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Jemaine Clement's Latest Role: Sex Symbol
'Flight of the Conchords' star continues to impress with laid-back charm.
Oct. 30, 2009— -- Jemaine Clement of the popular HBO series "Flight of the Conchords" has become one of those guys. You know. Women swoon. Men try to imitate his humor and think he's really cool.
But physically speaking, he is not your typical leading man. He is a self-described "ogre" with large lips, squinty eyes, thick black framed glasses and a large head.
Clement, a New Zealand native, admits that wanting attention from girls was possibly a motivation for learning to play guitar for "Conchords." But sexy?
"Well, I think when you pick up a guitar there's an agenda there," Clement said.
Since "Conchords" escalated in popularity, Clement and his co-star, Bret McKenzie, have been widely acknowledged as dubious sex gods, although on Conchords the duo appears more dorky than desirable.
Clement says he and McKenzie are aware they do many "mock sexy songs," but it's meant to be funny. "You're still gyrating your pelvis, though."
"A couple of times we've had condoms thrown on the stage with [phone] numbers on them," he added.
Clement says the sex symbol label originated in the U.S., not his country.
"People like our accent here and in New Zealand we're accent-less," Clement says. "That's one of our main powers here. It's like when Superman goes back to Krypton."
Yet both Clement and his musical partner have shied away from all the increasing fame and attention, describing it as both a "dream come true" and a burden. Surprisingly, Clement says he fell into acting "by accident" and he seems hesitant about being a celebrity.
In a 2008 interview with the U.K.'s Guardian, Polly Vernon asked Clement and McKenzie about their celebrity status and "where they would like that to go."
McKenzie replied, "Away!"
Clement agreed: "Good answer."
Even so, Clement's sex symbol status has been a topic of conversation for years now. In 2008, TV Guide named Clement and McKenzie two of the top 10 most unlikely male sex symbols, and the duo ranked high on Salon.com's 2007 "Sexiest Men Alive" list.
