Flight of the Conchords star Rhys Darby: ‘My biggest failure? I’m yet to fail’

The New Zealand comedian is best known for his roles as electric copper-haired Murray in Flight of the Conchords, starring in Our Flag Means Death and the Jumanji films. You also have probably seen him in the last few minutes in an advert for an accounting software app. Now based in the US, this summer he’s back on the stand-up stage in the UK with his tour The Legend Returns. But before that, Rhys Darby has some Big Questions to answer….

What was the defining event of your youth? 

I won top cadet in the City of Auckland Cadet Unit when I was 16. That was a big moment for me. I went into the regular force the next year when I was 17. I was very focused on the idea of being a good soldier, and that was definitely the tipping point. It was like, ‘Well, I’m supposed to do this’. I’m glad I did because I did four years as a radio operator and it was one of my favourite periods of my life. And even though I did decide to end it because I was like, ‘Hang on, I should be on stage making people laugh’, it defined a lot of things for me, self-discipline, drive, looking after yourself and just being a capable human.

What were the big influences in you becoming a performer?

Growing up, I was obsessed with British comedy. Monty Python was a big one for me. And through that, I got into earlier stuff, Spike Milligan’s work and The Goons Show. And then watching every BBC comedy series with my mum, Fawlty Towers, It Ain’t Half Hot Mum and Dad’s Army – that probably influenced me going into the military as well.

So I wanted to be a comedy actor, but I didn’t realise that till about halfway through my army career. I was going, ‘Oh my gosh, I’m making people laugh even here in this ridiculously disciplined environment, I’m good for morale. I probably shouldn’t be sent off to a battlefield somewhere’. I joined the comedy club at university. Writing sketch comedy with fellow funny people and then putting on a show – I caught the bug.

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What music was the biggest for you?  

I was never really a big music guy. I was too busy making Airfix models and pretending I was a soldier. I did listen to the Monty Python albums and I loved them because I never had heard humour and music put together. I know Bruces’ Philosopher’s Song off by heart. I used to recite it in the army and people would tell me off. Then I ended up doing philosophy in university. When those names came up, I was like, ‘I know those guys. He’s a heavy drinker.’

What was the big political issue from your youth?  

The sinking of the Rainbow Warrior, which was our Greenpeace ship. France sent in some spies and they blew it up. They got captured, we put them in prison for a bit in New Zealand, and then they got extradited back to France and were made heroes. It was a huge deal in New Zealand because it was an act of terrorism on our country – by our allies. It was really quite shocking.

Your biggest success and failure? 

It’s hard not to see my work on Flight of the Conchords as my biggest success. That opened the door for future work. Failure? Yet to fail. No, I never won the Billy T Award, which is a comedy award back in New Zealand. I got nominated twice, never won it. To be honest with you, that only propelled me further, to leave the country. I had confidence in my own comedy to know that I was good enough. So I think that’s an example of a fail that encourages you to do better.

Big book? 

Lost in the Funhouse, the story about Andy Kaufman. I used to watch Taxi and I thought he was brilliant. Then I found out more about him in university, how he created guerilla theatre and would do very avant-garde comedy. So that book, it was a really good read. I was quite influenced by the art of Andy Kaufman as a comedian, because he was very abstract.

Was the New Zealand film industry big at the time?

Peter Jackson’s films were big. Bad Taste, Braindead. He was so innovative, but with a really dark, dry sense of humour that that Kiwis have. Jemaine [Clement] and Taika [Waititi] and I were quite influenced by the Christopher Guest films as well and obviously that came out eventually when we did our own Flight of the Concords mockumentary style thing. Spinal Tap was a big influence on us.

What’s your current big issue?

I guess the same issue that everyone’s got here in the US: what is Trump going to do next? How far is this going to go before we implode? There’s a lot of people really unhappy with him pulling apart the government. I’m not a political person but that’s the biggest worry for me living here. We keep looking at the news thinking, ‘OK, when is the point when we might have to leave?’ We’ve got Canadian friends who have left, some of our best friends, because of how he’s treating Canada. It’s just the goonish behaviour, him essentially trying to make America his own company that he’s running.

The other situation that freaks me out is the artificial intelligence phenomenon that’s moving so fast we can’t keep up with it. I think humanity is getting left behind from itself. There’s nothing better than humans going to watch other humans entertain each other. If I can get out there and entertain people, that’s what I’m offering.

Rhys Darby’s show The Legend Returns is touring the UK and Ireland from 31 May.  rhysdarby.com

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