Jemaine Clement had one serious and lofty aspiration when he was a lanky, dark-haired 16-year-old sitting in the classrooms of a Wairarapa high school: "to be myself!!!" he exclaims in a self-penned profile in the 1990 Makoura College yearbook.

"But I probably don't have the qualifications," he added.

Turns out he couldn't have been more wrong.

Eighteen years later, the 34-year-old Masterton-bred Clement has a fanbase so enthusiastic he finds it all a little alarming.

He and his 32-year-old partner in musical comedy, Bret McKenzie, constitute one of the most internationally successful groups New Zealand has ever exported to the world: the Emmy-nominated, Grammy-award-winning, Flight of the Conchords.

THEIR STORY of funnymen triumph has been told countless times since they landed their HBO self-titled sitcom in 2006 and started to take the world by storm. But it hasn't happened overnight.

The idea that Wellington-born McKenzie and his mate from Victoria University magically appeared just in time for a meteoric rise to the celebrity heavens over the past five years is just plain wrong, according to McKenzie's mother, dance teacher Deirdre Tarrant.

"Bret is not a child who suddenly turned into a musical genius at the age of 26," says Tarrant. "They've worked pretty long and hard for this."

They met in the late 90s at university and started learning the guitar and writing songs together. But well before that, their ambitions were obvious to those around them.

One of three brothers, McKenzie was always "passionately musical", and comes from a lyrical family, Tarrant says.

"My attitude was not negotiable - you never gave anything up, you just added. Although I think I drew the line at paying for harmonica lessons."

All up, Tarrant estimates Bret played 11 instruments while growing up - not to mention playing Oliver in Oliver Twist at 11 years old, singing opera in The Magic Flute, and being part of high-school band, the Blue Samanthas, who won the Wellington 1993 Smoke Free Rock Quest competition.

That was on top of being part of the National Secondary Schools' Orchestra, and dancing so well he could have ended up in the Royal Ballet, his mum reckons.

"If there was something to produce, he produced it. If there was something to be in, he was in it."

After Wellington's Clifton Terrace Model School (where he went back to DJ at school discos in later years), McKenzie moved to Wellington College, where teacher Martin Vaughan remembers him as an enthusiastic performer and organiser.

A debating team star, McKenzie also organised, directed and performed in school plays, including taking the lead role in Bugsy Malone, and producing a version of The Hobbit, in which he had his first go at playing a Tolkien creature. In later years, McKenzie has gained a cult internet following for his part as an extra in the Lord of the Rings trilogy, which subsequently bagged him a speaking role in the third film.

"Bret was absolutely understated, unassuming, but also absolutely multi-talented, too," Vaughan remembers.

As well as the prizes, scholarships and honours awards McKenzie earned for music and drama, he was known for his "wry, clever humour".

His close-knit group of school mates included musician Age (Adrian) Pryor, and actor Jeremy Randerson. Together the trio dominated the arts scene at the school, and have continued to excel in the creative arena.

Meanwhile, Clement was busy leaving his mark on the small town of Masterton, after his family moved there from Wellington when he was six.

Clement, who has a younger brother, lived "on the dump road," (as Clement colloquially called it when speaking to the local paper) - a street that leads to the town landfill.

The actor, who appeared in television show Skitz, and took the lead role in award-winning film Eagle Vs Shark (written and directed by pal
Taika Waititi, the other half of the Humourbeasts comedy duo Clement performed in), attended

Kissed someone on your top 16? yeah
Had sex with someone on your top 16?: nope
Danced in front of your mirror naked? no
Ever told a lie? yeah
Had feelings for someone who didn't have them back? yeah
Been arrested? nah
Kissed a picture? i dont think i can say i have..
Slept in until 5 PM? yea
Had sex at work? haha no
Had sex in a public place? nah
Fallen asleep at work/school? definatly
Held a snake? nope
Been suspended from school? no
Totaled your car/motorbike in an accident? no
Been fired from a job? no
Sang karaoke? no
Did drugs? nope
Done something you told yourself you wouldn't? haha yeeea
Laughed until something you were drinking came out your nose? nope
Caught a snowflake on your tongue? nah
Kissed in the rain? nope..
Sang in the shower? nope
Gave your private parts a nickname? i thinkk so
Sat on a roof top? yeah
Been pushed into a pool with all your clothes on? haha nah
Broken a bone? yup
Had a surgery? yup
Shaved your head? nope
Slept naked? Yeah.
Blacked out from drinking? yup..
Played a prank on someone? yeah
Had a gym membership? no
Felt like killing someone? yea
Made your girlfriend/boyfriend cry? yea
Cried over someone you were in love with? yea
Had sex more than 5 times in one day? i wish
Had Mexican jumping beans for pets? haha nah
Been in a band? pfft. i cant play anything
Subscribed to Maxim? whats that?
Shot a gun? nah
Played strip poker? nah i should try that..
Had a one night stand? not really.
Tripped on mushrooms? no
Donated Blood? Nope
Video taped yourself having sex? no
Eaten alligator meat? No
Eaten cheesecake? yea
Still love someone you shouldn't? dont think so..
Have a tattoo? i'd like 1

Put an [X] next to everything that you've done

If you have over 45 X's, you're a bad influence.


1. smoked [x]
2. consumed alcohol [x]
3. slept in the same bed with someone of the opposite sex [x]
4. slept in the same bed with someone of the same sex [x]
5. kissed someone of the same sex [x]
6. had sex [x]
7. had someone in your room other than family [x]
8. watched porn [x]
9. bought porn [ ]
10. done drugs [ ]
TOTAL:8

1. taken painkillers [x]
2. taken someone else's prescription medicine [ ]
3. lied to your parents [x]
4. lied to a friend [x]
5. snuck out of the house [x]
6. done something illegal [x]
7. cut yourself [ ]
8. hurt someone [x]
9. wished someone to die [x]
10. seen someone die [ ]
TOTAL:7

1. missed curfew [x]
2. stayed out all night [x]
3. eaten a carton of ice cream by yourself [ ]
4. been to a therapist [x]
5. been to rehab [x]
6. dyed your hair [x]
7. received a ticket [x]
8. been in an accident [x]
9. been to a club [ ]
10. been to a bar [x]
T0TAL:7

1. been to a wild party [x]
2. seen the Mardi Gras [ ]
3. drank more than four beers in a night [x]
4. had a spring break in Florida [ ]
5. sniffed anything [ ]
6. wore black nail polish [ ]
7. wore arm band [x]
8. wore t-shirts with band names [x]
9. listen to rap [ ]
10. own a 50 Cent CD [ ]
TOTAL:4

1. dressed gothic [ ]
2. dressed prep [ ]
3. dressed punk [ ]
4. dressed grunge [ ]
5. stole something [x]
6. been too drunk to remember anything [x]
7. blacked out [x]
8. fainted [x]
9. had a crush on your neighbor [x]
10. had someone sneak into your room [x]
TOTAL:6

1. snuck into someone else's room [x]
2. had a crush on your close friend [x]
3. been to a concert [ ]
4. dry-humped someone [x]
5. been called a slut [ ]
6. called someone a slut [x]
7. installed speakers in your car [ ]
8. broken a mirror [x]
9. showered at someone house of the opposites sex [x]
10. brushed your teeth with someone else's toothbrush [x]
TOTAL: 7

1. consider/considered Ludacris your favorite rapper [ ]
2. seen an R-rated movie in theater [x]
3. cruised the mall [x]
4. skipped school [x]
5. had surgery [x]
6. had an injury [x]
7. gone to court [ ]
8. walked out of a restaurant without paying [ ]
9. caught something on fire [x]
10. lied about your age [x]
TOTAL:7

1. owned an apartment [ ]
2. broke the law in the police's presence [x]
3. cheated with someone [x]
4. got in trouble with the police [ ]
5. talked to a stranger [x]
6. hugged a stranger [ ]
7. kissed a stranger [ ]
8. rode in the car with a stranger [ ]
9. been harrassed [x]
10. been verbally harrassed [x]
TOTAL:5

1. met face-to-face with someone you met online [x]
2. stayed online for 12 hours straight [x]
3. talked on the phone for more than 4 hours straight [x] i think so..
4. watched TV for 12 hours straight [x]
5. been to a fair [x]
6. been called a bad influence [x]
7. drink and drive [ ]
8. prank-called someone [x]
9. laid on a couch with someone of the opposite sex [x]
10. cheated on a test [x]
TOTAL:9

1. cheated on homework [x]
2. held hands with someone of the same sex [x]
3. been pushed into a pool [x]
4. played pool [x]
5. watched 5 hours of MTV straight [x]
6. had a crush on someone 5 years older than you [ ]
7. had a crush on someone younger than you [x]
8. worn eyeliner [x] yea but not on my eyes
9. skinny-dipped [x]
10. laughed at a retarded person in a wheelchair [x]
TOTAL:7