Colm Meaney

Acting

Colm Meaney

Born 1953-05-30 · Dublin, Ireland

Colm J. Meaney (born May 30, 1953) is an acclaimed Irish actor. Born in Dublin, Meaney discovered his passion for acting in his youth and later honed his craft at the Abbey Theatre School before joining the National Theatre of Ireland. He achieved global recognition for his iconic portrayal of Chief Miles O'Brien within the Star Trek franchise, seamlessly transitioning the character from Star Trek: The Next Generation to a leading role on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine across a staggering 225 total episodes. Beyond science fiction, Meaney is deeply revered for starring as the quintessential working-class father in all three film adaptations of Roddy Doyle’s beloved Barrytown Trilogy: The Commitments, The Snapper (which earned him a Golden Globe nomination), and The Van. A highly versatile character actor, his prolific Hollywood filmography includes memorable roles in major blockbusters such as Die Hard 2, The Last of the Mohicans, Con Air, and Layer Cake. On the small screen, he delivered powerhouse performances as the ruthless railroad tycoon Thomas C. Durant in AMC's Western series Hell on Wheels and the crime boss Finn Wallace in Gangs of London. An accomplished stage veteran of Broadway and the West End, Meaney was honored with the prestigious Irish Film & Television Academy’s (IFTA) Lifetime Achievement Award in 2025. He continues to remain a vibrant force in the industry, starring in high-profile projects such as the Netflix feature adaptation Remarkably Bright Creatures and the crime drama series The Yank, which reunited him on screen with fellow Star Trek alumnus Kate Mulgrew.

Acting credits

Remarkably Bright Creatures poster
8.4

Through unlikely bonds formed during night shifts at a local aquarium, Tova, an elderly widow, learns of a life-changing discovery that may bring her joy and wonder once again.

Remarkably Bright Creatures

2026

Law Abiding Citizen poster
7.4

A frustrated man decides to take justice into his own hands after a plea bargain sets one of his family's killers free. He targets not only the killer but also the district attorney and others involved in the deal.

Law Abiding Citizen

2009

Con Air poster
6.8

Newly-paroled former US Army ranger Cameron Poe is headed back to his wife, but must fly home aboard a prison transport flight dubbed "Jailbird" taking the “worst of the worst” prisoners, a group described as “pure predators”, to a new super-prison. Poe faces impossible odds when the transport plane is skyjacked mid-flight by the most vicious criminals in the country led by the mastermind — genius serial killer Cyrus "The Virus" Grissom, and backed by black militant Diamond Dog and psychopath Billy Bedlam.

Con Air

1997

Die Hard 2 poster
7.0

One year after his heroics in Los Angeles, John McClane is an off-duty cop who is the wrong guy in the wrong place at the wrong time. On a snowy Christmas Eve, as he waits for his wife's plane to land at Washington Dulles International Airport, terrorists take over the air traffic control system in a plot to free a South American army general and drug smuggler being flown into the US to face drug charges. It's now up to McClane to take on the terrorists, while coping with an inept airport police chief, an uncooperative anti-terrorist squad, and the life of his wife and everyone else trapped in planes circling overhead.

Die Hard 2

1990

The Last of the Mohicans poster
7.4

In war-torn colonial America, in the midst of a bloody battle between British, the French and Native American allies, the aristocratic daughter of a British Colonel and her party are captured by a group of Huron warriors. Fortunately, a group of three Mohican trappers comes to their rescue.

The Last of the Mohicans

1992

Under Siege poster
6.3

A disgruntled ex-CIA operative, his assistant and their assembled group of terrorists seize a battleship with nuclear blackmail in mind. They've planned for every contingency but ignore the ship's cook, former Navy SEAL Casey Ryback—an error that could be fatal.

Under Siege

1992

In the Land of Saints and Sinners poster
6.4

In a remote Irish village, a damaged Finbar is forced to fight for redemption after a lifetime of sins, but what price is he willing to pay? In the land of saints and sinners, some sins can't be buried.

In the Land of Saints and Sinners

2023

The Banker poster
7.6

In the 1960s, two entrepreneurs hatch an ingenious business plan to fight for housing integration—and equal access to the American Dream.

The Banker

2020

No Way Up poster
6.2

Characters from different backgrounds are thrown together when the plane they're travelling on crashes into the Pacific Ocean. A nightmare fight for survival ensues with the air supply running out and dangers creeping in from all sides.

No Way Up

2024

Far and Away poster
6.8

A young free-spirited Irish woman from an affluent Protestant family spontaneously befriends a street-smart commoner cheated by her family’s hostile land takeovers. They escape to America, ready to take advantage of the 19th century Oklahoma land rush.

Far and Away

1992

Free Birds poster
5.9

Two turkeys from opposite sides of the tracks must put aside their differences and team up to travel back in time to change the course of history—and get turkey off the holiday menu for good.

Free Birds

2013

Get Him to the Greek poster
6.0

Pinnacle records has the perfect plan to get their sinking company back on track: a comeback concert in LA featuring Aldous Snow, a fading rockstar who has dropped off the radar in recent years. Record company intern Aaron Green is faced with the monumental task of bringing his idol, out of control rock star Aldous Snow, back to LA for his comeback show.

Get Him to the Greek

2010

Layer Cake poster
6.9

When a seemingly straight-forward drug deal goes awry, XXXX has to break his die-hard rules and turn up the heat, not only to outwit the old regime and come out on top, but to save his own skin...

Layer Cake

2004

Marlowe poster
5.7

Private detective Philip Marlowe becomes embroiled in an investigation involving a wealthy Californian family after a beautiful blonde hires him to track down her former lover.

Marlowe

2023

Dick Tracy poster
6.2

The comic strip detective finds his life vastly complicated when Breathless Mahoney makes advances towards him while he is trying to battle Big Boy Caprice's united mob.

Dick Tracy

1990

Pelé: Birth of a Legend poster
7.3

The life story of Brazilian football legend, Pele.

Pelé: Birth of a Legend

2016

Pelé: Birth of a Legend poster
7.3

The life story of Brazilian football legend, Pele.

Pelé: Birth of a Legend

2016

Tolkien poster
6.9

England, early 20th century. The future writer and philologist John Ronald Reuel Tolkien (1892-1973) and three of his schoolmates create a strong bond between them as they share the same passion for literature and art, a true fellowship that strengthens as they grow up, but the outbreak of World War I threatens to shatter it.

Tolkien

2019

The Englishman Who Went Up a Hill But Came Down a Mountain poster
6.3

When an English cartographer arrives in Wales to tell the residents of the Welsh village of Ffynnon Garw that their 'mountain' is only a hill, the offended community sets out to remedy the situation.

The Englishman Who Went Up a Hill But Came Down a Mountain

1995

The Cold Light of Day poster
5.4

After his family is kidnapped during their sailing trip in Spain, a young Wall Street trader is confronted by the people responsible: intelligence agents looking to recover a mysterious briefcase.

The Cold Light of Day

2012

Bel Ami poster
5.3

Georges Duroy travels through 1890s Paris, from cockroach ridden garrets to opulent salons, using his wits and powers of seduction to rise from poverty to wealth, from a prostitute’s embrace to passionate trysts with wealthy beauties, in a world where politics and media jostle for influence, where sex is power and celebrity an obsession.

Bel Ami

2012

Norm of the North poster
4.6

Polar bear Norm and his three Arctic lemming buddies are forced out into the world once their icy home begins melting and breaking apart. Landing in New York, Norm begins life anew as a performing corporate mascot, only to discover that his new employers are directly responsible for the destruction of his polar home.

Norm of the North

2016

One Chance poster
6.7

This film follows the remarkable and inspirational true story of Paul Potts, a shy, bullied shop assistant by day and an amateur opera singer by night.

One Chance

2013

The Conspirator poster
6.6

Mary Surratt is the lone female charged as a co-conspirator in the assassination trial of Abraham Lincoln. As the whole nation turns against her, she is forced to rely on her reluctant lawyer to uncover the truth and save her life.

The Conspirator

2011