Figwit is a fan-created name for a then-unnamed Elf Escort in Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings film series, played by Bret McKenzie of the musical duo Flight of the Conchords. The name Figwit derives from an acronym for "Frodo is great...who is THAT?!?" . The character quickly and unexpectedly became popular among Tolkien fandom, and is perceived as an example of famous for being famous, a view shared by the character's actor himself. Background Bret McKenzie, half of the musical comedy duo Flight of the Conchords, first landed a small role as an extra in The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring. He appears sitting next to Aragorn during the council in Rivendell scene. The elf was dubbed "Figwit" by fan Iris Hadad; after seeing Frodo agree to take the ring, saying "I will take it", the film switches to a shot where Figwit can be seen standing on the far right, and Hadad's initial reaction was "Frodo is grea...who is THAT?!?" Later, Hadad corresponded with her university friend Sherry de Andres, and the two created the first Figwit fan website, www.figwitlives.net, calling him "Legolas for the thinking woman". McKenzie appeared as Figwit again in the third film, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, where he was credited as "Elf Escort". He appears in the scene where Arwen is leaving for the Grey Havens and has a vision of her future son, Eldarion, this time with two lines warning her to not delay and then exclaiming as she turns around. Director Peter Jackson stated in the DVD commentary for The Return of the King that Figwit was called back and given dialogue in the third film "just for fun for the fans" because "so much fuss has been made about him over the last couple of years". McKenzie played another elf in The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, Lindir, who has a brief appearance in the novel The Fellowship of the Ring. McKenzie has stated that Lindir and Figwit are different characters. Popularity Though he only appeared for about three seconds in Fellowship of the Ring, Figwit's popularity soon blossomed, with Hadad stating that "[the fan site] got a lot of e-mails from people who thought they were the only ones who had noticed that handsome, dark-haired elf". Figwit's physical appearance and demeanor are the source of much of his popularity: he