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Bret McKenzie

Bret McKenzie Muppets Most Wanted Premiere (cropped).jpg
McKenzie at the Muppets Most Wanted premiere on 11 March 2014
Background information
Birth name Bret Peter Tarrant McKenzie
Also known as Rhymenoceros
Born (1976-06-29) 29 June 1976 (age 48)
Wellington, New Zealand
Genres
Occupation(s)
  • Musician
  • songwriter
  • comedian
  • actor
  • music supervisor
Instruments
  • Guitar
  • keyboard
  • bass guitar
  • drums
  • vocals
  • ukulele
Years active 1994–present
Labels Sub Pop
Associated acts
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.

Flight of the Conchords @ Gramercy, 2007
Bret McKenzie with collaborator Jemaine Clement performing as Flight of the Conchords in 2007

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
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
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
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 (2008)-01
Wellington International Ukulele Orchestra in 2008. Bret McKenzie is on the far left.

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.
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

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Bret McKenzie para niños

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