The Actor
Encyclopedia
"The Actor" is the eleventh episode of the HBO comedy series Flight of the Conchords
. This episode first aired in the United States
on Sunday, August 26, 2007.
Bret and Jemaine visit Ben at the dry cleaners
where he works. They ask him to call Murray posing as a record company executive and let him down gently. Ben calls Murray posing as "Stefan Gucci", but after Murray starts begging and crying, he breaks down and agrees to give the band a record deal.
Murray and the boys go to dinner with "Stefan Gucci". Despite Jemaine's attempts to get them out of the mess, Murray and Bret agree to the two million dollar deal that the carried away Ben offers them.
Following the filming of a Lord of the Rings
-themed music video, the boys try to tell Murray about the mistake, but his excited mood causes them to postpone the bad news. They finally get around to telling him the following night after Murray throws them an expensive wrap party. A fuming Murray storms off.
Bret and Jemaine visit Ben again to discuss the mess. He gives them an I.O.U. for the money Murray has spent. He tells them he will be able to pay them back soon because he has got a part in a Martin Scorsese
movie about a dry cleaner, but they don't believe him. They visit Murray at his office and make up with him. They even manage to cheer him up a little.
During the credits, we see Ben playing a scene with John Turturro
in the aforementioned film, titled Dry Cleaner.
. The lyrics summarise the story from the first film and the end of the third film
. Greg acts as cameraman whilst Bret plays both Frodo and Legolas, Jemaine plays Sam and Gimli, Murray plays Gandalf, Mel plays Arwen, Eugene plays Saruman and Dave plays Aragorn. "Frodo" (a.k.a. "Frodo, Don't Wear the Ring") is sung in a mix of styles including folk
, heavy metal
and rap
.
and featured Bret in a small role
. Several other episodes have contained references to The Lord of the Rings as well, usually in the context that it is one of the few things for which New Zealand is famous.
Flight of the Conchords (TV series)
Flight 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...
. This episode first aired in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
on Sunday, August 26, 2007.
Plot synopsis
Bret and Jemaine ask a "semi-professional" actor to cheer Murray up after a gig doesn't go well, but the actor gets a little too much into his part and offers the band a record deal.Plot
The boys play a gig in a club to just a handful of people. After the gig when Bret and Jemaine are at the bar, a "semi-professional" actor named Ben introduces himself. He thinks they are a comedy act and that Bret and Jemaine are just playing characters. He offers them his card expressing a wish to work with them in the future. At a post show debriefing Murray gets depressed about the lack of success he has had promoting the band to record companies.Bret and Jemaine visit Ben at the dry cleaners
Dry cleaning
Dry cleaning is any cleaning process for clothing and textiles using a chemical solvent other than water. The solvent used is typically tetrachloroethylene , abbreviated "perc" in the industry and "dry-cleaning fluid" by the public...
where he works. They ask him to call Murray posing as a record company executive and let him down gently. Ben calls Murray posing as "Stefan Gucci", but after Murray starts begging and crying, he breaks down and agrees to give the band a record deal.
Murray and the boys go to dinner with "Stefan Gucci". Despite Jemaine's attempts to get them out of the mess, Murray and Bret agree to the two million dollar deal that the carried away Ben offers them.
Following the filming of a Lord of the Rings
The Lord of the Rings film trilogy
The Lord of the Rings is an epic film trilogy consisting of three fantasy adventure films based on the three-volume book of the same name by English author J. R. R. Tolkien. The films are The Fellowship of the Ring , The Two Towers and The Return of the King .The films were directed by Peter...
-themed music video, the boys try to tell Murray about the mistake, but his excited mood causes them to postpone the bad news. They finally get around to telling him the following night after Murray throws them an expensive wrap party. A fuming Murray storms off.
Bret and Jemaine visit Ben again to discuss the mess. He gives them an I.O.U. for the money Murray has spent. He tells them he will be able to pay them back soon because he has got a part in a Martin Scorsese
Martin Scorsese
Martin Charles Scorsese is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, actor, and film historian. In 1990 he founded The Film Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to film preservation, and in 2007 he founded the World Cinema Foundation...
movie about a dry cleaner, but they don't believe him. They visit Murray at his office and make up with him. They even manage to cheer him up a little.
During the credits, we see Ben playing a scene with John Turturro
John Turturro
John Michael Turturro is an American actor, writer and director known for his roles in the films Do the Right Thing , Miller's Crossing , Barton Fink , Quiz Show , The Big Lebowski , O Brother, Where Art Thou? and the Transformers film series...
in the aforementioned film, titled Dry Cleaner.
"Cheer Up, Murray"
Bret and Jemaine sing "Cheer Up, Murray" to Murray after the disappointing concert. They attempt to cheer him up by describing all the good things in his life, although they can't help slipping in some not-so-good things as well. The scene takes place in the store room of the night club. During the song we see a number of short sequences featuring aspects of Murray's life depicted through animated pictures in a photo album."Frodo (Don't Wear the Ring)"
In a park, the guys film a music video parodying The Lord of the RingsThe Lord of the Rings film trilogy
The Lord of the Rings is an epic film trilogy consisting of three fantasy adventure films based on the three-volume book of the same name by English author J. R. R. Tolkien. The films are The Fellowship of the Ring , The Two Towers and The Return of the King .The films were directed by Peter...
. The lyrics summarise the story from the first film and the end of the third film
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King is a 2003 epic fantasy-drama film directed by Peter Jackson that is based on the second and third volumes of J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings...
. Greg acts as cameraman whilst Bret plays both Frodo and Legolas, Jemaine plays Sam and Gimli, Murray plays Gandalf, Mel plays Arwen, Eugene plays Saruman and Dave plays Aragorn. "Frodo" (a.k.a. "Frodo, Don't Wear the Ring") is sung in a mix of styles including folk
Folk music
Folk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....
, heavy metal
Heavy metal music
Heavy metal is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the Midlands of the United Kingdom and the United States...
and rap
Rapping
Rapping refers to "spoken or chanted rhyming lyrics". The art form can be broken down into different components, as in the book How to Rap where it is separated into “content”, “flow” , and “delivery”...
.
Cultural references
This episode features a prominent reference to The Lord of the Rings movies, which were all filmed in New ZealandNew Zealand
New 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...
and featured Bret in a small role
Figwit
Figwit is a fan-created name for an unnamed elf extra in Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings film trilogy, played by actor and musician Bret McKenzie of Flight of the Conchords fame...
. Several other episodes have contained references to The Lord of the Rings as well, usually in the context that it is one of the few things for which New Zealand is famous.
Filming locations
- Fontana's Bar, 105 Eldridge St, New YorkNew YorkNew York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
- Top Hat Tailors & Cleaners, 592 Lorimer Street, Brooklyn, New York
- The scene in which Bret and Jemaine seek advice from Dave was filmed on the corner of Grand St and Eldridge St in ManhattanManhattanManhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
, New York.