Darby wings it as all-round Kiwi guy

Rhys Darby looked a far cry from his Flight of the Conchords character Murray Hewitt as he strode across Bastion Point towards a make-shift hot air balloon yesterday.

No longer sporting shaggy, reddish "lego hair" and a dated suit, he has been turned - by way of a slick hair-do and personal trainer - into quite the chiselled romantic lead.

His feature film Love Birds, a romantic comedy directed by Paul Murphy (Second Hand Wedding), is a chance for Darby to paint himself as a character very different to awkward Murray or as the comic face of various advertising campaigns.

He plays Doug, a heartbroken city maintenance worker, who comes across a duck he names Pierre.

The feathered friend leads him to overcome his fear of flying, and also into the arms of a woman.

Though Darby said he was not looking to be the next Hugh Grant - "but I was well aware that New Zealand needed one" - it has been nice to flex his drama muscles in a shift from nerdy awkward boss to a more all-round Kiwi guy.

Producer Matthew Metcalfe said Darby was always lined up for the role.

His love interest, British actress Sally Hawkins, was also hunted down after Murphy saw her Golden Globe winning comedic performance in Happy Go Lucky.

She leaves Auckland at the end of the week to work on Jane Eyre, due for release next year.

Love Birds is set at iconic locations around Auckland - the Harbour Bridge, the zoo, Devonport - and is quite the picture-perfect tourism postcard for New Zealand.

Producer Matthew Metcalfe said he was trying to move away from the Ponsonby Rd cafe-culture that often appeared as the backdrop of films set in Auckland.

"When we were developing the film and talking about Auckland the way we wanted to present it, we often described it as the way Aucklanders would talk about Auckland if they were in a London pub in the middle of a London winter, trying to explain to their English friends what it's like to live in Auckland," he said.

Darby and Hawkins are joined by Australian actor and producer Bryan Brown (Dean Spanley, A Town Like Alice) as vet Dr Buster.

Local talent includes Emily Barclay (In My Father's Den, Suburban Mayhem), Dave Fane (Sione's Wedding, Eagle Vs Shark) and Craig Hall (World's Fastest Indian, Outrageous Fortune).

Twenty-seven trained ducks also star in the film.

"Some are great at sitting still, some are great at walking, some can't really fly, some can fly but aren't really into it ... one of them is really good at flapping," Darby said.

Filming is due to end by mid-May and the film is due for local and international release early next year.