New Zealand comedian Jemaine Clement is best known as one-half of musical duo Flight of the Conchords, but in the movie Gentlemen Broncos he takes wing on his own playing an ego-driven science fiction author.
Clement has already made his mark in television and music, earning an Emmy nomination this year for outstanding lead actor in a comedy series for his role in cable network HBO's Flight of the Conchords, which is based on his Grammy winning band.
But Clement's success in the show about two New Zealand musicians who move to New York to start a music career has been shared with Conchords bandmate Bret McKenzie.
Setting out on his own, Clement hopes to broaden his appeal to US audiences with his role in film comedy Gentlemen Broncos, from Napoleon Dynamite writer and director Jared Hess.
The movie opened in New York and Los Angeles on Friday and expands to major cities such as Boston, Chicago, San Francisco in the coming few weeks.
On Flight of the Conchords, Clement dreams up his own funny songs and scripts with McKenzie, but the actor told Reuters he enjoys letting someone else do the writing.
"Things like 'Gentlemen Broncos' are even more fun, because someone's already thought of all that stuff, and I just slip into it and try to realize their idea," he says.
Clement plays sci-fi author Ronald Chevalier, a shady egomaniac with a distinctive voice that stands out for being authoritative yet affected, deep yet undulating and, in short, like something from outer space - with a British accent.
He says he modeled the voice on actor Michael York from the 1976 sci-fi movie Logan's Run, and on one of his university professors, who also wrote science fiction.
"He would talk about these really crazy ideas in this amazing voice that he had," Clement says.
"His voice would be so serious when he'd talk about things, like having make believe swords or, 'I want you to take the newspapers and create any suit (of clothing) you like.'"
Set in rural Utah, Gentlemen Broncos follows a teenage sci-fi writer named Benjamin Purvis (Michael Angarano), who attends a writing workshop where Chevalier is the featured star, and comes away feeling disenchanted with the author.
It's not long before Benjamin's own writing puts him on a collision course with Chevalier, as the teen learns success in sci-fi involves more than just putting pen to paper.
One positive review has already come out. New York magazine says Clement is the best part of the movie.
"Even if you love him on 'Flight of the Conchords,' you'll be unprepared for his genius - and charisma," reviewer David Edelstein wrote.
