He was born Richard Bartlett Schroder, Jr., in Staten Island, New York on April 13th, 1970. His mother, Diane Schroder was an employee at AT&T, which is also the same company that employed his father, Richard Bartlett Schroder, Sr.

Eventually working his way up to management from being a telephone repairmen, Rick's father had known his mother since they attended junior high together. After his older sister and he were born, Rick's mother quit her job to raise the children. A good-looking child, Rick's mother began taking him to photo shoots when he was only three months old. In his own words, he must have been a natural, because he started working right away, never having taken an acting lesson in his life.