Jemaine Clement has come a long way from the awkward high school moment when two girls laughed at his expression. Now a Grammy winner and Emmy nominee, the New Zealand star is best known for his deadpan comedy on Flight of the Conchords, but it was an unplanned David Bowie impression that truly changed everything.
In a recent interview at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival, Clement opened up about how a last-minute reshoot for the HBO series led to a role that would define his career for nearly two decades. The episode originally featured another actor as Bowie, but technical issues forced a quick replacement. With no time to find a new performer, the director asked Clement to step in—and the rest is history.
“We had asked David Bowie, John Cameron Mitchell, and Noel Fielding,” Clement recalled. “Either no one wanted to do it or couldn’t do it, and I just ended up doing it. It’s basically defined what I did for the next 17 years.”
That accidental impression didn't just become a fan favorite; it opened doors. Clement revealed that many of his subsequent roles, including villains and animated characters, were directly inspired by his Bowie portrayal. Even his voice work in Disney’s Moana carried echoes of the Thin White Duke. “A lot of times, I’m asked to do animations, and then they’ll show me the picture, and it’s just like a David Bowie thing,” he said.
Clement’s career has since expanded into stop-motion animation with New Zealand’s first feature-length film in the medium, Kiri and Lou Go Raa!, directed by Harry Sinclair. The preschool series follows Kiri, a feisty dinosaur, and her gentle friend Lou (voiced by Clement) as they explore a paper-and-clay world of big emotions. The film premiered at Annecy alongside other projects, including the finale of FX’s What We Do in the Shadows and a reunion with Bret McKenzie for Netflix’s comedy festival.
He also teased updates on the What We Do in the Shadows spin-off We’re Wolves, the Minecraft movie sequel, and his new Hulu comedy series Alice and Steve. Clement even shared that working on What We Do in the Shadows felt “like a company of Colin Robinsons,” a nod to the show’s unique comedic ensemble.
One of Clement’s most intriguing new projects is Rogue Trooper, a sci-fi epic directed by Duncan Jones—David Bowie’s son. Shot in just eight days using motion capture, the film brought Clement together with actors like Matt Berry and Aneurin Barnard. “It’s not like Kiri and Lou; we’re not in the booth. It’s motion capture, so we’re all acting together,” he explained. When asked if his Bowie impression helped land the gig, Clement smiled: “I mean, it could’ve. I guess you could draw a line there.”
Despite the Bowie connection, Clement has never received direct word from the late icon himself. “The only thing I’ve ever heard is that someone told me that he had that song on his iPod, but I can’t confirm that,” he said. Still, the impression remains a cornerstone of his legacy, proving that sometimes the best roles are the ones you never planned for.
For more on Clement’s upcoming projects, check out our coverage of the We’re Wolves spin-off and other sci-fi second chances.
