Jemaine Clement's Real Name: Jemaine Clement

Quick answer: The actor and comedian is known professionally as Jemaine Clement. TV Guide lists Masterton, New Zealand, as his birthplace. The Arts Foundation Te Tumu Toi independently says he grew up in Masterton. TV Insider dates the birth to January 10, 1974. That exact date rests on the TV Insider listing, and this page titles him under the public name.

Real name and early life

Independent publishers identify him under the professional name Jemaine Clement. TV Guide lists the birth name Jemaine Clement and the birthplace as Masterton, New Zealand, and says he attended Makoura College and Victoria University of Wellington. The Arts Foundation Te Tumu Toi independently says he grew up in Masterton and later studied theatre and film at Victoria University, where he met collaborators including Bret McKenzie and Taika Waititi. TV Insider independently lists a January 10, 1974, birth date and Masterton, New Zealand, as the birthplace, and describes the city as being in the Wairarapa region. The Arts Foundation also records his iwi as Ngāti Kahungunu.

Career highlights

TV Guide says he began as a touring comedian with The Humourbeasts, with Taika Cohen, whom he met in college, and that the pair received the Billy T Award in 1999. The Arts Foundation independently says he performed with Waititi in the Humourbeasts, which won the 1999 Billy T Award, and later starred in Waititi's film Eagle vs Shark. Both TV Guide and the Arts Foundation say he formed the comedy duo Flight of the Conchords with Bret McKenzie. The Arts Foundation traces that act from early festival shows, including a 2003 Edinburgh Fringe production nominated for the Perrier Award, to a 2005 BBC radio series and later an HBO television series in which the pair played versions of themselves trying to make it in New York. The same account says he later co-directed the film What We Do in the Shadows with Waititi, a film that premiered at Sundance, and records later film and voice work including Dinner for Schmucks, Men in Black, and the role of Tamatoa in Disney's Moana (2016). TV Guide independently notes that his performance in Moana was based on an impression of David Bowie.

Name notes for searchers

People looking up Jemaine Clement are looking for the same actor and comedian, including the Flight of the Conchords work most often associated with his name. This page uses the public professional name.