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IMDbPro

Richard O'Brien(I)

  • Actor
  • Writer
  • Music Department
IMDbProStarmeter
See rank
Richard O'Brien in The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975)
Trailer for The British Guide To Showing Off
Play trailer1:40
The British Guide to Showing Off (2011)
18 Videos
99+ Photos
Born in Cheltenham, England, Richard Smith's family moved to Tauranga, New Zealand, in 1951 when their father, an accountant, decided to become a sheep farmer. Watching horror and science-fiction double features in nearby Hamilton, Smith added an interest in acting to their love of rock and roll. They moved back to England in 1964, tried singing, then became a movie stuntman and fringe theater actor. They changed Their name to O'Brien (Their beloved maternal grandmother's name) one day while on the phone to British Actors Equity, to avoid confusion with another Richard Smith. They met director Jim Sharman in 1972, when Sharman cast them in the dual roles of Apostle and Leper for the London stage production (transferred from Sharman's native Australia) of "Jesus Christ Superstar". Working again with Sharman on a production of Sam Shepard's "The Unseen Hand", O'Brien mentioned a new rock musical they'd been writing called "Rock Horroar." The play went into rehearsals as "They Came from Denton High," and at Sharman's suggestion, was retitled "The Rocky Horror Show" before opening in June 1973.
BornMarch 25, 1942
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    • Agent info
    • Resume
BornMarch 25, 1942
IMDbProStarmeter
See rank
  • View contact info at IMDbPro
  • Awards

Photos242

Richard O'Brien in The Big Picture (1988)
Richard O'Brien and Patricia Quinn in Rocky Horror 25: Anniversary Special (2000)
Nell Campbell, Richard O'Brien, and Patricia Quinn in Rocky Horror 25: Anniversary Special (2000)
Richard O'Brien in The Ink Thief (1994)
Richard O'Brien, Richard Ridings, and Paul Springer in The Ink Thief (1994)
Richard O'Brien and Stefan Weclawek in The Ink Thief (1994)
Richard O'Brien, Richard Ridings, Paul Springer, and Stefan Weclawek in The Ink Thief (1994)
Richard O'Brien and Paul Springer in The Ink Thief (1994)
Richard O'Brien and Stefan Weclawek in The Ink Thief (1994)
Richard O'Brien in The Ink Thief (1994)
Richard O'Brien in The Ink Thief (1994)
Richard O'Brien, Joyce Springer, Stefan Weclawek, and Felicity Todd in The Ink Thief (1994)

Known for

Tim Curry in The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975)
The Rocky Horror Picture Show
7.4
  • Riff Raff - A Handyman
  • 1975
Rufus Sewell in Dark City (1998)
Dark City
7.6
  • Mr Hand
  • 1998
Drew Barrymore and Dougray Scott in Ever After: A Cinderella Story (1998)
Ever After: A Cinderella Story
7.1
  • Pierre Le Pieu
  • 1998
Shock Treatment (1981)
Shock Treatment
5.7
  • Dr. Cosmo McKinley
  • 1981

Credits

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IMDbPro

Actor

  • The Barren Author (2020)
    The Barren Author
  • Phineas and Ferb the Movie: Candace Against the Universe (2020)
    Phineas and Ferb the Movie: Candace Against the Universe
    • (voice)
  • The Barefoot Bandits (2016)
    The Barefoot Bandits
    • (voice)
  • The Stolen (2017)
    The Stolen
  • Richard Ayoade in The Crystal Maze (1990)
    The Crystal Maze
    • (uncredited)
  • Family Guy: On the Road to Springfield - The Making of 'The Simpsons Guy'
  • Sophie Linder-Lee in Rocky Horror Show Live (2015)
    Rocky Horror Show Live
  • Dee Bradley Baker, Thomas Brodie-Sangster, and Vincent Martella in Phineas and Ferb (2007)
    Phineas and Ferb
    • (voice) ...
  • Freddie Highmore, David Walliams, Tamsin Egerton, Stephen Hughes, and Saoirse Ronan in Justin and the Knights of Valour (2013)
    Justin and the Knights of Valour
    • (voice)
  • Rufus Jones and Andy Heath in Mongrels (2010)
    Mongrels
    • (voice)
  • Phineas and Ferb the Movie: Across the 2nd Dimension (2011)
    Phineas and Ferb the Movie: Across the 2nd Dimension
    • (voice)
  • Jackboots on Whitehall (2010)
    Jackboots on Whitehall
    • (voice)
  • Night Train (2009)
    Night Train
  • Tales of the Fourth Dimension
  • Robin Hood's Quest
    • (voice)

Writer

  • Time-Warp: Tenacious D Rock-Y the Vote (2020)
    Time-Warp: Tenacious D Rock-Y the Vote
  • Laverne Cox in The Rocky Horror Picture Show: Let's Do the Time Warp Again (2016)
    The Rocky Horror Picture Show: Let's Do the Time Warp Again
  • Sophie Linder-Lee in Rocky Horror Show Live (2015)
    Rocky Horror Show Live
  • Nell Campbell, Richard O'Brien, and Patricia Quinn in The Rocky Horror Tribute Show (2006)
    The Rocky Horror Tribute Show
  • Christopher Lee and Richard O'Brien in The Rocky Interactive Horror Show (1999)
    The Rocky Interactive Horror Show
  • Digital Dreams (1983)
    Digital Dreams
  • Shock Treatment (1981)
    Shock Treatment
  • Premiere (1977)
    Premiere
  • Tim Curry in The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975)
    The Rocky Horror Picture Show

Music Department

  • Damian's Dreadfuls (2018)
    Damian's Dreadfuls
  • Jane Lynch, Lea Michele, Naya Rivera, Mark Salling, Matthew Morrison, Cory Monteith, Dianna Agron, Kevin McHale, Chris Colfer, Jenna Ushkowitz, Amber Riley, and Heather Morris in Glee (2009)
    Glee
  • Tim Curry in The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975)
    The Rocky Horror Picture Show

Videos18

Phineas and Ferb: Across the 2nd Dimension
Clip 0:48
Phineas and Ferb: Across the 2nd Dimension
Phineas and Ferb: Across the 2nd Dimension
Clip 1:38
Phineas and Ferb: Across the 2nd Dimension
Phineas and Ferb: Across the 2nd Dimension
Clip 0:43
Phineas and Ferb: Across the 2nd Dimension
Phineas and Ferb: Across the 2nd Dimension
Clip 1:16
Phineas and Ferb: Across the 2nd Dimension
Phineas and Ferb: Across the 2nd Dimension
Clip 0:40
Phineas and Ferb: Across the 2nd Dimension
Phineas and Ferb: Across the 2nd Dimension
Clip 0:48
Phineas and Ferb: Across the 2nd Dimension
Phineas and Ferb: Across the 2nd Dimension
Clip 1:16
Phineas and Ferb: Across the 2nd Dimension
Phineas and Ferb: Across the 2nd Dimension
Clip 0:50
Phineas and Ferb: Across the 2nd Dimension
Phineas and Ferb: Across the 2nd Dimension
Clip 0:56
Phineas and Ferb: Across the 2nd Dimension
Original Trailer
Trailer 2:38
Original Trailer
The British Guide To Showing Off
Trailer 1:40
The British Guide To Showing Off
Elvira's Haunted Hills
Trailer 0:31
Elvira's Haunted Hills

Personal details

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    • March 25, 1942
    • Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, England, UK
    • April 6, 2013 - present
  • Other works
    Wrote and Starred in The Rocky Horror Picture Show.
  • Publicity listings
    • 1 Interview

Did you know

Edit
  • Trivia
    Wrote The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975) in six months.
  • Quotes
    When you do something like Rocky, which is undefinable somehow, it always becomes difficult to lose that. Not that I have any interest in saying goodbye to Rocky. I absolutely adore being involved and a part of something that is really a phenomenon. And I have no problems with that at all. If it overshadows anything else, I can understand completely why and again it doesn't worry me.

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