With Colm Meaney back in our cinemas with IRA thriller A Belfast Story, we thought we'd take a look back over some of his best roles to date. It wasn't all just Chief O'Brien, y'know...
WARNING: NSFW language below!
5. UNDER SIEGE / "Daumer"
Although Steven Seagal's career has gone straight-to-DVD and weird documentaries involving him beating people up in Arizona, there was a time when some of his action films didn't actually suck. The best of them has to be, without a shadow of a doubt, Under Siege. Where does Meaney fit into this? He was Daumer, Tommy Lee Jones' bad-ass henchman who messes Seagal up with these grappling hook things. Meaney really shines as a villain; it's a real shame he hasn't really played much of a villain apart from his current TV show, Hell on Wheels. He's got the best one-liner before dying in Under Siege, too. That's not a spoiler, by the way. It's a Steven Seagal film, everybody dies.
4. THE SNAPPER / "Dessie Curley"
The Snapper is one of the best Irish comedies ever made and it's not hard to see why Meaney was nominated for a Golden Globe for his role in it. Although the film centres around Sharon Curley and her pregnancy, Meaney steals the show every chance he can get. Whether it's his reading pregnancy books, the scenes in the bar with Brendan Gleeson and your man with the Teddy Boy "Compadre" moustache or even just his use of language, Meaney's a delight to watch in a genuinely funny movie. Our favourite part's when they're driving to the hospital and he's trying to keep her spirits up and a guy steps out in front of his van. "GET OUTTA ME WAY, YA DOZEY BOLLOCKS!"
3. INTERMISSION / "Detective Jerry Lynch"
Although he was sharing the screen with Colin Farrell, Meaney's character in Intermission was pretty much the boss whenever they were together. In fact, a classic scene below pretty much puts it all into perspective.
2. CON AIR / "DEA Agent Duncan Malloy"
Fact - Con-Air was one of the most successful films of 1997. Fact - Nicholas Cage and John Malkovich were both pretty jah-mazing in it too. It's got some of the best lines in cheesy action films, too. The bunny scene? Nicholas Cage's letters to his wife? Steve Buscemi's character? Con Air's amazing. And Colm Meaney's in it, too. This scene below is why Con Air is arguably the best action film of the 1990's. "Sunsets are beautiful... this, this is f*cking spectacular."
1. STAR TREK: DEEP SPACE NINE / "Chief Miles O'Brien"
Well, we couldn't do a list about Colm Meaney and not mention his work on Star Trek, could we? Sure, he might have started off as just a random extra in Star Trek: The Next Generation. However, he really came into his own and grew the character in DS9. Meaney's character, Engineering Chief O'Brien, was a fan favourite from the start. Although there was something a bit twee about him being Irish, the fact was he had great chemistry with his co-stars and the relationship he had with Doctor Bashir was pretty funny at times, too. That said, however, he had some real dramatic moments. This one in particular is pretty notable among hardcore fans because a lot of people said it was the first time the realities of war, i.e. were addressed on the show.
