Colm Meaneyhas been a powerhouse on the big and small screen since the 1980s. While he may not have the same mainstream name recognition as other Irish actors like Colin Farrell, Cillian Murphy, and Saoirse Ronan, the Dublin native has nearly 150 acting credits to his name and has won several awards for his performances over the years.
Fans ofStar TrekandBritish gangster movieswill probably be the most familiar with Meaney’s work, but the longtime thespian has flexed his acting chops in many an indie film and has also shown his comedic range from time to time, guest-starring in such shows asThe Simpsons,andIt’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia. There’s really not much that this man can’t do. Here are Colm Meaney’s 12 best movie and television show performances.
12Get Him to the Greek (2010)
Colm Meaney is a comedic force inGet Him to the Greekas Jonathan Snow, the hard-partying father of British rock star Aldous Snow (Russell Brand). He may not be in the film for long, but when Meaney is on the screen, he absolutely shows that he can comedically hang with the likes of Brand and Jonah Hill.
Meaney truly shines during the scene when he, Aldous, and Hill’s character Aaron consumes a highly potent drug cocktail known as the Jeffrey. This sets him up for one of the funniest lines in the film: “That’s the best part about the Jeffrey. It goes away, and then it comes back.”
Stream on Netflix
11Alan Partridge: Alpha Papa (2013)
InAlan Partridge: Alpha Papa, Colm Meaney plays the perfect straight man to Steve Coogan’s egocentric (yet wildly inept) BBC broadcaster. Meaney is introduced to the Alan Partridge-verse (Coogan has played the role in various capacities since 1991) in the series' first feature film as Pat Farrell, the radio disc jockey who takes the station hostage after his unceremonious firing.
When Partridge gets brought in as the hostage negotiator, things go from bad to hilariously worse. Obviously, the film is meant to primarily be a comedic showcase for Coogan, but Meaney elevates the proceedings by playing a sort of Commissioner Dreyfus to Coogan’s Inspector Clouseau.
Stream on Prime Video
10How Harry Became a Tree (2001)
InHow Harry Became a Tree,Meaney stars as the titular Harry, a man living in 1920s rural Ireland who becomes mortal enemies with one of the most successful business owners in town. Directed by Serbian director Goran Paskaljevic (who passed away in 2020) and co-starring Cillian Murphy, the multinational movie is based on the Chinese storyLao Danand uses Ireland as an allegorical stand-in for Yugoslavia during the Yugoslav Wars of the 1990s.
Meaney received critical praise for his role in the film and earned two awards in the process, Best Actor in a Feature Film at the Irish Film and Television Awards and the Jury Award for Best Actor at the Newport Beach Film Festival.
9The Snapper (1993)
The Snapperfeatures Colm Meaney as Des Curley, a man who has trouble coping with his daughter’s (Tina Kellegher) unplanned pregnancy. Based on the 1990 novel by Irish writer Roddy Doyle, the film is one of three Doyle adaptations that Meaney starred in during his career, with the other two beingCommitmentsandThe Van.
For his role as the father of six, Meaney won the Silver Hugo for Best Actor at the Chicago International Film Festival. He was also nominated for Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Comedy or Musical at the 1994 Golden Globes, losing out toRobin Williams for his role inMrs. Doubtfire.
Rent on Apple TV
8The Journey (2016)
The Journeytakes place during the 2006 Northern Ireland peace talks and stars Colm Meaney and Timothy Spall as rival politicians who end up working together. Whilebased on real events, (Meaney plays Martin McGuinness, the former leader of the democratic socialist Sinn Féin party, and Spall plays Ian Paisley, the former leader of the conservative Democratic Unionist Party), the film is a fictional account of McGuinness’s and Paisley’s political alliance.
While the film received mixed reviews, both Meaney and Spall were praised for their performances. For his efforts, Meaney won Best Actor in a Lead Role (Film) at the Irish Film and Television Awards.
Stream on Tubi
7The Damned United (2009)
LikeThe Journey,The Damned Unitedis a fictionalized retelling of real events, based on David Pearce’s bestselling 2006 novelThe Damned Utd. Michael Sheen stars as Brian Clough, the former football manager of Leeds United in 1974 whose tenure only lasted 44 days, while Meaney shines as Clough’s controversial predecessor Don Revie, a role that was nearly played by Kenneth Branagh.
While the sports drama film was panned for its historical inaccuracies, with several former Leeds players even going so far as to sue the film’s producers for their portrayal in the movie, bothSheen and Meaney received widespread acclaim for their performances.
Related:The Best Movies About Soccer (Football), Ranked
6Layer Cake (2004)
Directed by Matthew Vaughn (who producedSnatchandLock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels),Layer Cakehas all the trappings of a Guy Ritchie gangster movie, with intense action, a compelling plot, and engrossing performances from its major stars. Vaughn, whose direction of the film earned him a BAFTA Award nomination for Most Promising Newcomer, struck gold with his casting of Colm Meaney, showing his prowess as an on-screen tough guy in the role of the gangster Gene.
One of Meaney’s scenes with lead Daniel Craig would turn out to be pivotal in more ways than one. During the moment when Gene gives a handgun to Craig’s unnamed drug dealer, Vaughn claims in the DVD commentary that Craig “wants to be James Bond.” Two years later, the 55-year-old British actor would be cast as the suave 007 inCasino Royaleand star in an additional four Bond installments.
5Intermission (2003)
A black comedy crime movie shot in a gritty, documentary-like style,Intermissionfeatures an ensemble cast of brilliant Irish and Scottish actors, including Cillian Murphy, Colin Farrell, Kelly Macdonald, and, of course, Colm Meaney.
InIntermission, Meaney shows that he can act as a tough guy on both sides of the law, as he plays the hard-nosed Detective Jerry Lynch, the foil to Farrell’s petty criminal Lehiff. Lynch brims with self-importance throughout the film, going so far as to hire a filmmaker to document his mission to fight the “scumbags” in Dublin. Meaney puts on a case study in playing a character that you love to hate. Case in point? The scene wherehe pees on Colin Farrell’s leg.
Rent on Amazon
4Gangs of London (2020)
Spoiler Alert -Only minutes into the first episode of the British TV seriesGangs of London, Colm Meaney’s Finn Wallace is murdered, setting the stage for the chaos that ensues throughout the entire first season. Even though Wallace, the fictional crime boss and patriarch of the most powerful crime family in London, is featured almost exclusively via flashbacks, Meaney still puts on a powerhouse performance that’s worthy of its countless accolades.Gangs of London,based on the 2006 video game, shows that crime still pays big on the small screen after all these years. It received rave reviews from critics, and Meaney was nominated for Best Supporting Actor (Drama) at the 2021 Irish Film and Television Awards.
3Con Air (1997)
Con Airis chock-full of memorable and over-the-top performances, from Nicolas Cage’s Cameron Poe to John Malkovich’s Cyrus “The Virus” Grissom, but perhaps the most underrated is Colm Meaney’s turn as DEA Agent Duncan Malloy, the bold and brash lawman who serves as the perfect complement to John Cusack’s more metered U.S. Marshall Vince Larkin.
Meaney practically steals every scene he’s in, with such memorable quotes as “Garrulous? What the f*** is garrulous?” and “I was bored with that car anyway” following his Corvette’s high-flying demise.
Stream on Paramount+
Related:Why Con Air is Still One of the Best Action Films of the ’90s After 25 Years
