Bret McKenzie facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Bret McKenzie ONZM
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	Comedy folk acoustic
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	Jemaine Clement Flight of the Conchords Wellington International Ukulele Orchestra The Black Seeds So You're a Man Video Kid The Muppets
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.

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

As actor

As composer and music director

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 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

See also

In Spanish: Bret McKenzie para niños