Richard O'Brien

Richard Timothy Smith (born 25 March 1942), known professionally as Richard O'Brien, is a British-New Zealand actor, writer, musician, and television presenter. He wrote the musical stage show The Rocky Horror Show in 1973, which has remained in continuous production. 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 has received a large cult following and became the longest-running theatrical release in film history. O'Brien co-wrote the musical Shock Treatment (1981) and appeared in the film as Dr. Cosmo McKinley. O'Brien presented four series of the television game show The Crystal Maze (1990–1993) for Channel 4. 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 (2011 and 2020). 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). After 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. O'Brien identifies himself as third gender and uses he/him pronouns. Early life O'Brien was born Richard Timothy Smith in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire. He emigrated with his family to Tauranga, New Zealand, at the age of 10, where his accountant father had purchased a sheep farm. He went to Tauranga Boys' College. 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 launched his acting career using his mother's maiden name, as there was already an actor named Richard Smith.