Richard O’Brien

Richard O'Brien (born Richard Timothy Smith; 25 March 1942) is a British and New Zealand actor, writer and singer. 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. O'Brien co-wrote the musical film Shock Treatment (1981) and appeared on-screen as Dr. Cosmo McKinley.

From 1990 to 1993, O'Brien presented the Channel 4 game show The Crystal Maze (1990–1993). He played the voice role of Lawrence Fletcher in the Disney Channel animated series Phineas and Ferb (2007–2015; 2025–present) and its two films (2011 and 2020). His other acting credits include Flash Gordon (1980), Spice World (1997), Ever After (1998), Dark City (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.