Henry Phillips
He plays acoustic guitar like a man apologizing for his own existence.
3 specials · 2002–2016
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Henry Phillips walks on stage looking like a guy who was just asked to lower his voice in a diner. He wears an acoustic guitar strapped high on his chest and hunches over the microphone. The rhythm of his act relies on long, uncomfortable pauses. He will strum a soft, melancholy chord, let it ring out, and then murmur something petty about an ex-girlfriend in the exact cadence of a folk singer delivering a deep truth. He plays a man completely beaten down by the world, apologizing for the song he is about to play before his hands even touch the frets.
Specials
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Acoustic folk songs about lowered dating standards and pathetic booty calls.
Comedy Central
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Premium Blend: Wanda Sykes (S6E6) with Wanda Sykes, Andre Kelley & 2 more
A rapid-fire 2002 cable showcase featuring four emerging stand-ups.
Comedy Central · 25 min
On stage
He occupies a very specific tier of cult appreciation. Other comics watch him to study his commitment to the bit of being an unredeemable failure. His indie films about the miseries of open mics act as a secret handshake for people who work in standup, while outside of comedy clubs, a different audience watches him methodically ruin basic recipes in his web series Henry’s Kitchen.
The guitar is a misdirection. Musical comedy often leans on the sheer novelty of rhyming, but Phillips writes actual standup jokes and hides them inside gentle fingerpicking. He will build up the emotional tension of a ballad just to detail exactly how a woman ignored his text messages.
He occasionally drops the sad-sack routine to show off real musical chops. He will tear through a complicated riff, get a cheer from the crowd, and then immediately retreat into his slumped, defeated posture as if the applause physically hurts him.
Turning points
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Slamdance Audience Award for Punching the Clown
Phillips co-wrote and starred in the semi-autobiographical comedy Punching the Clown, earning the Audience Award at the Slamdance Film Festival and cult renown.
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Viral Satirical Success of Henry's Kitchen
Phillips created the web cooking parody series Henry's Kitchen, earning millions of views and widespread praise for its intentionally disastrous recipes and depressed protagonist.
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2014–2016
Hour Special Debut Neither Here Nor There
Phillips filmed his debut hour comedy special at the Lyric Theatre in Los Angeles, which was subsequently distributed via Vimeo on Demand and Blonde Medicine.
At a glance
Fans also like
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Doug StanhopePhillips credits Stanhope with inspiring his transition to stand-up and launching his touring career, sharing a darkly cynical edge and uncompromising honesty.
Also on screen
- Punching the Clown
- You and Your Fu*king Coffee
- Drunk History
- Punching Henry
- 2016–2019
- Silicon Valley
A clip to start with
A clip of Henry Phillips