Brendan O'Brien (actor) (original) (raw)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

American actor (1962–2023)

Brendan O'Brien
O'Brien smiling at a camera
Born Brendan James O'Brien(1962-05-09)May 9, 1962Hollywood, California, U.S.
Died March 23, 2023(2023-03-23) (aged 60)California, U.S.
Alma mater Loyola Marymount University
Occupation Actor
Years active 1972–20032020–2021
Spouse Ingrid K. Behrens ​(m. 2000)​
Parents Olga San JuanEdmond O'Brien
Website brendanobrien.com

Brendan James O'Brien[1] (May 9, 1962 – March 23, 2023)[1] was an American actor. He served as the original voice of Crash Bandicoot and various other character voices for the Crash Bandicoot video games during the Naughty Dog years.[2]

Brendan James O'Brien was born in Hollywood, California, on May 9, 1962.[1] He was the son of actor Edmond O'Brien (1915–1985) and actress Olga San Juan (1927–2009).[3][4] His two sisters are television producer Bridget O'Brien Adelman and actress Maria O'Brien.[4]

He attended Loyola High School in East Los Angeles where he played guitar in various high school bands throughout his early years.[1] He was also a graduate of the Loyola Marymount University.[1]

O'Brien began his acting career in 1972 at ten years old, he was discovered by director Bernard L. Kowalski who cast him in his first acting role in the first episode of the television series The Streets of San Francisco, along with his father.[1] His other live action credits was in the television film Honor Thy Father. He also acted in 3 Ninjas: High Noon at Mega Mountain, P.U.N.K.S., Race to Space, and Grindhouse.[_citation needed_]

He got the role of Crash Bandicoot after Joe Pearson suggested that he call Jason Rubin (who was looking for a voice artist). After going to the studio for the call (where his parents used to work), he got the role. The recordings that O'Brien did for Crash Bandicoot were done in an intimate setting at the Alfred Hitchcock Theater.[2]

O'Brien also performed additional voices for the animated series adaptation of Spawn and Ralph Bakshi's Spicy City. He has also acted in several live action television shows such as Candid Camera and The Amazing Live Sea-Monkeys.[_citation needed_]

He went on a hiatus from acting in 2003; he returned to acting sixteen years later and appear in an episode of Riverdale as a math teacher and also had a small part in the TV mini-series The Slowest Show as a Male Millionaire.[_citation needed_] He was also in talks to have a role in Antonblast, a video game partly inspired by Crash Bandicoot; however, O'Brien died before this could occur.[5]

Brendan O'Brien met his wife Ingrid K. Behrens in 1995; they married five years later in 2000 and remained married until his death.[1]

He died on March 23, 2023, at his home in California at the age of 60.[1][6]

Year Title Role Notes
1973 Honor Thy Father Child TV movie
1989 Hollywood Chaos Guido Luini Indie film
1995 Get Street Smart: A Kid's Guide to Stranger Dangers Capricorn's Dad (voice) Short film[7]
1996 The Legend of Galgameth Heretic
1997 Casper: A Spirited Beginning Terrified Worker Direct-to-video
1998 3 Ninjas: High Noon at Mega Mountain Zed
1999 P.U.N.K.S. Repo Supervisor
2000 The Trial of Old Drum Brendan TV movie
Wild Grizzly Earl TV movie
2001 Race to Space Centrifuge Technician [8]
2003 Grindhouse Father Holloway
Year Title Role Notes
1972 The Streets of San Francisco Kid Episode: "The Thirty-Year Pin"
1991 Candid Camera Pincushion/Self 2 episodes
1992 The Amazing Live Sea-Monkeys Milkman / Award Presenter 2 episodes
1997 Spicy City Additional voices Episode: "Love Is a Download"
1997–1999 Todd MacFarlane's Spawn Additional voices 6 episodes
2020 Riverdale Math Teacher Episode: "Chapter Seventy-Four: Wicked Little Town"
2021 The Slowest Show Male Millionaire TV Mini-seriesEpisode: "Bowling Alley"; Final role
Year Title Role Notes
1996 Crash Bandicoot Crash Bandicoot, Doctor Neo Cortex, Doctor Nitrus Brio [9][7]
1997 Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back Crash Bandicoot, Doctor Nitrus Brio, Doctor N. Gin, Komodo Moe, Tiny Tiger [7][9]
1998 Crash Bandicoot: Warped Crash Bandicoot, Tiny Tiger, Doctor N. Gin [7][9]
1999 Crash Team Racing Tiny Tiger, N. Gin, Pinstripe Potoroo [7][9]
2000 Crash Bash Crash Bandicoot, Tiny Tiger, Doctor Nitrus Brio, Komodo Moe, Papu Papu [9]
2001 Crash Bandicoot: The Wrath of Cortex Crash Bandicoot
2002 Crash Bandicoot: The Huge Adventure Crash Bandicoot Archive recordings (uncredited)
2003 Crash Bandicoot 2: N-Tranced Crash Bandicoot, Fake Crash
2004 Crash Bandicoot Purple: Ripto's Rampage Crash Bandicoot
2016 Uncharted 4: A Thief's End Crash Bandicoot
Year Title Position Notes
1987 Keep on Crusin' Writer TV seriesContributing writer
1990 Guys Next-Door Writer TV series shortContributing writer
1994 The Secret World of Alex Mack Drama coach, dialogue coach 4 episodes
1997 In Cold Sweat Writer VideoAs Alex Smart
2000 Wild Grizzly Composer Television film
  1. ^ a b c d e f g h "Brendan James O'Brien". Legacy.com. May 9, 2023. Retrieved September 24, 2023.
  2. ^ a b "Crash Bandicoot an Oral History". Polygon. June 22, 2017. Retrieved August 15, 2018.
  3. ^ "Edmond O'Brien, Actor, Dies at 69". The New York Times. May 10, 1985. p. D22. Retrieved March 26, 2020.
  4. ^ a b "Olga San Juan dies at 81; actress sang and danced with Bing Crosby, Fred Astaire". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved August 15, 2018.
  5. ^ "Antonblast director's tweet about Brendan O'Brien's death". Twitter. May 14, 2023. Retrieved November 15, 2024.
  6. ^ Beckwith, Michael (May 15, 2023). "Original Crash Bandicoot voice actor dies aged 60". Metro. Retrieved May 15, 2023.
  7. ^ a b c d e "Brendan O'Brien (visual voices guide)". Behind The Voice Actors (A green check mark indicates that a role has been confirmed using a screenshot (or collage of screenshots) of a title's list of voice actors and their respective characters found in its credits or other reliable sources of information).
  8. ^ Willis, John; Monush, Barry (February 2004). Screen World 2003. Applause Theatre & Cinema Books. p. 447. ISBN 1557835284.
  9. ^ a b c d e "Brendan O'Brien". Retrieved August 21, 2020.