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I tried my best on audition for X-Files, and it worked out. I got the part. So I was flabbergasted.
Rhys Darby -
I'm quite a good reader of people; I like to meet people, and I can tell if they're lying or not.
Rhys Darby
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I was in the New Zealand army for like four years, the exact period of when it was on the air, so I never saw it.
Rhys Darby -
If you're into comedy, you will know what the show is about. We have so many comedy geeks, comedy enthusiasts, fanatical people who go to comedy festivals and follow comedians, and really treat it like rock 'n' roll - which it can be, but more like the geeky rock 'n' roll.
Rhys Darby -
This particular one was very, very heartwarming and is the relationship of an older man and a young boy that are essentially on the run. And so yeah, as I say, Barry Crump wrote a lot of books and this one got into the hands of Taika Watiti who then writing the screenplay decided to really vamp up if that's the word, or ramp up and modernize certain phrases - getting in the humor. So he added a lot of a real comedy perspective onto it which is what I think the story needed anyway, especially for it to turn into a film. And it worked.
Rhys Darby -
What Taika Watiti still bring to it Hunt for the Wilderpeople, it really sums up what life is like in New Zealand, or what our sensibilities, our sense of humor, how we come together, how easy it would be, feels like. You know, we have a small population and so you know the bizarreness of the police getting involved in this manhunt, how the men... And then eventually, the army all get intwines.
Rhys Darby -
You're thrown to the side and then you think, oh, there's more to life than what we really can just see in front of us. There's something else going on.
Rhys Darby -
I think Psycho Sam is closer to the real me in some ways which is frightening to admit, but I guess... I mean, I'm definitely into the paranormal.
Rhys Darby
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I'm not really a conspiracy nut, but I think if I went down a slightly different route in my life instead of meeting and marrying the person I met, I may have gone down this other direction and got myself stuck in my head with my ideas and my thoughts and I'm into UFOs and paranormal subject matter.
Rhys Darby -
I've always been a big fan of the Yeti, simply because I have an affiliation to Everest - who was the New Zealander, Sir Edmund Hillary, the guy that conquered it. He actually went on an expedition after the Everest climb to look for the Yeti, and they didn't find it, but they found a footprint and some hair samples that turned out to be a goat or something.
Rhys Darby -
I'm quite a good reader of people; I like to meet people, and I can tell if they're lying or not, and I've certainly had interviews with people in this radio show I've done that swear they've seen things or have had bizarre experiences with creatures, and so I think they're telling the truth.
Rhys Darby -
I've seen UFOs, and Loch Ness - I've been to Loch Ness a few times looking for Nessie, and that's also a beautiful place to be.
Rhys Darby -
I've always been a big fan of the Yeti, simply because I have an affiliation to Everest - who was the New Zealander, Sir Edmund Hillary, the guy that conquered it.
Rhys Darby -
I've had a couple of ghost experiences, but I'm not a big fan of the spiritual side of things, of the ghost type thing. I don't know why, maybe it freaks me out a bit, or I'm more into tangible, physical beings rather than things that can pass through walls.
Rhys Darby
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I think some of the big characters, you know, they do these adventures, but they've got something about them, they've got this charisma, and they've got to have a sense of humor. Because whether it be very dry, or very silly, they've got to be likable.
Rhys Darby -
Back in the day, Barry Crump not only had these stories that talked about that kind of rustic personality, but also, he spoke volumes, I guess, of the relationships in the stories that he told in these books.
Rhys Darby -
I think when I'm cast in things, people take that as part of the package that I would like to have some sort of creative control and they know what I'm capable of, so they let me come on the day with my own ammunition.
Rhys Darby -
I know as far as things like the Thunderbirds, there's a New Zealand connection. X-Files, my connection there... I mean, it could be zeitgeist. I mean, I'm into the paranormal. I have a podcast about cryptozoology. So it's out there that I'm into weird stuff.
Rhys Darby -
He Taika Watiti worked on this screenplay for a couple of years and just getting it right and the result is there. He's made really close to a perfect film Hunt for the Wilderpeople... Perfect as you can be.
Rhys Darby -
When I do the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, I always go across to Loch Ness and stay there.
Rhys Darby
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Open mind all the way. Because people have had eyewitness accounts, they've seen things, they swear they've seen things, and I tend to believe in people rather than - maybe I'm a little naive, but my optimistic outlook on life is to sort of be positive and take everyone at face value.
Rhys Darby -
Now I'm a big fan of X-files. I had to see what all the fuss is about, and I love it.
Rhys Darby -
I've been to Loch Ness three times, I've done a fair amount of research on the Chupacabra and things like that, so I've actually done a bit of the sort of paranormal investigation that happens on this show X-files.
Rhys Darby -
MacGyver of course, that's probably my favorite show of all time, because it was a guy who was so, so smart and could use his wits, and his technical know-how could get him out of any situation. There's something about the adventurer aspect of that show that I loved, that he went on all these great missions and saved people without having to use guns or anything like that. And I think that show might even be coming back, too.
Rhys Darby