Phil Hanley

American comedian and actor

  • Stand-up
  • film
  • television

Phil Hanley is a Canadian stand-up comedian and actor. He had a half-hour special on Comedy Central in 2015 and released an hour-long stand-up special Ooh La La on his YouTube channel in 2022. Time Out described him as a "master of crowdwork".[1]

Early life

Phil Hanley was raised in Oshawa, Ontario.[2][3] He was diagnosed with dyslexia at age 10 and used comedy as a way to cope with his learning disability.[3] He moved to Vancouver in 2003.[4]

Career

Prior to performing stand-up, Hanley worked as a model in New York and Europe for clients such as Giorgio Armani, Levi's, Fred Perry, and British GQ.[4] After improvising on the set of a car commercial, he took an improv class in England and then tried improv comedy, including at the Vancouver TheatreSports League and the Upright Citizens Brigade in New York.[5][4]

He moved back to Vancouver and started performing stand-up, giving up on improv.[5] He found that he liked the control and preparation that went into stand-up as opposed to improv.[5] Eventually he was touring festivals in Canada and appeared on national TV and radio.[6] He had his first screenwriting credit for the 2006 film Air Buddies.[4]

Hanley moved to New York in 2011 and became a regular at the Comedy Cellar.[5][2] He made his U.S. network debut on The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson in March of that year.[6] He appeared on season four of John Oliver's New York Stand-Up Show in 2013.[2] From 2014 to 2016, he hosted the We Know Nothing podcast with Anya Marina and Sam Morril.[5][7] In 2015, he had a half-hour special released on Comedy Central.[5] He also hosted Time Out's first New York Comedy Showcase.[1]

Hanley starred in the comedy film Sundowners in 2017.[8] The film was written and directed by Pavan Moondi and also starred Tim Heidecker and Luke Lalonde.[9] Prior to the role, Hanley had no acting experience.[8] From 2017 to 2020, he hosted the podcast Keeping Joe with Sam Morril and Joe Machi.[8][10]

In 2018, Hanley released a comedy album, Please Don't Chit Chat While I'm Pursuing My Dream.[2] Hanley also appeared in I Feel Pretty, starring Amy Schumer.[2] He had previously worked with Schumer on her series Inside Amy Schumer.[2] In 2022, Hanley released his first hour-long stand-up special, Ooh La La on his YouTube channel.[11]

Reception

His stand-up performances feature extensive audience interaction, and Time Out described him as a "master of crowdwork".[1] In 2015, the wife of a heckler rushed the stage at one of his performances and had to be removed by the bouncers.[1] Vulture described his joke delivery as having a "cool, collected pacing".[5] The Georgia Straight describe his stage presence as portraying a "nebbishy persona with a misplaced confidence".[6]

Personal life

Hanley is an ambassador for organizations that address learning disabilities, including Eye to Eye, Dyslexia Canada, and Choose Your Own ADDventure.[3]

Hanley is a fan of The Grateful Dead.[2]

Filmography

Films

Year Title Role Notes
2006 Air Buddies Writer
2017 Sundowners Alex Hopper
2018 I Feel Pretty Group date #3

Television

Year Title Role Notes
2015–2022 Inside Amy Schumer Karl, father 2 episodes

Stand-up

Year Title Notes
2015 The Half Hour Comedy Central special
2022 Ooh La La YouTube special

References

  1. ^ a b c d Leftley, Nick. "Phil Hanley talks crowd work and lumberjacks". Time Out.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g Symone, Kelly (29 March 2024). "Phil Hanley Comic". FOX40.
  3. ^ a b c "Phil Hanley". Dyslexia Help. University of Michigan.
  4. ^ a b c d MacPherson, Guy (14 September 2006). "Phil Hanley". The Georgia Straight.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g Kozell, Isaac (17 December 2015). "From Modeling to Standup with Phil Hanley". Vulture. Archived from the original on 27 December 2023.
  6. ^ a b c MacPherson, Guy (7 June 2011). "Phil Hanley finds funny in the truth". The Georgia Straight.
  7. ^ "We Know Nothing Podcast on Apple Podcasts". Apple Podcasts. 24 March 2016.
  8. ^ a b c Taylor, Noah R. (24 August 2017). "Phil Hanley Interview: From Stand-Up to Sundowner". That Shelf.
  9. ^ Ramos, Dino-Ray (23 August 2017). "The Orchard and Factory 25 Team For Tim Heidecker Comedy 'Sundowners'". Deadline.
  10. ^ "Keeping Joe". Podchaser.
  11. ^ "Phil Hanley - HWA Speakers". Harry Walker Agency.