Colm Meaney Movies and Career Information

Colm J. Meaney (first name pronounced /ˈkɒləm/; Irish: Colm Ó Maonaigh; born 30 May 1953) is an Irish actor widely known for playing Miles O'Brien in Star Trek: The Next Generation and Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. He is second only to Michael Dorn in most appearances in Star Trek episodes. He has guest-starred on many TV shows from Law & Order to The Simpsons. He has also had a significant career in motion pictures, recently appearing in the British sports film The Damned United. Meaney was born in Dublin. He started studying acting when he was fourteen years of age, and entered the Abbey Theatre School of Acting after secondary school. He became a member of the Irish National Theatre and spent the next eight years in England, touring with several theatre companies. Meaney's first television appearance was in Z-Cars on BBC1 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 was