O'Brien performs in Wolverine and the X-Men, part of a long career across animation, games and Japanese animation dubbing. His voice work spans quiet menace and open theatricality, and he has also directed and written for the medium, an unusual combination among performers.
He trained in theatre and came into voice work through dubbing, where he became one of the more recognisable performers in English language releases of Japanese animation across two decades. He is a founding member of a long running tabletop role playing broadcast that has become a substantial media property of its own, with a weekly audience larger than many television series.
Recurring subjects: damaged intellect, characters concealing grief behind formality or humour, and performances built on precise vocal control rather than volume. His improvisational work in long form tabletop play has given him an unusual facility with sustaining a character across hundreds of hours without a script or a director.
His voice roles include several of the most recognised characters in English dubbed animation, and the tabletop broadcast he co-founded has been credited with driving a broad revival of interest in role playing games, generating an animated adaptation and a publishing arm.
For viewers interested in voice acting and in improvised long form storytelling. Suited to anyone approaching tabletop role playing through media, and to those who know the character voices without the name.
