Tom O'Brien's acting career began in 1983 at the American Conservatory Theatre in San Francisco, where he was a student and member of the acting company. His stage debut was in Marsha Norman's "The Holdup". He then went on to perform in numerous stage productions, including "Mass Appeal", "A Midsummer Night's Dream" as Puck, "The Sleeping Prince" alongside Annette Bening, "1918", "The Lower Depths", and "Da Carravaggio" with Manhattan Class Company in New York.
On screen, O'Brien's feature film credits include "The Astronaut's Wife" (1999),"The Big Easy" (1986),"The Accused" (1988),"Flashback" (1990),"Facade" (1999),and "Physical Evidence" (1989). He also appeared in various television shows, such as "The Beltway" for USA Network, "Smallville" for The WB, and guest-starred in episodes of "Stargate SG-1", "The Dead Zone", "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation", "The X-Files", "JAG", "Men", "Pilot", "NYPD Blue", "Philly", "Dark Skies", "Early Edition", "L.A. Law", "Timecop", "The Strip", and "Thirtysomething". He also appeared in TV films, including "Son of the Morning Star" for ABC, "Baby Brokers" for NBC, "Love and Lies" for CBS, and "Storm and Sorrow" for Lifetime.
As a producer, O'Brien founded Irreverent Media Ltd. (IML) in Vancouver, British Columbia, and Fractious Tribes Productions (FTP). IML's feature projects include the magical romantic comedy "Best Restaurant", while FTP's projects include the thriller "Sleeptalkers". He is also working on several projects in development, including the sci-fi fantasy feature "Gone Green" and the television mini-series "Coordinates".
In 2007, O'Brien co-founded the Lasting Footprint Arts Foundation (LFAF),which develops arts-related strategic initiatives. In 2008, he co-founded the Whole World Fund (w2f),a non-profit corporation that finances feature film entertainment and directs a portion of profits to benevolent organizations associated with the central themes of the stories.
