There aren't many actors who have had their own postage stamp but Colm Meaney is no ordinary actor. Getting his big break in 1979 on the BBC show ‘Z-Cars', Colm has since become a house-hold name thanks mostly to his appearance in Roddy Doyle's Barrytown trilogy ‘The Commitments', ‘The Snapper' and ‘The Van'.
He's one of the few actors to appear in two different versions ‘Star Trek'(‘The Next Generation' & ‘Deep Space Nine'), he's even been immortalised in animated form in ‘The Simpsons'. More recently he's turned to the world of banking and is the current face of Halifax on Irish TV.
Movies.ie met up with the Dublin born actor to talk about his new movie ‘Law Abiding Citizen', which also stars Gerard Butler and Jamie Foxx.
What attracted you to new movie ‘Law Abiding Citizen'?
It's a very good script, it was well written and it was unusual in that it was very character driven, not just the two leads, there were other good characters there as well. Also, I hadn't done a commercial film for a long time, so I was kind of looking for something a bit more commercial to do as well.
Your last big role was in ‘The Damned United', was it a big change doing ‘Law Abiding Citizen'?
It's very different - the scale of everything. ‘Law Abiding Citizen' is much closer to an action-type movie, in terms of the shooting aspects of it certainly. There were a lot of stunts and action sequences that we had to pull off, where as The Damned United was a much more sedate, character driven type of film.
Being a ‘Star Trek' veteran, what did you think of this year's reboot of the ‘Star Trek' franchise?
I just caught it on a plane and it looked great to me. It was beautifully shot, they had obviously spared no expense on the effects and all of that, it looked great. And I think the performances were terrific and it seemed very exciting.
If there were a reboot of ‘The Next Generation', would you like to reprise the role of Chief O'Brien?
No! I spent seven years in space! That was plenty!
Do you get people asking you for financial advice since you did the ads for Halifax?
Absolutely yeah! And I give it, freely! [laughs] No, I haven't had that yet, but I haven't been home much since that started showing, but it is funny, there are occasions when people seem to think that because you have done a commercial that you are associated with the product and it can be a bit strange alright! I actually know very little about banking, as you can imagine, but I play one on TV you know?! You wouldn't want to come to me for financial advice, believe me, as my accountant would readily tell you! [laughs]
You turned down a chance to direct an episode of ‘Star Trek: Deep Space Nine', do you have any plans to direct in the future?
At the time I felt that directing wouldn't be a strong suit for me, especially directing in TV is more a kind of floor manager, it's a writers and producers medium, you very much shoot the show the way its always shot, so the director doesn't have as much input as he would, say on a feature. If I was to direct I would maybe do a feature. The more I think about that, the more I realise, it's a very long process, you are probably talking a year and a half or two years of your life and I am not built for that kind of thing. As an actor you are in and out much more quickly. The main reason I don't feel I want to direct is that there are so many good directors out there who don't work enough. I can see why actors get the urge to direct but a lot of actors should maybe control the urge to direct more than they do, you know? [laughs]
‘The Snapper' was shown on Irish TV this Easter. Did you think, when you were making the film, that it would endure the way it has?
I didn't know it was on recently! It's good to hear that! That whole trilogy was very special, and getting to play the same character three times was great. Roddy Doyle's writing was superb and still is. I knew when we were doing it, and it came out that it was something we were all very proud of. You hope that something will endure but it's lovely to hear that it has!
You did a guest appearance on The Simpsons this year, how did you get involved with that?
They just called me! I have known James Brooks for a long time; our daughters actually went to the same school in Los Angeles and we knew each other from around the school as well and knew each other's work obviously. James followed up and asked would I do it. It was obviously a special Irish episode, so I read it and thought it was funny. The Simpsons is great because you show up for an hour and a half and it's done!
Were you happy with how the episode turned out?
Yeah I was, I thought it was very funny and I thought they understood the Celtic Tiger thing, I mean it was just coming to the end of it, but I thought it was funny that no one goes to the pub any more, they are all working. I just thought it was a funny take on things.
You have done film, TV and theatre. Which is your favourite?
I don't really have a favourite! I did A Moon for the Misbegotten with Kevin Spacey in the Old Vic [London] in 2007 and we took it to Broadway last year and it was great! I loved it, I loved doing it, it was a terrific production, but your routine changes drastically because you are doing eight shows a week. You kind of get into the groove of that for a while but I can't say I was devastated when it was finished! Eight shows a week is a pretty gruelling pace and as I say, it changes your whole routine. The important thing, I think, for any actor, is the material you are doing. If you are doing good material, it doesn't matter if it's for television or film or the stage, it's the fact that it's good material and you are enjoying doing it.
Does it take you long to decide whether or not you are going to take a role?
No, usually with the first read of a script you would have an idea of whether you want to move forward with it or not. I will read a script once or twice and usually just read it for the story and if the story grabs you then have a closer look at the character you're thinking of playing. That's usually how it goes. As I said, usually after the first read you know whether you want to do it or not.
Do you get offered many Irish scripts?
Not a huge amount, no, but I am actually looking at a script now that will start shooting, hopefully, before Christmas in Dublin.
Words - Brogen Hayes
‘Law Abiding Citizen' is now showing in Irish Cinemas