Colm Meaney

Colm J. Meaney (/ˈkɒləm/; Irish: Colm Ó Maonaigh; born 30 May 1953) is an Irish actor known for playing Miles O'Brien in Star Trek: The Next Generation and Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. He has guest-starred on many TV shows from Law & Order to The Simpsons, and during its run, starred as railroad magnate Thomas Durant on AMC's drama series Hell on Wheels. He has also had a significant career in motion pictures, and appeared in the film The Damned United, all three film adaptations of Roddy Doyle's The Barrytown Trilogy, and in Get Him to the Greek, as well as Alan Partridge: Alpha Papa. 2Early life Meaney was born in Dublin. He began studying acting when he was 14 years old and entered the Abbey Theatre School of Acting after secondary school. He became a member of the Irish National Theatre and worked for the next eight years in England, touring with several theatre companies. 2Career Meaney's first television appearance was in Z-Cars on BBC 1, 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 Chie