Star Trek’s Colm Meaney wanted “persuading” to hitch DS9 solid after TNG

Star Trek legend Colm Meaney, who starred as Miles O’Brien in Star Trek The Subsequent Era and Deep House 9, defined that he required some agency “persuading” to hitch his second Star Trek collection following on from his time on TNG.

Colm Meaney is, undeniably, a Star Trek icon. Second solely to Michael Dorn, the actor has the second most appearances within the huge franchise because of his lengthy service as the standard Chief O’Brien, among the best Star Trek characters of all time. Meaney starred as O’Brien within the very first TNG episode (the iffy two-parter Encounter at Farpoint) the place his character was positioned on the helm of the Enterprise-D.

Over time, because the character was included in additional tales, O’Brien ultimately cemented himself because the transporter chief aboard the Star Trek starship, and was given an more and more vital function within the crew because the seasons glided by. He has some actual stand-out episodes (taking the highlight in The Wounded, and having supporting roles within the likes of Information’s Day and Catastrophe) and would shortly develop into a fan-favorite throughout the Star Trek The Subsequent Era solid along with his humble nature and no-nonsense angle.

The load of the love in direction of Miles Edward O’Brien would result in Meaney leaping ship – actually – off the Enterprise-D and onto Deep House 9, the place he took on a number one function among the many solid. Nonetheless, Meaney had a level of uncertainty in regards to the transition, and recalled to StarTrek.com how he required severe persuasion that it wouldn’t negatively influence his profession.

“My concern was that I wouldn’t be capable of do the films I needed to do,” stated Meany, who starred in Die Exhausting 2 and Con Air within the ’90s. “I took a little bit of persuading, however [producer] Rick Berman may be very persuasive. He stated to me, ‘If there’s one thing you actually wish to do, deliver me the script.’”

Meaney continued: “Rick principally stated, ‘If it’s a script you actually wish to do, I’ll discover a option to make it be just right for you.’ And he was pretty much as good as his phrase.”

In the identical interview, the actor additionally mirrored on how he discovered himself changing into increasingly concerned in Star Trek, following on from his function in Encounter at Farpoint. “Initially it was simply that, the pilot, after which there’d be some episodes I used to be in and a few that I wasn’t. They simply stored calling me again. I can’t even keep in mind, truthfully, if it was presupposed to be a one-off or recurring.

“I used to be simply blissful for the work. The character bought a reputation, ultimately, after which we noticed a bit of extra of him, after which they requested me to do Deep House 9.” Meaney’s O’Brien did, truly, solely get his full identify through the fourth season of TNG, within the episode household, highlighting that the writing group behind TNG had been nonetheless determining O’Brien’s place within the present as they went alongside.

Sadly, there was no place for Meaney’s O’Brien within the current Star Trek Picard season 3, which reunited the the first TNG solid of characters, together with these in supporting roles like Ro Laren and Q. Nonetheless, there may be some hope for his return, as Meaney has said that he’d be keen to hitch a collection focussed on Worf, if such a factor had been ever to exist. Or, maybe we’d see him in some capability on Star Trek Legacy.

For extra on that, take a look at our information to the Star Trek Legacy launch date. You can too preserve updated with the remainder of Star Trek by studying our Unusual New Worlds season 2 overview, and our interview with Anson Mount and Rebecca Romijn.

Or, see what’s happening with the Star Trek 4 launch date, and the Star Trek Decrease Decks season 4 launch date. You can too take a look at our explainer on the Star Trek timeline, and our picks for the very best Star Trek captains, and see what’s new on Paramount Plus.