Colm Meaney isn’t your classic good looking actor that makes the girl’s hearts go pitty-pat everytime he walks in front of the camera, but he is one actor that directors know will give any movie, stage production or television program he appears in a touch of quality and star performance very few other character actors can deliver.
One the busiest thespians in the trade, this Star Trek alum (Star Trek’s TNG & DS9) has appeared in movies opposite superstars Tom Cruise, Nicole Kidman, Anthony Hopkins, Daniel Craig and Russell Crowe and has never been outshined by them and is equally at home and thoroughly convincing whether playing the romantic or the brutal killer.
Now Meaney is considering a spot opposite Jason O’Mara for David E. Kelley’s Americanization of the British SF drama “Life on Mars” for ABC. The star is said to be in final negotiations, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
This BBC original, now remade by Kelley, centers on Sam Tyler (O’Mara), a 21st Century police detective who finds himself transported back to 1972 after his girlfriend is kidnapped. If Meaney signs on he will portray Detective Hunt, the grumpy and gruff head of the homicide unit in 1972 who frequently butts heads with and resists Sam’s more PC and modern investigative style. Actress Rachelle Lefevre (Det. Annie Cartwright) was the first co-star to get signed for the show after headliner O’Mara.
In other “Mars” casting news comedian turned dramatic actor Lenny Clarke of FX’s highly acclaimed “Rescue Me” series has also joined the show.
I’ll give Kelley his props: Meaney is a good match for Gene.