St. Patrick’s Day is this week, so I’m using that as an excuse to finally give Colm Meaney his Man Candy Monday due. If you’re an American of a certain age, Meaney was THE obligatory Irishman in any network TV show, plus he kept showing up in indie art-house films. And, of course, he really made a name for himself in Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987-1994) and Deep Space Nine (1993-1999). But he’s also done a fair number of frock flicks, and he’s still working in Hollywood and beyond.
Katerina Suitor in “Atomic Shakespeare,” Moonlighting (1986)
Mr. Bergin in The Dead (1987)
Kelly in Far and Away (1992)
Maj. Ambrose in The Last of the Mohicans (1992)
Dr. Lionel Badger in The Road to Wellville (1994)
Father Colum O’Hara in Scarlett (1994)
Morgan the Goat in The Englishman Who Went Up a Hill But Came Down a Mountain (1995)
Thomas Hutchings in Random Passage (2002)
Inspector Brackenreid in “Poor Tom Is Cold” & “Except the Dying,” The Murdoch Mysteries (2004)
H.L. Mencken in Alleged (2010)
Monsieur Rousset in Bel Ami (2012)
Thomas ‘Doc’ Durant in Hell on Wheels (2011-2016)
James Burbage in Will (2017)
Father Francis in Tolkien (2019)
Major Brendan Archer in The Singapore Grip (2020)
Upcoming:
King Francis in The Serpent Queen (filming)
Colm Meaney will have a key role in this TV miniseries about Catherine de Medici, coming soon on Starz!.
What’s your favorite historical costume movie or TV role by Colm Meaney?
Not a Frock Flick, but I loved him in The Commitments as the Elvis- obsessed dad of the main character. :)
Me too! He was great in this not quite vintage yet film.
He was a hoot in The Englishman Who…A Mountain. He plays a Welsh-speaking Welshman (the two aren’t always hand in hand). He was a hoot there, and his facility with accents (Doc Durant is an American character, and he nailed the Rs) never ceases to impress me. I like any role when he sings.
The 1986 photo from Moonlighting makes him look too much like the repellent Depardieu. But, yes, a lovely actor.
“The Dead” is such a little gem! That last voiceover is so poignant and moving!
I made British uniforms on “Last of the Mohicans”, but mine all had khaki linings and facings. But I wasn’t the only one so…
Are those hosen/breeches in “Will” corduroy???
Saw “Atomic Shakespeare” when it first aired — so enthralled by the ability of Curtis Armstrong (AKA Booger from “Animal House”) as Bert Viola to handle the most complicated of lines in approximating blank verse while still keeping his characteristic voice AND being funny. Thanks for the link — I’ve watched the first 10 minutes and think my first impression is correct. Also, he is wearing a great hat.
I’d have to say the Goat, because I’ve seen so few of the others. Hell of Wheels was a good example of him being a bad guy. Was surprised to see him as Brackenried; had seen only the other actor. Murdoch advances a year each season, so they are now in the 20th century.
Meaney was in the pilot for Doctor Quinn, but he was replaced in the series.
Hold on to your Butts, people! It’s Starz!
He played Alf, the villainous character Lord Henry’s foot man, on the late, great ABC Soap Opera “One Life to Live”
The Dead is set at an Epiphany celebration, not New Year’s Eve.
Ok, as TNG nerd I am soooo happy to see Colm Meaney featured here!! I LOVED him as O’Brien and I loved him and Keiko as a couple. TNG was my first introduction to Meaney as an actor, and he was such a sweetheart good man in that role that, still to this day, I’m always jarred when he plays a real SOB. But he’s SO GOOD at those kinds of roles, too. He is such a good actor. I love him in every role. I CANNOT believe that I’m saying this (because overall I loathed this show), but my fave of his Frock Flick roles is as Burbage in Will. First of all, he did a great job. Secondly, he had a role, and I like it when he gets to shine. Great choice!