To improve his acting skills, O'Brien took method acting classes, and then joined several stage productions as an actor. He says that his upbringing in New Zealand 'instilled him with egalitarian ideals that helped him transcend British class restrictions'.

He launched his acting career using his mother's maiden name, as there was already an actor named Richard Smith. He returned to England in 1964, after having learned how to ride horses (a skill which provided him with his break into the film industry as a stuntman in Carry On Cowboy) and developing a keen interest in comic books and horror films. He emigrated with his family to Tauranga, New Zealand, at the age of 10, where his accountant father had purchased a sheep farm. O'Brien was born Richard Timothy Smith in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire. O'Brien identifies himself as third gender and uses he/him pronouns. His other acting credits include Flash Gordon (1980), Robin of Sherwood (1985), Dark City (1998), Ever After (1998), Dungeons & Dragons (2000), and Elvira's Haunted Hills (2001).Īfter a long and successful career based in the United Kingdom, O'Brien gained dual citizenship with New Zealand in 2011, where he resided in Tauranga. He played the voice role of Lawrence Fletcher in the Disney Channel animated series Phineas and Ferb (2007–2015), as well as its two films (20). O'Brien presented four series of the television game show The Crystal Maze (1990–1993) for Channel 4. O'Brien co-wrote the musical Shock Treatment (1981) and appeared in the film as Dr. He also co-wrote the screenplay along with director Jim Sharman for the film adaptation, The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975), and appeared on-screen as Riff Raff the film became an international success and has received a large cult following. He wrote the musical stage show The Rocky Horror Show in 1973, which has remained in continuous production. Richard Timothy Smith (born 25 March 1942), known professionally as Richard O'Brien, is a British-New Zealand actor, writer, musician, and television presenter.

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