Rhys Darby

Rhys Darby, best known for his role as Murray in Flight Of The Conchords, is also a stand up comedian with a fine line in sound effects and well crafted gags.

Rhys was born in 1974 in New Zealand and spent some time as a soldier in the New Zealand army. He was a signaller trained in Morse code but left in 1994 to attend the University of Canterbury.

In 1996, along with Grant Lobban, he formed the comedy duo 'Rhysently Granted'. The pair won open mic slots and then performed at two international comedy festivals. It was then that Rhys moved to Christchurch to seek more experience doing solo shows.

He found himself at the 2002 Edinburgh Festival and subsequently moved to the UK to further his career. At the same time, his friends Jermaine Clement and Bret McKenzie were also making waves. The rest, as they say is history.

Rhys has continued to perform all over the world and his live 2008 DVD Imagine That! was filmed in Los Angeles.

Rhys has studied the art of stand up and mixes the bizarre with the mundane, playing out all the characters in his stories with a variety of voices, sound effects and physical characteristics. He impresses us with his sounds for an innocent game of war, but it didn't impress his friends at the time.

He shared a love of dinosaurs with only one friend, which spawned an ambiguous haircut, and his encounter with the odd girl after a gig will have you gasping for air at its hilarity. All of this before he's even talked of knights on a bouncy castle.

Of course Rhys Darby is best known for his portrayal of Murray Hewitt the manager in the Flight Of The Conchords HBO TV show. He also played the same role in the BBC radio series, with the manager then being called Bryan Nesbitt.

Rhys regularly appears on New Zealand television on shows such as Pulp Sport and the topical 7 Days.

He has recently made his first foray into Hollywood, playing the Harry Potter obsessed Norman opposite Jim Carrey in Yes Man and pirate DJ Angus Nutford in The Boat That Rocked.

Rhys Darby mixes the surreality of Eddie Izzard with the physicality of Lee Evans all delivered in his own Kiwi style.

If you think he is merely a side man to the Conchords, think again. Rhys Darby is a brilliant stand up who deserves your attention.

Did You Know?:

Rhys Darby tried out numerous voices for the role of Murray in Flight Of The Conchords. The director ended up going with the funniest one. Unfortunately for Rhys it was his own voice.