Colm Meaney is a national treasure. This week Jarlath sits down with him for a one of a kind conversation about his early life, work and struggles. For the first time, we hear his experience of being Irish in the UK during the Troubles (31:00), getting his big break in the 1980s in America (38:00) and why juggling Star Trek with features such as The Van, The Snapper and The Commitments worked for him (51:00).   From joining Sinn Féin as an 'anti-establishment' 13 year old (12:00), to and how Margaret Thatcher once 'fucked the whole thing up' with regards to funding and the arts (30:00), the Hollywood culture of telling people what they want to hear (50:00), the series of incredibly unfortunate events that killed the prospects of one of his proudest acting projects (56:00) and much more, this is a fascinating and rare conversation with a true Irish acting legend.   To hear about the chaotic nature of filming Alpha Papa alongside Steve Coogan, Colm's thoughts on how the film/TV industry is changing, the art of finding the essence of a character, Con Air and more become a patron of An Irishman Abroad for just the price of a pint on www.patreon.com/irishmanabroad.    To access this episode in full and to hear all of our episodes in full each week, visit www.patreon.com/irishmanabroad and sign up for just the price of a pint every month. In return, you will gain full access to our entire archive of all of the podcasts we have ever released including - An Irishman In America, Men Behaving Better and An Irishman Behind Bars. If you come over and join in the first two weeks of August 2020, you will be given something very special as an additional thanks that won't disappoint.   Our charity partner is jigsawonline.ie. In these tricky times, Jigsaw provides a range of resources, advice and care for your people to help them strengthen their mental health and the skills needed to navigate life. Please visit their website and consider making a donation.   For updates on future episodes and live shows follow @jarlath on Twitter, visit www.jigser.com or email the show directly on [email protected].   Disclaimer: All materials contained within this podcast are copyright protected. Third party reuse and/or quotation in whole or in part is prohibited unless direct credit and/or hyperlink to the Irishman Abroad podcast is clearly and accurately provided.