer	Main role, 6 episodes
2021	It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia	Shelley Kelly	2 episodes
2021	Fúria	Michael	2 episodes
2022	The Serpent Queen	King Francis I	4 episodes
2023	Scary Tales of New York	Storyteller	Main role, 6 episodes
2023	The Santa Stories	Bill	Episode: "The Note"
2025	Safe Harbor	Kieran Walsh	Main role, 8 episodes

Stage

Year	Title	Role	Playwright	Venue	Ref.
1971	Today the Bullfinch	Gentleman	Jack White	Abbey Theatre
1971	Macbeth	Lord	William Shakespeare	Abbey Theatre
1971	Hall of Healing	Red Muffler	Sean O'Casey	Abbey Theatre
1971	The Shadow of a Gunman	Donal Davoren	Sean O'Casey	Abbey Theatre
1971	The Blue Demon	Mogg / Demonaide	Lin Ford	Abbey Theatre
1972	Arrah-na-Pogue	Soldier	Dion Boucicault	Abbey Theatre
1972	The Silver Tassie	The Staff Wallah	Sean O'Casey	Abbey Theatre
1972	Saint Joan	Soldiers/Accessors	George Bernard Shaw	Abbey Theatre
1972	Picnic on a Battlefield	Monsieur Tepan	Fernando Arrabal	Abbey Theatre
1973	The School For Scandal	William	Richard Brinsley Sheridan	Abbey Theatre
1973	King Oedipus	Chorus	William Butler Yeats	Abbey Theatre
1973	Escurial	Man in Scarlet	Michel De Ghelderode	Abbey Theatre
1973	The Night of the Rouser	Second Soldier	Sean Walsh	Abbey Theatre
1974	King Oedipus	Chorus	William Butler Yeats	Abbey Theatre
1975	Fish in the Sea	Derick / Vince	John McGrath	7:84 Theatre Company
1975	Yobbo Nowt	Val	John McGrath	7:84 Theatre Company
1975	Lay-Off	Fred W. Taylor	John McGrath	7:84 Theatre Company
1976	History of the Tenth Struggle	Lin Biao	John McGrath	7:84 Theatre Company
1977	The Slave Camp	Sid Harley	Dave Marson	7:84 Theatre Company
1978	Hatchet	Freddie	Heno Magee	Abbey Theatre
1979	Hatchet	Freddie	Heno Magee	Abbey Theatre
1979	The Death of Humpty Dumpty	Willy John	Joseph Graham Reid	Abbey Theatre
1979	Juno and the Paycock	Jerry Devine	Sean O'Casey	Abbey Theatre
1980	The Field	Tadhg Mc Cabe	John B. Keane	Abbey Theatre
1980	Juno and the Paycock	Jerry Devine	Sean O'Casey	Abbey Theatre
1980	The Winter's Tale	Cleomenes / Autolycus	William Shakespeare	Abbey Theatre
1980	The Closed Door	John "Slabber" McCoy	Joseph Graham Reid	Abbey Theatre
1980	Nightshade	Vance	Stewart Parker	Abbey Theatre
1980	Nightshade	Vance	Stewart Parker	Abbey Theatre National Tour
1982	The Playboy of the Western World	Shawn	John Millington Synge	Great Lakes Shakespeare Festival
1982	The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby	John Browdie / Sir Mulberry Hawk	Charles Dickens & David Edgar	Great Lakes Shakespeare Festival
1983	The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby	John Browdie / Sir Mulberry Hawk	Charles Dickens & David Edgar	Merle Reskin Theatre, Chicago
1983	Henry V	Fluellen	William Shakespeare	Great Lakes Shakespeare Festival
1983	A Child's Christmas in Wales	Tad	Dylan Thomas	Great Lakes Shakespeare Festival
1984	The Poker Sessions	Kevin	Hugh Leonard	Theater Off Park Off-Broadway
1985	And a Nightingale Sang	Eric	C. P. Taylor	Great Lakes Shakespeare Festival
1986	The Birthday Party	McCann	Harold Pinter	Los Angeles Theatre Center
1986	Diary of a Hunger Strike	Patrick O'Connor	Peter Sheridan	Los Angeles Theatre Center
1986	Alpha	The Political Prisoner	Sławomir Mrożek	Los Angeles Theatre Center
1987	Breaking the Code	Mick Ross	Hugh Whitemore	Kennedy Center
1987-1988	Breaking the Code	Mick Ross	Hugh Whitemore	Neil Simon Theatre, Broadway
1993	Every Good Boy Deserves Favour	Colonel	Tom Stoppard	Orange County Symphony
1993	Every Good Boy Deserves Favour	Colonel	Tom Stoppard	The Chicago Theatre
1993	Every Good Boy Deserves Favour	Colonel	Tom Stoppard	Fox Theatre, Atlanta
1994	Every Good Boy Deserves Favour	Colonel	Tom Stoppard	Orpheum Theatre, Minneapolis
1999	The Cider House Rules	Dr. Wilbur Larch	John Irving & Peter Parnell	Atlantic Theater Company, Off-Broadway
2007	A Moon for the Misbegotten	Phil Hogan	Eugene O'Neill	Brooks Atkinson Theatre, Broadway
2007	A Moon for the Misbegotten	Phil Hogan	Eugene O'Neill	The Old Vic, West End
2017	Cat on a Hot Tin Roof	Big Daddy	Tennessee Williams	Apollo Theatre, West End
2018	The Iceman Cometh	Harry Hope	Eugene O'Neill	Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre, Broadway
2023	Bedbound	Father	Enda Walsh	Galway International Arts Festival
2023	Bedbound	Father	Enda Walsh	Olympia Theatre, Dublin

Awards and nominations

Main article: List of awards and nominations received by Colm Meaney

External links

• Colm Meaney at IMDb