Stage from 1971-1980. In 1971, Meaney joined the company of the
National Theatre of Ireland, appearing in 24 productions over the next nine years. Credits from this period include
William Shakespeare's ''
The Winter's Tale'',
W. B. Yeats'
King Oedipus,
George Bernard Shaw's
Saint Joan,
Dion Boucicault's
Arrah-na-Pogue, and
Sean O'Casey's
Juno and the Paycock. Meaney made his
Off-West End debut in 1975, appearing in McGrath's plays
Fish in the Sea at the
Half Moon Theatre The play is an 8½ hour-long stage adaptation of the
Charles Dickens’
novel of the same name, performed in two parts. The production was a critical and commercial success, later transferring to
Merle Reskin Theatre in
Chicago, Illinois. Meaney made his Off-Broadway debut in 1984, appearing as Kevin in
Hugh Leonard's
The Poker Sessions at
Theater Off Park. In 1986 he relocated from
New York City to
Los Angeles. That same year he starred in
Sławomir Mrożek's
Alpha,
Harold Pinter's
The Birthday Party, and
Peter Sheridan's
Diary of a Hunger Strike, all at the
Los Angeles Theatre Center. Meaney's performance in the latter earned him a
Drama-Logue Award nomination for Best Actor in a Play. In 1987, Meaney appeared as Mick Ross in the American premiere of
Hugh Whitemore's
Breaking the Code at the
Kennedy Center in
Washington, D.C. Later that same year the production transferred to the
Neil Simon Theatre on
Broadway. From 1992 to 1993 Meaney appeared in a multi-city tour of
Tom Stoppard's
Every Good Boy Deserves Favour, directed by his
Star Trek co-star
Patrick Stewart. Tour venues included Orange County Symphony in
Garden Grove, CA;
The Chicago Theatre in
Chicago, Illinois, and The Fox Theatre in
Minneapolis, Minnesota. In 1999 Meaney starred in
Peter Parnell's stage adaptation of
John Irving's
The Cider House Rules at the
Atlantic Theater Company. Meaney won an
Obie Award for his performance. Meaney made his
West End debut as Phil Hogan in the 2006 revival of
Eugene O'Neill's
A Moon for the Misbegotten at
The Old Vic. Directed by
Howard Davies, the cast also featured
Kevin Spacey and
Eve Best. For his performance, Meaney was nominated for the
Olivier Award for
Best Performance in a Supporting Role. The following year the production transferred to the
Brooks Atkinson Theatre on
Broadway. Meaney would later return to Broadway in the 2018 revival of
Eugene O'Neill's
The Iceman Cometh at Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre. Directed by
George C. Wolfe, the cast featured
Denzel Washington,
Bill Irwin,
David Morse,
Tammy Blanchard, and
Austin Butler. In 2023, after more than a 40-year absence, Meaney returned to the Irish stage in
Landmark Productions' revival of the
Enda Walsh play
Bedbound at the
Galway International Arts Festival. Starring opposite his daughter
Brenda Meaney, the production later transferred to an additional engagement at the
Olympia Theatre, Dublin.
Television and film co-stars Marc Alaimo (left)
and Armin Shimerman (middle)'' Meaney's first television appearance was in
Z-Cars on
BBC One, 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 Chief. In 1993, Meaney left
The Next Generation for a main role in its spin-off
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine and remained on that show until its final episode, in 1999. With 225 total appearances on
Star Trek, he is second to
Michael Dorn with the most appearances on the franchise. Meaney played Colum O'Hara in the 1994 miniseries
Scarlett, the sequel to
Gone With the Wind. He has played a minor recurring role as Cowen, leader of the
Genii on the series
Stargate Atlantis, guest-starred on
Law & Order,
Law & Order: Criminal Intent and appeared as Bob O'Donnell on the ABC show
Men in Trees. Meaney appeared in the film
Die Hard 2, playing the pilot of the plane Windsor 114 that was later crashed by Colonel Stuart. He was the only actor to appear in all three film adaptations of
Roddy Doyle's
The Barrytown Trilogy, as the father of the Rabbitte family. His stage appearances include the Old Vic production of
Eugene O'Neill's
A Moon for the Misbegotten. Meaney starred in the British comedy film
Three and Out (released in the UK on 25 April 2008). In July of the same year
An Post (the Irish Post Office) issued a postage stamp showing Meaney as Joe Mullen in the film
Kings. In 2009, Meaney co-starred with
Gerard Butler and
Jamie Foxx in
Law Abiding Citizen, playing Detective Dunnigan. In March 2009, Meaney voiced an Irish bartender on the St. Patrick's Day episode of
The Simpsons, "
In the Name of the Grandfather". In the same month the film
The Damned United was released, a mostly fictional retelling of the 44-day period in which
Brian Clough was manager of
Leeds United F.C. Meaney played former Leeds manager
Don Revie. He co-starred in
Soldiers of Fortune. In 2013, Meaney co-starred in
Alan Partridge: Alpha Papa. In 2014, he appeared as The Horse in the BBC's three-part crime story
The Driver. For five seasons he portrayed railroad magnate
Thomas C. Durant on
AMC's drama series
Hell on Wheels. ==Personal life==