Colm Meaney's Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Casting Took Some Convincing
The character of Chief Miles O'Brien (Colm Meaney) first appeared as a background player in the "Star Trek: The Next Generation" pilot "Encounter at Farpoint" in 1987. Chief O'Brien was initially just an ancillary character who operated the transporters on the Enterprise-D, and who only passingly interacted with the show's main cast. As the series progressed, however, O'Brien's role became larger and larger, and he came to have his own backstories and relationship. O'Brien would eventually marry Keiko (Rosalind Chao) and have a daughter, and eventually reveal that he's suffering from some long-held war trauma. Ultimately, O'Brien appeared in 52 episodes of "Next Generation" before exiting in the show's sixth season.
The reason O'Brien left was because he had accepted a promotion. He was to become the chief engineer on a rundown Cardassian space station now designated Deep Space Nine by the Federation. Meaney, then, had signed on to be one of the top-billed actors on the new "Star Trek" series named for said station. His presence would serve as a vital link between the familiar fan favorite "Next Generation" to the then-untested new Trek series. Meaney would appear in 160 of the 173 episodes of "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine."
It seems that bringing Meaney onto "Deep Space Nine" full-time made "Star Trek" executive producer Rick Berman a little nervous. Meaney, it should be noted, is a prolific and hardworking Irish actor who appeared on stage and screen even throughout his tenure on "Star Trek." Throughout the '90s, he appeared in Hollywood films like "Under Siege," "Far and Away," and "Con Air," as well as Irish indies like "The Snapper" and "The Van." Would he have time to make movies and "Star Trek?"
In a 2014 interview with StarTrek.com, Meaney recalled that he and Berman had to reach an agreement before he proceeded with the new role.
Berman wanted to ensure Meaney's commitment to Trek
Meaney, like many actors, liked to keep busy. He wasn't content to merely be the star of a hit "Star Trek" show. He needed to ply his trade elsewhere at the same time. It should also be noted that "The Snapper" and "The Van" mentioned above, both directed by Stephen Frears, are the second and third installments in the Barrytown franchise, a series of adaptations of the novels of Roddy Doyle kicked off by Alan Parker with 1991's "The Commitments," which also featured Meaney. He was loyal to that series as well. Additionally, he liked Hollywood action, intense dramas, and just about anything else he could work his way into. Trekkies may ven be surprised to find how prolific Meaney truly was.
He told StarTrek.com that he was permitted to appear in as many films as he wanted, provided he talked to Rick Berman first. Berman, he recalls, was very accommodating. He said:
"I took a bit of persuading, but Rick Berman is very persuasive. He said to me, 'If there's something you really want to do, bring me the script.' My concern was that I wouldn't be able to do the movies I wanted to do. Rick basically said, 'If it's a script you really want to do, I'll find a way to make it work for you.' And he was as good as his word."
The interviewer asked Meaney if he was ever exhausted, appearing on a hit primetime TV series while often splitting off to go shoot movies halfway around the globe. Meaney wasn't enervated by the surplus of work, but energized. For Meaney, stepping away from "Deep Space Nine" gave him a change of scenery. He said:
"[I]t was important to do the movies because that kind of refreshed you. Rather than doing the same thing over and over again, you were doing a variety of stuff."