When Colm Meaney joined the Star Trek: The Next Generation cast, he was initially in the role of an unnamed character. But as his time in Star Trek’s universe went on, he carved out a space for himself.
Among some of the best Star Trek characters on the show Deep Space Nine, his part was extended past its initial purview. Now, fans of some of the best sci-fi series know the name Miles O’Brien very well.
The Star Trek timeline may be complicated, but Meaney’s approach to his character was anything but. He wanted to keep things simple and envisioned playing Miles as an American initially. He was told no.
Meaney told The Irish Times “Rick Berman the exec producer sat me down and said, ‘The whole notion of this show is that it’s multiracial’… I reluctantly started to play him Irish.”
Recalling being won over by the ships and Star Trek captains in the fictional world, he said, “I was not a science-fiction guy, but I started to appreciate the genre… Because it’s set in the future you can address any subject you want. I started to appreciate it more and more.”
His last appearance as O’Brien was in the Deep Space Nine episode ‘What You Leave Behind’. Since then, he has appeared in multiple movies and TV series, including Gangs of London and the 2020 film Pixie.