Brenda Meaney

Brenda Meaney is an Irish-American actress, best known for her work on stage. In 2023 she appeared opposite her father Colm Meaney in Landmark Productions revival of Bedbound by Enda Walsh.^[1] Meaney frequently appears in the plays of Tom Stoppard.^[2][3]

Meaney was born in New York City to Irish actors Bairbre Dowling and Colm Meaney. She spent the majority of her childhood and adolescence in Los Angeles, California, and Dublin, Ireland.^[4] She graduated from The Archer School for Girls in 2003.^[5]

Meaney later attended Trinity College Dublin, where a childhood fascination with Egyptology inspired her to pursue a Joint honours degree in the History of Art and Architecture & Ancient History and Archaeology. Meaney graduated in 2007 with plans to become a paleontologist, but later decided to pursue acting. She then matriculated to the David Geffen School of Drama at Yale University, graduating in 2013 with an MFA in Acting.^[6]

Meaney made her professional stage debut as Melanie Coleman in Lewis Black's One Slight Hitch at the Wellfleet Harbor Actors Theater, directed by Joe Grifasi and appearing opposite Mark Linn-Baker and Lizbeth MacKay.^[7] The same year she appeared in Caryl Churchill's Owners at the Yale Repertory Theatre.^[8] The following year, Meaney starred in the West Coast premiere of David Ives' Tony Award winning play Venus in Fur at the American Conservatory Theater in San Francisco, California.^[9] Later that same year, she made her New York stage debut as Nell in the American premiere of Tom Stoppard’s Indian Ink at Roundabout Theatre Company, directed by Carey Perloff. In a review for The New York Times chief theatre critic Ben Brantley deemed the production as one of the year's best plays.^[10] Indian Ink was subsequently restaged at the American Conservatory Theater in 2015, with Meaney taking over the lead role of Flora Crewe. In a review for the SFGate, theatre critic Robert Hurwitt observed "Brenda Meaney, who played a smaller role in New York, is a magnetic Flora, as sensually alive as she is smart."^[11] Later that same year Meaney worked in three successive stage productions, appearing as Natella Abashvili in Bertolt Brecht's The Caucasian Chalk Circle at the Yale Repertory Theatre;^[12] Helen Stott in C. P. Taylor's And a Nightingale Sang... at the Westport Country Playhouse;^[13] and Betty Jones in Harold Chapin's The New Morality at the Mint Theater Company.^[14]

In 2016 Meaney reunited with director Carey Perloff, appearing as Hillary in Tom Stoppard’s The Hard Problem at the American Conservatory Theater.^[15] In 2018 Meaney starred opposite Academy Award winner Hayley Mills in the American premiere of Isobel Mahon's Party Face at New York City Center.^[16] Later that year, Meaney would once again reunite with Perloff to appear as Renia in the regional premiere of Martyna Majok's Queens at the La Jolla Playhouse in San Diego, California. In 2019 Meaney appeared as Jerri in the world premiere of Neil LaBute's Great Negro Works of Art at the Davenport Theatre, programmed as part of the annual LaBute New Theater Festival.^[17] Later that year she starred as Bairbre in Micheál Mac Liammóir's The Mountains Look Different at the Mint Theater Company. The production was named a The New York Times Critics' Pick.^[18] Shortly thereafter Meaney starred opposite Academy Award nominee Marsha Mason in Elaine Murphy's Little Gem at the Irish Repertory Theatre.^[19]

In 2023 Meaney appeared in workshop productions of William Shakespeare's Richard II and Henry IV, in repertory at Theatre for a New Audience.^[20] Later that year she returned to Theatre for a New Audience to appear as Pascuala in a new adaptation of Lope de Vega's play Fuenteovejuna, written by Adrian Mitchell.^[21] Shortly thereafter she made her Irish stage debut, starring opposite her father Colm Meaney in Enda Walsh's Bedbound at the Galway International Arts Festival. The production later transferred to Olympia Theatre, Dublin, where it received critical acclaim. Both The Stage and The Arts Review awarded the production 4 stars, while The Irish Times praised the pairs chemistry, and RTÉ Arena described Meaney's performance as "magnetic, electric, and extraordinary."^[22] Meaney made her Broadway debut the following year, in a new adaptation of Anton Chekhov's Uncle Vanya at Lincoln Center Theatre, understudying the roles of Sonya and Elena for Alison Pill and Anika Noni Rose, respectively.^[23] Later that year she starred as Gretl in back-to-back productions of Tom Stoppard's Tony Award winning play Leopoldstadt at Huntington Theatre Company in Boston, Massachusetts, and Shakespeare Theatre Company in Washington, D.C.^[24][25]

Meaney made her screen debut in the 2021 family drama There's Always Hope, appearing opposite her father, Colm Meaney. She later had supporting roles as Bridget in Neil LaBute's 2023 action thriller Fear the Night, and Helen in Lorcan Finnegan's 2024 psychological thriller The Surfer, which premiered at the 77th Cannes Film Festival.^[26] Her television credits include guest roles on Love/Hate, Hell on Wheels, For Life, and FBI: Most Wanted. From 2021-2024 Meaney starred as Debra in the podcast series Fear, A Love Story on Acast.

Meaney is married to American actor Henry Clarke. The pair performed opposite one another in David Ives' Venus in Fur at the American Conservatory Theatre in 2014.^[27]