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Bret McKenzie

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Bret McKenzie
McKenzie performing in New York in 2007.
McKenzie performing in New York in 2007.
Background information
Also known asRhymenoceros
Born (1976-06-29) 29 June 1976 (age 48)
OriginWellington, New Zealand
GenresComedy, Folk, Acoustic
OccupationMusician/Comedian/Actor
Instrument(s)Guitar, Piano, Drums, Vocals, Ukulele, Synthesizer
Years active1994–present
LabelsSub Pop

Bret Peter Tarrant McKenzie (born 29 June 1976) is a comedian, actor, musician and producer, best known for being one half of the Grammy Award winning musical comedy duo Flight of the Conchords along with Jemaine Clement. McKenzie served as music supervisor for the 2011 film The Muppets, for which he won an Academy Award for Best Original Song for the song "Man or Muppet".

Background

McKenzie was born in Wellington, New Zealand. He is a former member of The Black Seeds. He released an album called Prototype as Video Kid[1] and is a member of the Wellington International Ukulele Orchestra.[2] McKenzie attended Clifton Terrace Model School (model refers to a standard school for training teachers as opposed to modeling), Wellington College and then Victoria University of Wellington where he met Jemaine Clement who was also studying film and theatre. Together, they were members of So You're a Man and they later formed Flight of the Conchords.

As The Conchords they have toured internationally and released four CDs: Folk the World Tour in 2002, Grammy Award-winning The Distant Future in 2007, Grammy nominated Flight of the Conchords in 2008, and I Told You I Was Freaky in 2009. The Conchords produced a six-part improvisational comedy radio program for the BBC and have appeared on Late Night with Conan O'Brien, The Late Show with David Letterman and The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson. After a successful appearance in 2005 on HBOs One Night Stand, the Conchords were offered their own 12-part HBO series Flight of the Conchords. Its first season ran from June to September 2007, and its second season premiered on HBO 18 January 2009.

McKenzie has appeared in the first and third films in Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings trilogy. His silent role in the first film as Figwit achieved some minor internet fame, which led to Jackson giving him a line in the third film. In April 2011, McKenzie was cast as the elf Lindir (who in contrast to Figwit is a character created by Tolkien himself) for the upcoming The Hobbit. His father Peter McKenzie played the role of Elendil in Lord of the Rings.

Along with Clement, McKenzie was featured as one of 2008's "100 Sexiest People" in a special edition of the Australian magazine Who.

McKenzie and fellow Conchord Clement guest starred as a pair of camp counselors in "Elementary School Musical", the season premiere of the 22nd season of The Simpsons, which aired on 26 September 2010.[3]

McKenzie, together with Australian comedian Hamish Blake is set to star in a New Zealand feature film, Two Little Boys, currently under production in New Zealand and set for release late 2011.[4]

During the summer of 2010, Oscar winning McKenzie flew to Los Angeles to serve as the music supervisor for the The Muppets.[5] He went on to write five songs for the films soundtrack including "Man or Muppet" and "Life's a Happy Song" both of which were nominated for Broadcast Film Critics Association Awards and Satellite Awards for Best Original Song.[6]

At the 84th Academy Awards in 2012 his song, "Man or Muppet", won the Academy Award for Best Original Song.

Personal life

He's married to New Zealand publicist Hannah Clarke[7][8] and currently lives in Los Angeles, New York City and Wellington, New Zealand. They have a daughter, Vita McKenzie, who was born in 2009, and a son Leo born in 2011.[9]

Selected filmography

Year Title Character Format Notes
2001 The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring Elf at Council of Elrond (Figwit) Feature film Uncredited
2003 The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King Elf Escort (Figwit) Feature film
2007–2009 Flight of the Conchords Bret McClegnie[10] TV series Also creator, co-writer, and executive producer
2008 The Drinky Crow Show Rob, the Alien TV series Episodes: "Beer Goggles" and "Old Girlfriend"
2009 Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job! TV series Episode: "Tennis"
2009 Diagnosis Death Dr. Cruise Film
2010 The Simpsons Kurt Hardwick TV series Episode: "Elementary School Musical"[3]
2011 Two Little Boys Nige Feature Film
2011 The Muppets Feature Film Music supervisor[11]. Original song, "Man or Muppet", won 2012 Academy Award for Best Original Song.
2012 Austenland Martin Feature Film
2012 The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey Lindir [12] Feature Film Actual character from The Fellowship of the Ring
2013 The Hobbit: There And Back Again Feature Film

References

  1. ^ "Video Kid".
  2. ^ "Wellington International Ukulele Orchestra".
  3. ^ a b Strachan, Alex (2 August 2010). "Gleeful over Glee: Cory Monteith to appear on The Simpsons". Canada.com. Retrieved 2 August 2010.
  4. ^ Catanzariti, Katelyn (9 December 2010). "Hamish Blake to star with Bret McKenzie in Sarkies' Two Little Boys". The Daily Telegraph (Australia). News Corporation. Retrieved 9 December 2010. {{cite news}}: Text "The Daily Telegraph" ignored (help)
  5. ^ http://www.stuff.co.nz/entertainment/film/4442796/Conchords-star-flies-south-for-new-film
  6. ^ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Satellite_Award_for_Best_Original_Song
  7. ^ Lewis, Rebecca (22 March 2009). "Bride of the Conchord - Bret marries childhood sweetheart". New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 21 May 2009.
  8. ^ "Conchord has wings clipped". Fairfax New Zealand. 20 March 2009. Retrieved 17 May 2009.
  9. ^ Smith, Jacqueline (5 November 2009). "Fatherhood keeps 'Conchords' stars busy". New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 8 November 2009.
  10. ^ Vernon, Polly. The accidental sex gods. The Observer, 10 February 2008.
  11. ^ Adam Sternbergh (17 November 2011). "On Composing for Kermit the Frog". New York Times. Retrieved 19 November 2011.
  12. ^ McNary, Dave (4 April 2011). "'Conchords' star McKenzie an elf in 'The Hobbit'". Variety. Retrieved 4 April 2011.

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