Colm Meaney on Chief O’Brien’s statue in Star Trek: Lower Decks: “Finally they got it right, huh?”

Colm Meaney as Miles O’Brien in Star Trek: The Next Generation and the Chief O’Brien statue from Star Trek: Lower Decks “Temporal Edict”

MARCH 17, 2021 - Happy St. Patrick’s Day! And this just wouldn’t be a Star Trek show if we didn’t go straight for the Irish stereotype and do a story about an Irishman on St. Paddy’s Day.

Colm Meaney, known for playing Miles O’Brien in Star Trek: The Next Generation and Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, is one of the stars of the film Pixie, which was released in the U.K. last October, and was just released here in the United States earlier this month. He spoke to Collider about his role in the Irish-set comedy thriller, and the conversation predictably took a turn towards the Trek.

When asked by Collider whether revisiting Chief O’Brien is something he’d consider, Meaney was on the fence. He said, “I’ve always felt like seven years, eight years, is long enough, you know? As I get older, you kind of get nostalgic about some of the stuff you’ve done in the past, so it might be nice to go back and have a look at it again. [...] Generally speaking, over the years, I would have been reluctant to go back to O’Brien, I have to say. But you know, never say never.”

Of course, Star Trek: Lower Decks fans will know that O’Brien has already made an appearance in that show - in statue form. What does Meaney think about O’Brien being acknowledged as “the most important man in Starfleet history”? “Wow,” he said, “finally. Finally they got it right, huh?”

To watch the full interview, which covers many more Trek topics, in addition to Pixie, Hell on Wheels, and more, visit collider.com.