Jemaine Clement
By:
January 10, 2014
Best known as the bespectacled half of the musical comedy musical duo Flight of the Conchords, the half-Maori New Zealand comedian, actor, and musician JEMAINE CLEMENT (born 1974) was a respected artist in his homeland before teaming up with Bret McKenzie for a series of albums and their 2007–09 HBO series. In 1999, he and Taika (Cohen) Waititi received the country’s highest comedy award; in 2004, the two toured New Zealand in a stage show titled The Untold Tales of Maui. Since Flight of the Conchords ended, Clement has appeared in a number of feature films — for example, he was the voice of Jerry in Despicable Me, the voice of Nigel in Rio, and he was the villain in Men in Black 3. Last year, it was announced that Clement would be starring in a Wellington, NZ-based vampire comedy, directed by his friend Waititi. But his Hollywood career isn’t the only reason he’s the sexier half of the Conchords: Whether it’s the sensual slow jam “Business Time” or the infectious synthpop strains of “Too Many Dicks (On the Dancefloor),” Clement is brilliant at blending comedy with sensuality.
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On his or her birthday, HiLobrow irregularly pays tribute to one of our high-, low-, no-, or hilobrow heroes. Also born this date: Ray Bolger, Max Roach.
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