Bret McKenzie facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Bret McKenzie
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![]() McKenzie at the Muppets Most Wanted premiere on 11 March 2014
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Background information | |
Birth name | Bret Peter Tarrant McKenzie |
Also known as | Rhymenoceros |
Born | Wellington, New Zealand |
29 June 1976
Genres | |
Occupation(s) |
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Instruments |
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Years active | 1994–present |
Labels | Sub Pop |
Associated acts |
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Relatives | Deirdre Tarrant (mother) Peter McKenzie (father) |
Bret Peter Tarrant McKenzie (born on June 29, 1976) is a talented musician, comedian, and actor from New Zealand. He is also a music supervisor, which means he helps choose and create music for movies and TV shows.
Bret is best known as one half of the funny music duo called Flight of the Conchords. He performs with his friend Jemaine Clement. In the 2000s, their comedy and music became a popular BBC radio show. Later, it became a very popular American TV series on HBO. The duo is still active and released their latest comedy special, Live in London, in 2018.
Besides his comedy work, Bret McKenzie has written and supervised music for many films and TV shows since 2010. He was the music supervisor for two Muppet movies: The Muppets (2011) and Muppets Most Wanted (2014). He even won an Academy Award for Best Original Song for his song "Man or Muppet" from The Muppets movie.
In the 2000s, Bret was part of a band called The Black Seeds and the Wellington International Ukulele Orchestra. Later, in the 2010s, he started performing his own songs. His first solo album, Songs Without Jokes, came out in August 2022.
As an actor, Bret played elves in Peter Jackson's famous Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit movies. In the first Lord of the Rings film, he was an unnamed extra. Fans liked him so much they called him Figwit. This led to him getting a speaking line in the third movie. He later appeared in The Hobbit as Lindir, another elf character.
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Early life
Bret McKenzie was born in Wellington, New Zealand. His father, Peter McKenzie, was an actor, and his mother, Deirdre Tarrant, taught dance. Bret grew up in Kelburn with his two brothers, Justin and Jonny.
He went to Clifton Terrace Model School from 1982 to 1987. A "model" school is one used for training teachers. His classmates included famous people like Antonia Prebble and Age Pryor.
After that, Bret attended Wellington College. He was a student leader there. He also won a regional music competition called Smokefree Rockquest with his jazz and funk band, The Blue Samanthas.
Career
Flight of the Conchords
Bret McKenzie met Jemaine Clement while they were both studying film and theater at Victoria University of Wellington. They didn't finish their degrees. Instead, they became roommates and later formed the comedy duo Flight of the Conchords.
As Flight of the Conchords, they have performed all over the world. They have released four music CDs. Their album The Distant Future won a Grammy Award for Best Comedy Album in 2007. A Grammy is a very important music award.
The duo also created a six-part comedy radio show for the BBC. They have appeared on popular American talk shows like Late Night with Conan O'Brien and Late Show with David Letterman.
In 2005, they had a successful show on HBO called One Night Stand. Because of this, HBO offered them their own TV series, Flight of the Conchords. The show ran for two seasons from 2007 to 2009. The duo has continued to tour in 2012, 2016, and 2018.
Acting
Bret McKenzie has acted in movies and TV shows since 2000. His first acting job was a small part in the UK series Dark Knight. This show was filmed in Wellington.
Outside of the Flight of the Conchords TV show, he is most famous for playing elves in Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings movies. His quiet role in the first film, as Figwit, became popular online. This led to him getting a line to say in the third movie. Bret's father, Peter McKenzie, also acted in Lord of the Rings as Elendil. In 2011, Bret was cast as the elf Lindir in The Hobbit movies.
Bret also starred with Australian comedian Hamish Blake in a New Zealand movie called Two Little Boys. It was released in 2012. He also had a supporting role in the 2013 film Austenland.
He and Jemaine Clement have also been guest stars on TV shows. They voiced two camp counselors in an episode of The Simpsons called "Elementary School Musical" in 2010.
Music and songwriting for screen
Bret McKenzie has worked on many music projects outside of Flight of the Conchords. In the late 1990s, he joined a band called The Black Seeds. They played reggae music. He released four albums with them before leaving around 2007.
In the mid-2000s, he released music under the name The Video Kid. His album Prototype came out then. In 2005, he helped start the Wellington International Ukulele Orchestra. This group played music together into the 2010s.
In the late 2010s, Bret started writing and recording his own songs again. He toured New Zealand in 2018 with other musicians like Age Pryor and Nigel Collins.
In 2010, Bret went to Los Angeles to be the music supervisor for The Muppets movie. He wrote four of the five original songs for the film's soundtrack. Two of his songs, "Man or Muppet" and "Life's a Happy Song," were nominated for awards. In 2012, his song "Man or Muppet" won an Academy Award for Best Original Song.
Bret also wrote the songs for the 2014 movie Muppets Most Wanted. He has written songs for other children's films too, such as The Pirates! Band of Misfits and Dora and the Lost City of Gold. He even wrote a song for a Christmas advertisement in 2016. He has written songs for The Simpsons many times.
His first solo album, Songs Without Jokes, was released in August 2022. It was inspired by the music of artists like Steely Dan, Randy Newman, and Harry Nilsson. He plans to tour New Zealand, Great Britain, Ireland, and North America to promote the album.
Personal life
Bret McKenzie is married to Hannah Clarke, who works in public relations in New Zealand. They have three children. The family mainly lives in Wellington, New Zealand, but they also have homes in Los Angeles and New York City.
In 2012, Bret was given a special honor called the Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit. This award was for his great work in music and film.
Filmography
Flight of the Conchords
Year | Title | Format | Notes |
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2004 | Stand Up! | TV series | Comedy show on ABC TV |
2005 | The BBC Radio Series: Flight of the Conchords | Radio | Aired in 2005; released in 2006 |
2005 | One Night Stand: Flight of the Conchords | HBO comedy special (30 minutes) | |
2006 | Flight of the Conchords: A Texan Odessy | TV3 documentary; Bret also helped produce it | |
2007–2009 | Flight of the Conchords | TV series | Bret also helped create, write, and produce the show |
2009 | Flight of the Conchords: On Air | NZ On Air documentary | |
2018 | Flight of the Conchords: Live in London | TV special | TV special; Bret also helped write and produce it |
As actor
Year | Title | Role | Format | Notes |
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2001 | The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring | Elf Escort | Film | Known by fans as "Figwit" |
2003 | The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King | Film | ||
2008 | The Drinky Crow Show | Rob, the Alien (voice) | TV series | Appeared in 2 episodes |
2009 | Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job! | Tim's Tennis Double | TV series | Episode: "Tennis" |
2009 | Bro'Town | Voice | TV series | |
2009 | Diagnosis Death | Dr. Cruise | Film | |
2010 | The Simpsons | Kurt Hardwick (voice) | TV series | Episode: "Elementary School Musical" |
2012 | Outback | Hamish (voice) | Film | |
2012 | Two Little Boys | Nige | Film | |
2012 | The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey | Lindir | Film | Small appearance |
2013 | Austenland | Martin | Film | |
2017 | Bajillion Dollar Propertie$ | Huck | TV series | Episode: "Looking Forward" |
As composer and music director
Year | Title | Format | Notes |
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2010–2023 | The Simpsons | TV series | Wrote songs for episodes like "Elementary School Musical" |
2011 | The Muppets | Feature Film | Music supervisor and wrote original songs Won Academy Award for Best Original Song |
2014 | Muppets Most Wanted | Feature Film | Music supervisor and wrote original songs |
2016 | Sainsbury's: The Greatest Gift | Short | Composer (wrote music) |
2019 | Dora and the Lost City of Gold | Film | Wrote and produced the song "Hooray! We Did It" |
2021 | Luca | Film | Helped with the story |
2024 | Thelma the Unicorn | Film | Wrote original songs |
2025 | Plankton: The Movie | Film | Wrote original songs |
To Be Announced | Bob the Musical | Feature Film | Songwriter |
Moonland | Writer, songwriter | ||
Emmet Otter's Jug-Band Christmas |
Discography
Solo
- Prototype (2004) (released as The Video Kid)
- Songs Without Jokes (2022) – Reached No. 40 in New Zealand
Collaborative
The Black Seeds
- Keep On Pushing (2001)
- On the Sun (2004)
- Into The Dojo (2006)
- Sometimes Enough EP (2007)
Flight of the Conchords
- Folk the World Tour (2002)
- The Distant Future (2007)
- Flight of the Conchords (2008)
- I Told You I Was Freaky (2009)
- Live in London (2019)
Wellington International Ukulele Orchestra
- The Heartache EP (2007)
- A Little Bit Wonderful EP (2008)
- The Dreaming EP (2009)
- I Love You... EP (2010)
Awards and nominations
Award | Year | Recipient(s) and nominee(s) | Category | Result | Ref. |
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Academy Awards | 2011 | Bret McKenzie for "Man or Muppet" from The Muppets | Best Original Song | Won | |
Annie Awards | 2010 | Tim Long, Alf Clausen, Jemaine Clement and Bret McKenzie for The Simpsons: Elementary School Musical | Music in a Television Production | Nominated | |
Critics' Choice Movie Awards | 2011 | Bret McKenzie for "Life's a Happy Song" from The Muppets | Best Song | Won | |
Bret McKenzie for "Man or Muppet" from The Muppets | Nominated | ||||
Emmy Awards | 2008 | James Bobin, Jemaine Clement and Bret McKenzie for "Yoko" | Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series | Nominated | |
Bret McKenzie, Jemaine Clement and James Bobin for "Inner City Pressure" | Outstanding Original Music and Lyrics | Nominated | |||
Bret McKenzie and Jemaine Clement for "The Most Beautiful Girl (In the Room)" | Nominated | ||||
2009 | Stu Smiley, James Bobin, Troy Miller, Jemaine Clement, Bret McKenzie, Tracey Baird and Anna Dozoka for Flight of the Conchords | Outstanding Comedy Series | Nominated | ||
James Bobin, Jemaine Clement and Bret McKenzie for "Prime Minister" | Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series | Nominated | |||
James Bobin, Bret McKenzie and Jemaine Clement for "Carol Brown" | Outstanding Original Music and Lyrics | Nominated | |||
2019 | Bret McKenzie and Jemaine Clement for "Father & Son" | Nominated | |||
Grammy Awards | 2007 | Flight of the Conchords for The Distant Future | Best Comedy Album | Won | |
2008 | Flight of the Conchords for Flight of the Conchords | Nominated | |||
2010 | Flight of the Conchords for I Told You I Was Freaky | Nominated | |||
2012 | Bret McKenzie for "Man or Muppet" from The Muppets | Best Song Written for Visual Media | Nominated | ||
Hollywood Music in Media Awards | 2014 | Bret McKenzie for "I'll Get You What You Want (Cockatoo in Malibu)" | Best Original Song in a Feature Film | Nominated | |
New Zealand Film Awards | 2012 | Bret McKenzie in Two Little Boys | Best Actor | Nominated | |
New Zealand Music Awards | 2008 | Flight of the Conchords for Flight of the Conchords | Album of the Year | Won | |
Best Group | Won | ||||
Breakthrough Artist of the Year | Won | ||||
Flight of the Conchords | International Achievement | Won | |||
2013 | Flight of the Conchords for "Feel Inside (And Stuff Like That)" | Highest Selling New Zealand Single | Won | ||
Nickelodeon Australian Kids' Choice Awards | 2008 | Flight of the Conchords | Funniest Duo | Nominated | |
Satellite Awards | 2007 | Flight of the Conchords | Best Television Series – Musical or Comedy | Nominated | |
2009 | Nominated | ||||
2011 | "Life's a Happy Song" from The Muppets | Best Original Song | Nominated | ||
"Man or Muppet" from The Muppets | Nominated | ||||
2014 | "I'll Get You What You Want (Cockatoo in Malibu)" from Muppets Most Wanted | Nominated | |||
TCA Awards | 2008 | Flight of the Conchords | Outstanding Achievement in Comedy | Nominated | |
Outstanding New Program | Nominated | ||||
Writers Guild of America Awards | 2007 | Damon Beesley, James Bobin, Jemaine Clement, Eric Kaplan, Bret McKenzie, Iain Morris, Duncan Sarkies, Pauls Simms, and Taika Waititi for Flight of the Conchords | Comedy Series | Nominated | |
New Series | Nominated | ||||
James Bobin, Jemaine Clement and Bret McKenzie for "Sally Returns" | Episodic Comedy | Nominated |
See also
In Spanish: Bret McKenzie para niños