Richard O’Brien (born Richard Smith) was born in England but emigrated to New Zealand with his family when he was ten years old. He returned to England in 1964 and launched his acting career under the stage name O’Brien. He toured the UK in the 1970 production of Hair, before being cast as an apostle in the 1972 London production of Jesus Christ Superstar.
While pursuing an acting career, O’Brien was also working away on a new musical inspired by his love for comic books and horror films. Directed by Jim Sharman, The Rocky Horror Show opened at the Royal Court Theatre Upstairs in 1973. The show became a box-office hit with a huge cult following, and transferred into London’s West End at the Comedy Theatre. O’Brien co-wrote the screenplay of the 1975 film adaptation and appeared in the movie as Riff Raff.
O’Brien has continued to perform in a string of supporting film and television roles. He conceptualized and performed the role of the Child Catcher in the original 2002 production of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. He reprised the role for the final two weeks of the show’s five year run in the West End.
O’Brien was granted citizenship of New Zealand in 2011, after initially being refused the previous year due to his age. He has been married three times, firstly to Kimi Wong with whom he performed in the short-lived music duo Kimi and Ritz, and has three children.
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