Star Trek Actor Crushes Fan Dreams Of Return

While the actor didn’t completely rule out the possibility, Colm Meaney clarified in a recent interview that he is unlikely to ever come back to Star Trek. First, the actor said, “I think seven years in a space suit was enough, you know?” Next, he cracked a joke about not being able to fit back into his old uniform even if he wanted to.

Getting more serious, Colm Meaney expressed skepticism that any new Star Trek adventure featuring his character would be that captivating. He brought up critical reactions to Voyager when that show first premiered and how, even then, many were asking, “How many times can you go to the well” and “How many times can you revamp this?’

He went on to note that “They successfully did it with Star Trek and they’re still doing it” and wished the current franchise producers “good luck.” Still, he remained doubtful that his own character could be successfully revamped, rhetorically asking, “Do you want to see an elderly Miles O’Brien?” In summing up his thoughts on returning to the franchise that made him famous, Colm Meaney politely concluded, “It’s certainly not at the top of my agenda of things I’d like to do at the moment.”

If you don’t already know, Colm Meaney has kept quite busy as an actor in the years since Deep Space Nine aired its last episode. For example, he starred alongside future Trek star Anson Mount in the Western show Hell On Wheels, and he made a memorably hilarious appearance in It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia. Just this year, he starred in the surprisingly engaging shark horror movie No Way Up, and he most recently starred in the thriller Duchess.

So, Colm Meaney is a very active actor, one whom Star Trek fans absolutely adore. After Patrick Stewart came back to the franchise with Picard and eventually brought the entire TNG crew with him, the fandom was clamoring for even more. Given his character’s popularity and the fact that Chief O’Brien first appeared on The Next Generation, everyone began asking the same question: when could we expect to see Colm Meaney suit back up again?

While the actor was polite and certainly didn’t name names, Colm Meaney’s comment suggesting audiences don’t want to see an elderly version of his character seems like it might be a gentle jab at Patrick Stewart’s return to Star Trek. Picard eventually managed to stick the landing with season 3, but part of what made those first two seasons so awkward to watch was seeing Stewart (now 84) slowly stumble from one action scene to the next. 

Meaney is younger (currently 71), but he is absolutely right that any new show or film centered around his character would have to take his advanced years into account. That would likely make for a slower-paced show that, unfortunately, would be unlikely to grab the attention of modern sci-fi fans.

However, that doesn’t mean such a return to Star Trek is impossible…Colm Meaney did clarify that, as an actor, “you never say never.” Therefore, we can only cross our fingers that we someday get to catch up with what Chief O’Brien has been up to in this fictional universe. Honestly, given that our last update was that he was going to become an instructor, we’d be happy to see Tilly pull up some of his old lectures during the Starfleet Academy spinoff.

Who better for her newbie instructor to learn from, after all, than the most important person in Starfleet history?

Source: Comic Book Movie