Rhys Montague Darby is an
actorAn actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
and stand-up comedian from
New ZealandNew Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
, known for his energetic physical comedy routines, telling stories accompanied with
mimeThe word mime is used to refer to a mime artist who uses a theatrical medium or performance art involving the acting out of a story through body motions without use of speech.Mime may also refer to:* Mime, an alternative word for lip sync...
and sound effects of things such as machinery and animals. Darby was nominated for the
Billy T AwardThe Billy T Award is New Zealand’s most prestigious comedy award recognizing New Zealand comedians with outstanding potential. It has been presented annually since its inception in 1997 when Cal Wilson and Ewen Gilmour shared the award...
in 2001 and 2002.
Darby is probably best known for playing Murray Hewitt the band manager of
Flight of the ConchordsFlight of the Conchords are a New Zealand-based comedy duo composed of Bret McKenzie and Jemaine Clement. The duo's comedy and music became the basis of a BBC radio series and then an American television series, which premiered in 2007 on HBO, also called Flight of the Conchords.They were named...
in the
HBO television seriesFlight of the Conchords is an American television comedy series that debuted on HBO on June 17, 2007. The show follows the adventures of Flight of the Conchords, a two-man band from New Zealand, as its members seek fame and success in New York City. The show stars the real-life duo, Jemaine Clement...
, a role he originally played in the BBC radio series under the name Brian Nesbit.
Life and career
A former soldier (signaller trained in morse code), he left the
New Zealand ArmyThe New Zealand Army , is the land component of the New Zealand Defence Force and comprises around 4,500 Regular Force personnel, 2,000 Territorial Force personnel and 500 civilians. Formerly the New Zealand Military Forces, the current name was adopted around 1946...
in 1994 and began studies at the
University of CanterburyThe University of Canterbury , New Zealand's second-oldest university, operates its main campus in the suburb of Ilam in the city of Christchurch, New Zealand...
. In 1996 he formed a comedy duo,
Rhysently GrantedRhysently Granted were a musical comedy duo consisting of New Zealand comedians Rhys Darby and Grant Lobban. The two met in 1996 while both were working as staff in a cabaret restaurant in Christchurch, New Zealand....
, with Grant Lobban. After winning an open mic contest at Southern Blues Bar in
ChristchurchChristchurch is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand, and the country's second-largest urban area after Auckland. It lies one third of the way down the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula which itself, since 2006, lies within the formal limits of...
they began performing at local venues. Rhysently Granted performed at two international comedy festivals which led to Darby moving up to Auckland to seek more solo stand-up experience. After performing his first solo show at the 2002 Edinburgh Festival Fringe, Darby moved to the UK to pursue his career further. At the same time, fellow Kiwis and friends
Bret McKenzieBret Peter Tarrant McKenzie 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....
and
Jemaine ClementJemaine Clement is a New Zealand comedian, actor and musician, best known as one half of the musical comedy duo Flight of the Conchords along with Bret McKenzie.-Early life:...
were dipping their toes in the waters at the Edinburgh Fringe.
In 2004 he appeared in the Flight of the Conchords BBC radio series as the band's manager Brian Nesbit alongside comedy stars such as
Rob BrydonRob Brydon is a BAFTA-nominated Welsh actor, comedian, radio and television presenter, singer and impressionist...
,
Andy ParsonsAndy Parsons is an English comedian and writer, who regularly appears on Mock the Week. With comedy partner Henry Naylor, he has written and presented nine seasons of Parsons and Naylor’s Pull-Out Sections for BBC Radio 2.-Early life:...
and
Jimmy CarrJames Anthony Patrick "Jimmy" Carr is an English-Irish comedian and humourist. He is known for his deadpan delivery and dark humour. He is also a writer, actor and presenter of radio and television....
.
Darby plays Murray, the band's manager, on Flight of the Conchords TV show. He also provided vocals for the track
Leggy Blonde on their
self-titled first album-Personnel:*All songs written and performed by Jemaine Clement and Bret McKenzie*Sara Johnson - vocals on "Foux du Fafa"*Robin Lynn - keys on "Foux du Fafa," "Think About It" and "The Most Beautiful Girl "...
and also in the second series of the show on the track "Rejected" during the episode "
A Good Opportunity"A Good Opportunity" is the first episode of the second season of the HBO comedy series Flight of the Conchords. This episode first aired in the United States and Canada on January 18, 2009...
".
Darby played the role of Norman, the boss of Jim Carrey's character in the film
Yes ManYes Man is a 2008 comedy film directed by Peyton Reed, written by Nicholas Stoller, Jarrad Paul and Andrew Mogel and starring Jim Carrey, Zooey Deschanel, Bradley Cooper, John Michael Higgins, Rhys Darby, Maile Flanagan, Danny Masterson, and Terence Stamp...
. In July 2008 he appeared in a
NikeNike, Inc. is a major publicly traded sportswear and equipment supplier based in the United States. The company is headquartered near Beaverton, Oregon, which is part of the Portland metropolitan area...
advertisement featuring
Roger FedererRoger Federer is a Swiss professional tennis player who held the ATP no. 1 position for a record 237 consecutive weeks, and 285 weeks overall. As of 28 November 2011, he is ranked World No. 3 by the Association of Tennis Professionals . Federer has won a men's record 16 Grand Slam singles titles...
, he played an impostor posing as Federer's coach.
He appeared on a British children's television program
The SlammerThe Slammer is a Children's Talent show that has been broadcasting on BBC One since 22 September 2006.Set in a fictional prison called HM Slammer, this programme follows a variety show format where “prisoners” compete, by performing to an audience, who decide which act should be released.The show...
during the first season of the show.
He is also doing several advertisements for the mobile phone company
2degrees2degrees is a U.S. and British owned mobile phone provider operating in New Zealand with 580,112 customers . They launched on 5 August 2009 after 9 years of planning. 2degrees currently offers prepaid and pay monthly mobile services...
.
He appeared on
Soccer AMSoccer AM is a British Saturday-morning football-based comedy/talk show, predominantly based around the Premier League...
on the 18th of October 2008 and on
Never Mind The BuzzcocksNever Mind the Buzzcocks is a comedy panel game television show with a pop music theme, currently without a permanent presenter. It stars Phill Jupitus and Noel Fielding as team captains. The show is produced by Talkback Thames for the BBC, and is usually aired on BBC Two...
on the 23rd.
The DVD of his live performance
Imagine That! has gone platinum in New Zealand.
He regularly returns to New Zealand to appear in comedy shows such as
Pulp SportPulp Sport was a TV show filmed in New Zealand, that mixes sport with various styles of comedy. The hosts Jamie Linehan and Ben Boyce act under their respective pseudonyms Bill and Ben, performing a half hour of various sports based skits...
,
7 Days7 Days is a New Zealand comedy gameshow similar to the British program Have I Got News for You, hosted by Jeremy Corbett. Paul Ego and Dai Henwood usually appear on each episode, along with other comedians, who form teams and answer questions about news stories from the last week.-Show format:At...
and
The Jaquie Brown DiariesThe Jaquie Brown Diaries is a satirical New Zealand sitcom in which real-life television personality Jaquie Brown plays a fictionalised, over-ambitious, status-obsessed version of herself. The series was created by Gerard Johnstone, Jaquie Brown and Hayley Cunningham and premiered 25 July 2008 on...
.
Rhys Darby's hair colour is self-described as
Electric Copper in the episode of
Flight of the Conchords entitled
Murray Takes It to the Next Level"Murray Takes It To The Next Level" is the fourth episode of the second season of the HBO comedy series Flight of the Conchords. This episode first aired in the United States on February 8, 2009.-Plot synopsis:...
. He also refers to this in his stand-up show
It's Rhys Darby Night which he performed at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe from 6–15 August 2009, The Bloomsbury Theatre in London from the 27 July-1 August and toured around New Zealand with in October and November that year.
Darby played the role of Angus in the Richard Curtis film
The Boat That RockedThe Boat That Rocked is a 2009 British comedy film written and directed by Richard Curtis, with pirate radio in the United Kingdom during the 1960s as its setting. The film has an ensemble cast featuring Philip Seymour Hoffman, Bill Nighy, Rhys Ifans, Nick Frost, and Kenneth Branagh...
released in the UK on the 1st of April 2009. This film was released in some countries in November 2009 under the name
Pirate Radio.
Lately, he has been in New Zealand filming T.V. ads for NZ's new mobile network
2degrees2degrees is a U.S. and British owned mobile phone provider operating in New Zealand with 580,112 customers . They launched on 5 August 2009 after 9 years of planning. 2degrees currently offers prepaid and pay monthly mobile services...
and appearing in NZ shows Rocked the Nation 2, Jaquie Brown Diaries and Intrepid Journeys. He has also branched out in to producing live comedy with his wife and their company
Awesomeness International. At the NZ International Comedy Festival they produced shows for local comedians Brendhan Lovegrove, Jeremy Corbett and Paul Ego. He became a climate ambassador for Greenpeace in its Sign On climate campaign and published a poem on
Youtube in support of the campaign.
In 2009 Darby became a part of the NewZealand
TV ONETV One is the flagship network of New Zealand state broadcaster Television New Zealand . It was the first major television network in New Zealand, starting out from 1960 onwards as individual stations in major centres and eventually networking to become NZBC TV in 1969...
series
Intrepid JourneysIntrepid Journeys is a New Zealand television series, which screens on TV ONE. Making its debut in 2003, the show focuses on New Zealand "celebrities" who travel over to exotic countries to see the country's history, culture and people....
Season 5, touring the African country of
RwandaRwanda or , officially the Republic of Rwanda , is a country in central and eastern Africa with a population of approximately 11.4 million . Rwanda is located a few degrees south of the Equator, and is bordered by Uganda, Tanzania, Burundi and the Democratic Republic of the Congo...
.
As of October 2009, Darby is co-hosting a Cryptozoology themed radio show with New Zealand journalist David Farrier on New Zealand radio station 95bFM called the Cryptid Factor.
The pilot episode of Darby's show "The Amazing Dermot" was aired on Channel 4 in 2009.
In January 2010, Rosie announced the birth of their second son, Theo.
From March 2010, Darby is helming in a recurring character role as an enthusiastic interviewer in a series of ads by Hewlett-Packard Company.
On 10 August 2010,
Entertainment WeeklyEntertainment Weekly is an American magazine, published by the Time division of Time Warner, that covers film, television, music, broadway theatre, books and popular culture...
claimed that Darby was in consideration to have a part in the television series
The Office replacing
Steve CarellSteven John "Steve" Carell is an American comedian, actor, voice artist, producer, writer, and director. Although Carell is notable for his role on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, he found greater fame in the late 2000s for playing Michael Scott on The Office...
's character when the actor left at the end of the 2011 season.
Darby confirmed on The
Kevin and BeanKevin and Bean is the morning show on KROQ-FM, an alternative rock-format radio station in Los Angeles, California. It is hosted by Kevin Ryder and Gene "Bean" Baxter. The show has been on the air since 1990 and intersperses music and news with comedy bits, celebrity interviews, listener call-ins,...
Show that NBC did not negotiate further for the role and he is now involved in a pilot for
CBSCBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
. In May 2011, he also filmed a pilot for a
Channel 4Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...
sitcom in the UK,
The Fun Police. This was broadcast on September 16.
Television
| Year |
Titles |
Role |
| 2007–2009 |
Flight of the ConchordsFlight of the Conchords is an American television comedy series that debuted on HBO on June 17, 2007. The show follows the adventures of Flight of the Conchords, a two-man band from New Zealand, as its members seek fame and success in New York City. The show stars the real-life duo, Jemaine Clement...
|
Murray Hewitt |
| 2009 |
The Jaquie Brown Diaries The Jaquie Brown Diaries is a satirical New Zealand sitcom in which real-life television personality Jaquie Brown plays a fictionalised, over-ambitious, status-obsessed version of herself. The series was created by Gerard Johnstone, Jaquie Brown and Hayley Cunningham and premiered 25 July 2008 on...
|
Terence Ben’et |
| 2009 |
Comedy Showcase Comedy Showcase is a series of one-off comedy specials featuring some of Britain's fledgling comedy talent. Its format is reminiscent of the much earlier Comedy Playhouse....
The Amazing Dermot |
Dermot Flint |
| 2010 |
Radiradirah 'Radiradirah' was a New Zealand comedy sketch show that originally aired from the 21 May to the 9 July 2010, with a total of 8 episodes.It featured several well known New Zealand comedians such as Rhys Darby, David Fane, Oscar Knightley and Madeleine Sami, as well as the voicing talents of...
|
Multiple Characters |
| 2011 |
How to Be a Gentleman How to Be a Gentleman is an American sitcom, which ran on CBS from Thursday, September 29, 2011 to October 15, 2011. Lead actor David Hornsby created the series, adapting the nonfiction book of the same name by John Bridges....
|
Mike |
| 2011 |
Comedy Showcase Comedy Showcase is a series of one-off comedy specials featuring some of Britain's fledgling comedy talent. Its format is reminiscent of the much earlier Comedy Playhouse....
The Fun Police |
Leslie |
Films
| Year |
Titles |
Role |
| 2008 |
Yes Man Yes Man is a 2008 comedy film directed by Peyton Reed, written by Nicholas Stoller, Jarrad Paul and Andrew Mogel and starring Jim Carrey, Zooey Deschanel, Bradley Cooper, John Michael Higgins, Rhys Darby, Maile Flanagan, Danny Masterson, and Terence Stamp...
|
Norman |
| 2009 |
The Boat That Rocked The Boat That Rocked is a 2009 British comedy film written and directed by Richard Curtis, with pirate radio in the United Kingdom during the 1960s as its setting. The film has an ensemble cast featuring Philip Seymour Hoffman, Bill Nighy, Rhys Ifans, Nick Frost, and Kenneth Branagh...
(Pirate Radio) |
Angus 'The Nut' Nutford |
| 2009 |
Diagnosis: Death Diagnosis: Death is a 2008 horror comedy film made in New Zealand, directed by Jason Stutter and co-written by Stutter Raybon Kan and briefly featuring members of the TV-series Flight of the Conchords, Jemaine Clement, Bret McKenzie and Rhys Darby....
|
'Specialist' |
| 2011 |
Coming and Going |
Lee Leonetti |
| 2011 |
Love Birds Love Birds is a New Zealand romantic comedy film starring New Zealand stand up comedian Rhys Darby and Golden Globe winner Sally Hawkins. It was directed by Paul Murphy and written by Nick Ward. The film was released on 24 February 2011.-Plot:...
|
Doug |
Television Appearances
| Year |
Titles |
Role |
| 2001–2002 |
Billy T Award The Billy T Award is New Zealand’s most prestigious comedy award recognizing New Zealand comedians with outstanding potential. It has been presented annually since its inception in 1997 when Cal Wilson and Ewen Gilmour shared the award...
|
Himself |
| 2005 |
Mighty Truck Of StuffMighty Truck of Stuff was a children's television programme, where a truck is filled with toys and one phone-in viewer wins the contents of the truck. After the show, the truck is driven to the home of the winner. It was shown on Saturday mornings from 15th October 2005 to 8th July 2006 on BBC Two...
|
Himself |
| 2006 |
The Slammer The Slammer is a Children's Talent show that has been broadcasting on BBC One since 22 September 2006.Set in a fictional prison called HM Slammer, this programme follows a variety show format where “prisoners” compete, by performing to an audience, who decide which act should be released.The show...
|
Himself |
| 2007–2008 |
Sounds Like a Laugh |
Himself |
| 2008 |
Yo Gabba Gabba!Yo Gabba Gabba! is an American children's television show currently airing on the Nick Jr. cable network in the United States and the Nick Jr. networks in the United Kingdom & Ireland, Italy, France and Australia as well as Treehouse TV network in Canada and RTE2 on RTEjr see Raidió Teilifís...
|
Himself |
| 2008 |
The Comedy Store Live |
Himself |
| 2009 |
Rocked the Nation 2: 100 NZ Pop Culture Moments |
Himself |
| 2009 |
Spicks and Specks |
Himself |
| 2009 |
Thank God You're Here Thank God You're Here is an Australian television improvised comedy program created by Working Dog Productions, which premiered on Network Ten on 5 April 2006, and aired for the first three seasons with Seven for the fourth season...
|
Himself |
| 2009 |
ROVE |
Himself |
| 2009 |
Intrepid Journeys Intrepid Journeys is a New Zealand television series, which screens on TV ONE. Making its debut in 2003, the show focuses on New Zealand "celebrities" who travel over to exotic countries to see the country's history, culture and people....
|
Himself |
| 2009–2011 |
7 Days 7 Days is a New Zealand comedy gameshow similar to the British program Have I Got News for You, hosted by Jeremy Corbett. Paul Ego and Dai Henwood usually appear on each episode, along with other comedians, who form teams and answer questions about news stories from the last week.-Show format:At...
|
Himself |
| 2010 |
The Qantas TV and Film Awards |
Host |
| 2011 |
A Quiet Word With ... |
Himself |
External links