Summary

• Colm Meaney played Chief Miles O'Brien for 12 years in Star Trek: The Next Generation and Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, showcasing his considerable acting talent and delivering memorable performances.
• Meaney's role as Charlie Kelly's father in It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia highlighted his dry delivery and comedic skills, proving that he was perfectly cast in the long-running sitcom.
• Colm Meaney's performances in films like Alan Partridge: Alpha Papa, The Damned United, and Layer Cake showcased his versatility, with his strong physicality and comedic timing stealing the limelight from other legendary actors.

Colm Meaney became a household name in the US for his role as Chief Miles O'Brien in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine and Star Trek: The Next Generation, but it's just one of the actor's many great film and TV roles. Born in Finglas, Dublin, Ireland in 1958, Colm Meaney studied acting from the age of 14 before ing the Irish National Theatre. After cutting his teeth in touring theater and UK TV shows like Z-Cars, Colm Meaney moved to New York in the mid-1980s, intending to pursue a career in Hollywood.

In 1987, Meaney became a recurring member of the DS9 actors weren't allowed to pursue other jobs, so it's fortunate for film and TV fans that he was the exception to that clause.

10 Shelley Kelly in It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia

It's Always Sunny season 15 episodes 6 and 7

Colm Meaney played the father of Charlie Kelly (Charlie Day) in It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia season 15, episodes 6 and 7. The identity of Charlie's father had been a long-running mystery in the sitcom, which was finally answered when the Gang went to Ireland. Colm Meaney was great in the role of Charlie's cheese-loving, rat-bashing dad, and his dry delivery of some of the more outlandish gags proved that he was perfectly cast in the long-running sitcom.

Sadly, Shelley Kelly was killed off, forcing the Gang to carry his corpse up a mountain as per his final wishes. It was a ludicrous storyline that brought out the best in Charlie Day, who showed off his sitcom namesake's more vulnerable side. Perhaps working alongside Colm Meaney had unlocked something in Kelly, who gave his all in It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia's season 15 finale.

9 Pat Farrell in Alan Partridge: Alpha Papa (2013)

Released September 28, 2013 (USA)

Years before his guest role in It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, Colm Meaney appeared alongside another beloved comedy icon. Colm Meaney played fired DJ Pat Farrell in Alan Partridge: Alpha Papa. The disgruntled DJ held the staff of North Norfolk Digital radio station hostage until he was reinstated to his old slot on the schedules. Colm Meaney's physicality and gift for comic timing makes Pat Farrell a perfect foil for Steve Coogan's weasly Alan Partridge, who sees the life-threatening situation as a means to revitalize his career. At times, Meaney's performance is so commanding that he steals the limelight from a genuine comedy legend.

8 Don Revie in The Damned United (2009)

Released October 9, 2009 (United States)

The Damned United is a fictional telling of the 44-day period in which English football manager Brian Clough (Michael Sheen) managed Leeds United. Colm Meaney played Clough's predecessor and former England manager, the controversial Don Revie. In one of the movie's most memorable scenes, Michael Sheen and Colm Meaney re-enacted the live debate between Clough and Revie which aired on the evening that the Leeds manager was dismissed. Based on a novel by David Peace, The Damned United was criticised for being an inaccurate of Clough's tenure, but there's no doubting the quality of Colm Meaney and Michael Sheen's performances.

7 Jerry Lynch in Intermission (2003)

Released August 29, 2003 (Ireland)

A blackly comic Irish crime drama, Intermission was well received by critics and audiences, winning several prizes at the Irish Film and TV awards. Intermission featured some of Ireland's best-loved actors, including Colm Meaney as Detective Jerry Lynch. Playing Lynch's nemesis, the hardened criminal Lehiff, was Colin Farrell, while Cillian Murphy, recently nominated for his performance in Chrisopher Nolan's Oppenheimer, also appeared in another of Intermission's interconnected story strands. Colm Meaney's Lynch is a no-nonsense hardman copper, who is far from the savior he presents himself as. Exactly the sort of complex character that Colm Meaney is so great at playing.

6 Gene in Layer Cake (2004)

Released October 1, 2004

Famously the film that convinced Barbara Brocolli that Daniel Craig had the potential to play James Bond, Matthew Vaughn's Layer Cake also features a strong performance from Colm Meaney as Gene. Colm Meaney brought a lived-in feel to the criminal character, that established he was a man to be respected. Meaney's performance in Layer Cake is brilliantly subtle, subverting the British gangster movie clichés of shouting, snarling criminals. One scene in particular, where he orders the deaths of The Duke and his girlfriend purely by different facial expressions, is a perfect example of Meaney's quiet toughness in Layer Cake.

5 Martin McGuiness in The Journey (2016)

Released May 5, 2017 (UK & Ireland)

Colm Meaney won Best Actor in a Lead Role at the 2017 Irish Film and Television Awards for his role as Northern Irish politician Martin McGuiness in The Journey. The film follows Sinn Féin leader McGuiness and Democratic Unionist Party leader Dr. Ian Paisley (Timothy Spall) as they take a trip back to Belfast in the lead-up to the historic St. Andrew's Agreement in 2006. The film was criticized for being an inaccurate depiction of events, but there's no doubting Colm Meaney's incredible portrayal of a conflicted McGuiness, reconciling Northern Ireland's past with its future.

4 Agent Duncan Malloy in Con Air (1997)

Released June 2, 1997 (United States)

Con Air is a movie that is full of outrageous performances, including noted Star Trek fan Nicolas Cage as Cameron Poe. Colm Meaney played Agent Duncan Malloy in Con Air and was more than capable of matching the energies of Nic Cage and John Malkovich. A brash DEA officer, Meaney's Duncan Malloy was the exact opposite of John Cusack's more measured and sympathetic US Marshall, Vince Larkin. Notably, it's Agent Malloy's Corvette C2 - complete with AZZ KIKR vanity plate - which falls from a great height, to which Colm Meaney hilariously reacts in the manner of a foul-mouthed Stan Laurel.

3 Thomas 'Doc' Durant in Hell on Wheels (2011 - 2016)

Series regular for all four seasons of Hell on Wheels

AMC's western revenge drama Hell on Wheels teamed Colm Meaney with future Star Trek: Strange New Worlds cast member Anson Mount. Set after the end of the American Civil War, Hell on Wheels centered around Cullen Bohannon (Anson Mount) and his quest for revenge against the Union soldiers that murdered his wife. Colm Meaney played a fictionalized version of the Union Pacific Railroad's vice president, Thomas 'Doc' Durant in Hell on Wheels. Meaney once told Collider that he was drawn to the role because:

"You don't see writing like this, nowadays. The vocabulary he uses is just fantastic. There was no hesitation."

Meaney's love of the scripts can be seen in how he relishes the dialog he has to deliver as Durant.

2 Dessie Curley in The Snapper (1993)

Released April 4, 1993 (UK)

Roddy Doyle's Barrytown Trilogy is an integral part of contemporary Irish culture, and Colm Meaney starred in all three of the movies that comprise it. Meaney's most notable performance in the Barrytown Trilogy is as Dessie Curley in The Snapper. It's a bravura performance from Colm Meaney that balances comedy and pathos to give audiences one of cinema's greatest father figures. The Snapper is a raucous celebration of family that also asks tough questions about how society views and judges women. Colm Meaney's journey from traditionalist patriarch to progressive father is a joy to watch.

The Barrytown trilogy comprises The Commitments, The Snapper, and The Van, all of which are available to rent from Prime Video.

1 Chief Miles O'Brien in Star Trek: The Next Generation and Star Trek: DS9 (1987 - 1999)

Recurring role in TNG and series regular in DS9

Colm Meaney's Chief O'Brien was a fixture of Star Trek for 12 years, from his first appearance in Star Trek: The Next Generation in 1987 to his final performance in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine's finale in 1999. It's testament to Colm Meaney's considerable acting talent that he was given such rich material to perform during those 12 years. From Chief O'Brien's hatred of Cardassians to the temporary loss of his daughter Molly (Hana Hatae), the TNG and DS9 writers' rooms always ensured Colm Meaney had stories that he could sink his teeth into.

Quite simply, Colm Meaney is one of the greatest actors to ever appear in the Star Trek franchise, let alone Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. Given Meaney's prolific career in film, TV, and theater, the DS9 producers made the right call in allowing him to pursue opportunities elsewhere. By maintaining a profile outside Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Colm Meaney was able to continue entertaining audiences with performances that showcased his considerable talents for playing heroes and villains, always brilliantly balancing comedy and pathos.

All of Colm Meaney's episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation and Star Trek: Deep Space Nine are available to stream on Paramount+.