Colm Meaney Colm J . Meaney ( Irish : Colm Ó Maonaigh ) is the Irish actor best recognized by " Star Trek " fans for his portrayal of Chief Miles O ' Brien on both and from through . He also played Albert Macklin in the acclaimed episode . On TNG , he appeared in 52 episodes . Across both series , he appeared in 211 episodes , second only to Michael Dorn in total number of appearances in the franchise . He is the only actor to have appeared in the pilots and final episodes of " Star Trek : The Next Generation " and " Star Trek : Deep Space Nine " . Several costumes and components worn by Meaney were sold off on the It ' s A Wrap ! sale and auction on eBay , including a pair of Starfleet boots and a full senior chief petty officer uniform . Biography . Born in Dublin , Meaney began studying acting at the age of fourteen . Upon completion of secondary school , he honed his skills at the Irish National Theatre ' s Abbey Theatre School of Acting before joining the company as a professional actor . After spending eight years touring throughout England as part of various acting companies , he made his television debut on the British television series " Z Cars " in 1978 . He continued acting in various European productions , generally from the United Kingdom , but after training at the Pacific Conservatory of the Performing Arts ( PCPA ) he moved to New York in the mid - 1980s to try his hand in Hollywood . He has since launched not only a successful TV career , but has become a highly recognized figure in feature film as well . Meaney married Irish actress Bairbre Dowling in 1977 . He and his wife appeared together in a few projects throughout the years , but ultimately divorced in 1994 . Dowling herself became an alumna of " Star Trek " , guest - starring in in . At present , Meaney lives in his native Dublin where he continues to star in films made in Ireland and the UK . He does , however , make an occasional trip to America to make guest appearances on TV shows . On 20 February 2008 , Meaney was honored by the US - Ireland Alliance with the " Oscar Wilde : Honoring the Irish " award at a pre - Academy Awards party in Los Angeles . Career . The 1980s . Meaney ' s first experience on American television was a 1986 episode of " Moonlighting " . The following year , he had a brief role in the western TV movie " Kenny Rogers as The Gambler , Part III : The Legend Continues " , in which his future " Deep Space Nine " co - stars Marc Alaimo and Ann Gillespie also appeared , as did fellow " Trek " performers Jeff Allin , Michael Berryman , Tony Plana , Jimmie F . Skaggs , and Dean Stockwell . He also appeared on " Remington Steele " and " Tales from the Darkside " that same year . Also in 1987 , Meaney made his American film debut in the action drama " Omega Syndrome " , which was followed later that year with a role in John Huston ' s critically - acclaimed , Oscar - nominated drama " The Dead " . Meaney ' s wife at the time , Bairbre Dowling , also appeared in this film . In addition , Meaney was given the role of Patrick London ( replacing actor Stephen Meadows ) on the soap opera " One Life to Live " during the 1987 - 88 TV season . It was also in 1987 that Meaney first played a nameless conn officer on Gene Roddenberry ' s new " Star Trek " series entitled " The Next Generation " . This officer ultimately became the transporter chief of the starship and as the series progressed , he was given a full name : Miles Edward O ' Brien . The 1990s . Television . Besides his recurring appearances on " Next Generation " , Meaney continued popping up on other shows as well . In 1990 , he was seen in an episode of " Father Dowling Mysteries " with Fionnula Flanagan . The following year , he appeared in an episode of " MacGyver " with Time Winters , and in 1993 , he appeared on " Dr . Quinn , Medicine Woman " . After becoming a regular on " Deep Space Nine " , however , Meaney ' s guest appearances on other programs came to a halt ; in fact , the only episodic TV work he did between 1993 and 1999 when DS9 was in production was to lend his voice to a 1996 episode of Disney ' s " Gargoyles " . By doing this , however , he became one of the many " Star Trek " veterans to lend their voices to this series , joining a list which includes his TNG co - stars Jonathan Frakes , Marina Sirtis , Brent Spiner , Michael Dorn , and LeVar Burton , his DS9 co - star Avery Brooks , TOS actress Nichelle Nichols , and others such as John Rhys - Davies , David Warner , and Paul Winfield . In 1994 , Meaney took leave from " Deep Space Nine " to appear in the mini - series " Scarlett " , a sequel to the classic film " Gone with the Wind " . Stephen Collins , Bob Minor , and Paul Winfield also had roles in this series , as did Meaney ' s then - wife , Bairbre Dowling . Lastly , in 1999 , Meaney and his TNG co - star Whoopi Goldberg starred in the TV movie " The Magical Legend of the Leprechauns " . Film . It was in 1990 when Meaney ' s film career really took off . In 1990 alone , he appeared in three major hits , " Dick Tracy " , " Die Hard 2 " and " Under Siege " with Steven Seagal . In " Dick Tracy " , he and TOS guest star Ed McCready played a pair of cops at a restaurant . However , they were actually only two of many " Star Trek " actors to appear in " Dick Tracy " , with the others being Hamilton Camp , Seymour Cassel , Tony Epper , Michael J . Pollard , Bert Remsen , John Schuck , Paul Sorvino , and Ian Wolfe . In " Die Hard 2 " , Meaney played an unfortunate airplane pilot , while Robert Costanzo and Ben Lemon , with William Sadler as the film ' s secondary lead , the villainous Colonel Stuart who crashes the plane captained by Meaney ' s character . Later that year , Meaney and Becky Ann Baker played Gerry and Merge McGurn in the acclaimed war drama " Come See the Paradise " , which marked the first of several teamings with director Alan Parker . In 1992 , he appeared in four major films : Mike Newell ' s " Into the West " , Ron Howard ' s " Far and Away " ( co - starring Barbara Babcock , Clint Howard , and Anthony De Longis ) , Michael Mann ' s " The Last of the Mohicans " opposite Maurice Roëves , and Andrew Davis ' s action thriller " Under Siege " ( with Bernie Casey and Glenn Morshower ) in which he played a terrorist who assists in the takeover of a battleship . Meaney ' s film credits continued to add up . In 1994 , he and wife Bairbre Dowling played a mother and father in the drama " War of the Buttons " . The same year , Meaney played a doctor of a strange health facility in Alan Parker ' s comedy " The Road to Wellville " ( co - starring Roy Brocksmith ) . In 1995 , Meaney had a supporting role as " Morgan the Goat " in the British comedy " The Englishman Who Went Up a Hill But Came Down a Mountain " . And in 1997 , he co - starred with James Cromwell in the family drama " Owd Bob " and had a memorable turn as DEA Agent Malloy in the blockbuster action - thriller " Con Air " . Further proving his versatility , in 1998 he played an Irish gangster in " Monument Ave . " , co - starring Famke Janssen , and a gay friend in " October 22 " , in which he appeared with actress Donna Murphy . Other notable film credits during this period include " Claire Dolan " , " This Is My Father " ( both 1998 ) , and the hockey comedy " Mystery , Alaska " ( 1999 , also featuring Michael McKean ) , in which he played the over - stressed mayor of the small Alaskan town of the title . Outside of " Star Trek " , Meaney ' s best - known roles may be those he played in " The Barrytown Trilogy " , a trio of films in the 1990s based on the novels of Roddy Doyle . In the first , 1991 ' s " The Commitments " ( directed by Alan Parker ) , Meaney had a supporting role as the father of Jimmy Rabbitte , the manager of the titular music band . For the next two films , 1993 ' s " The Snapper " and 1996 ' s " The Van " ( both directed by Stephen Frears ) , Meaney was the lead actor , receiving top billing . These films helped garner Meaney the on - screen reputation as the quintessential Irish " da " ( father ) , while his performance in " The Snapper " earned him a Golden Globe nomination for Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture ( Comedy / Musical ) . Meaney is the only actor to have appeared in all three of the " Barrytown " films . The 2000s . With production on " Deep Space Nine " finished , the majority of Meaney ' s work after the turn of the century has been in films from Great Britain or his native Ireland , although he continued making appearances in Hollywood productions as well . Television . In 2002 , Meaney filmed a pilot for a CBS series entitled " R . U . S . H . " , but it did not sell and the series was never made . Later that year , he worked with his TNG co - star Patrick Stewart in Stewart ' s adaptation of Shakespeare ' s " King Lear " entitled " King of Texas " . Meaney later had a recurring role as Cowen in the Sci - Fi Channel series " " , appearing in two episodes in 2004 and one in early 2006 . In 2005 , he guest - starred as a judge in a two - part episode of " " ; coincidentally this character suffered from the same torn rotator cuff that Miles O ' Brien suffered from . In 2008 , Meaney starred in the original pilot for the American version of the British television series " Life on Mars " . Meaney played gruff 1970s homicide detective Gene Hunt , who clashes with the main character , a detective who was somehow transported back in time from the 2000s . Although the series was picked up by ABC for airing in Fall 2008 , Meaney ' s pilot was scrapped and re - shot with actor replacing Meaney in the role of Hunt . The series was canceled after one season . In 2008 Meaney had a supporting role in the Canadian miniseries ZOS : Zone of Separation . Recently , Meaney voiced the character Tom O ' Flanagan , an Irish tavern owner who sells his bar to Homer and Abraham Simpson , in the episode " " of . He also guest - starred on the now - defunct medical drama " Mercy " , appearing in an episode with star Kate Mulgrew . Meaney was most recently seen playing the King of Hearts in the mini - series " Alice " , based on Lewis Carroll ' s " Alice in Wonderland " books . Matt Frewer plays the White Knight in this mini - series . Film . Meaney played the title role of the 2001 Irish drama " How Harry Became a Tree " , which earned him an award from the Irish Film and Television Awards ( IFTA ) for Best Actor in a Feature Film . He also had a role in the 2001 direct - to - video release of " Backflash " ( co - starring Mike Starr and Michael J . Pollard ) . He went on to play a couple of tough Irish characters in two highly - acclaimed films . In the 2003 Irish drama " Intermission " ( set in Meaney ' s hometown of Dublin ) , he played Jerry Lynch , a hard - boiled detective with a fondness for mythical Celtic music who wants the public to know about his fight against street criminals . And in the 2004 British crime thriller " Layer Cake " , he worked alongside actor Tom Hardy in the role of Gene , a drug trafficker and the loyal right - hand man of a drug lord who has a passion for guns . Meaney ' s other film credits include " The Boys & Girl from County Clare " ( 2003 ) , " Blueberry " ( aka " Renegade " ; 2004 ) , and " Battle of the Brave " ( 2004 ) . More recent films include " The Metrosexual " , " Clean Break " and " Three and Out " . Another recent film , the Irish drama " Kings " , was selected by Ireland as a contender for the Best Foreign Language Film award at the 80th Annual Academy Awards , although it was not picked as one of the final nominees . Meaney ' s next film role was soccer coach in " The Damned United " , a British biopic about Revie ' s rival coach . He then had a supporting role in the 2009 action thriller " Law Abiding Citizen " Gregory Itzin and Bruce McGill had roles in this film , as well . Theater . In 2007 , Meaney appeared on Broadway in the Old Vic ' s production of Eugene O ' Neill ' s " A Moon for the Misbegotten " , co - starring Kevin Spacey . The production , which previewed in late March and early April of 2007 and opened on 9 April 2007 , played at the Brooks Atkinson Theatre . The play ended its run on 10 June 2007 . The 2010s . Films . Meaney appeared in the 2010 comedy " Get Him to the Greek " , a follow - up to the 2008 film " Forgetting Sarah Marshall " . Meaney ' s next role is as Union General David Hunter in the American Civil War drama " The Conspirator " . Hunter was the United States Army officer who led the commission into the assassination of Abraham Lincoln by John Wilkes Booth . The film pairs Meaney with fellow TNG actor Stephen Root . In 2011 , Meaney starred in the Irish independent film " Parked " , as Fred Daly . Meaney starred with Steve Coogan in the 2013 Alan Partridge film " Alan Partridge : Alpha Papa " . Television . Meaney has starred in the AMC television series as since the show started in 2011 .