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Phil Wang

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For the filmmaker, see Wong Fu Productions.

Phil Wang
王兴贵
Wang at Glastonbury Festival in 2019
Birth namePhilip Nathaniel Wang Sin Goi
Born (1990-01-22) 22 January 1990 (age 34)[1]
Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England[2]
MediumStand-up, television, radio
EducationJerudong International School
Alma materKing's College, Cambridge
Websitewww.philwang.co.uk

Philip Nathaniel Wang Sin Goi[a] (simplified Chinese: 王兴贵; traditional Chinese: 王興貴; pinyin: Wáng Xīngguì; Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: Vòng Hîn-kùi; born 22 January 1990)[3][4][5] is a British-Malaysian stand-up comedian and comedy writer who is a member of the sketch comedy group Daphne,[6][7][8] and co-creator of their BBC Radio 4 series, Daphne Sounds Expensive. He currently hosts the comedy podcast ‘BudPod’ with fellow comedian and Footlights alumnus Pierre Novellie.

Early life

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Wang was born in Stoke-on-Trent to an English mother from Stoke and a Chinese-Malaysian father of Hakka descent from Tuaran, Sabah.[9] A week after his birth, his family returned to the city of Kota Kinabalu in Sabah, where his parents had first met in 1982. His mother trained as an archaeologist and in orthopedic surgery[10] had moved to Malaysia as a volunteer with the Voluntary Service Overseas (VSO). Wang's maternal grandfather was from Derbyshire and became the manager of a tea estate in Assam, India, where his mother spent part of her childhood.[11]

Wang grew up in Malaysia, where he was taught in Malay, Mandarin and English.[11] He took GCSEs at Jerudong International School in Brunei.[12] When he was 16, his family moved back to the UK, to Bath, Somerset. There he attended Kingswood School.[citation needed] He then studied engineering at King's College, Cambridge,[13] where he was also president of the Cambridge Footlights.[14][15]

Career

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Wang won the 2010 Chortle Student Comedian of the Year Award[16] and, in 2011, Comedy Central's Funniest Student Award. In 2012, he was president of Footlights at Cambridge University, where he did a four-year engineering degree.[17] Wang has since performed at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe[18] and at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival.[19]

Wang has appeared in The Rob Brydon Show, Comedy Up Late, Taskmaster, About Tonight, It Was Alright in the 70's, Room 101, Have I Got News for You, Unspun with Matt Forde, Would I Lie to You?, Live at the Apollo, 8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown, The Dog Ate My Homework, Hypothetical, Outsiders, and Insert Name Here. He has also acted in the sitcom Top Coppers. In January 2018, he took part in Comedy Central's Roast Battle, hosted by Jimmy Carr, in which he battled friend and fellow comedian Ed Gamble: Wang won the battle.

Wang has also written for The Guardian.[20]

In 2016, Wang appeared in the short film Sarah Chong Is Going to Kill Herself as Davith.[21]

In 2017 Wang appeared in the podcast series Pappy's Flatshare Slamdown and Do the Right Thing.[22][23]

On 4 July 2018 it was announced that Wang would be one of the contestants in series 7 of Taskmaster.[24] Tasks he won included 'Make the best noise' and 'Most surprisingly beautiful thing'.

Wang worked on a stand-up comedy special[25] for BBC Radio 4 titled Wangsplaining.[26] The episode aired on 19 May 2019 on BBC Radio 4.[11]

In 2020, Wang appeared on Kevin McCloud's Rough Guide to the Future.[27]

In December 2020, May 2022, and December 2023 Wang appeared on Have I Got News For You.[28] and in May 2024 he compèred an episode after the original planned host Amol Rajan withdrew at short notice.[29]

In May 2021, Wang hosted a new podcast called Phil Wang Hates Horror, which was released on Audible.

Wang's Netflix comedy special Phil Wang: Philly Philly Wang Wang was released in August 2021. His first book, Sidesplitter: How to Be from Two Worlds at Once, was published in September 2021.[30]

In May 2022, Wang appeared in the unaired television pilot Jazz Emu, portraying elusive DJ personality Crimsy Dimpson.[31]

In 2023, Wang embarked on his worldwide comedy tour[32] with one date scheduled for 2024. He was also cast in a supporting role in the 2023 film Wonka. During the filming, Wang suffered an accidental radial break to his arm, which he anecdotally referred to during his appearance on The Graham Norton Show, first broadcast on 24 November 2023.[10]

Wang guest starred as Aristotle in 3 Body Problem.[33]

References

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  1. ^ In this Malaysian Hakka Chinese name, the surname is Wang (王). In accordance with custom, the Western-style name is Phil Wang and the Chinese-style name is Wang Sin Goi (simplified Chinese: 王兴贵; traditional Chinese: 王興貴).
  1. ^ "Aisling Bea and Phil Wang head to Netflix". Chortle.
  2. ^ "Interview: Phil Wang – The Comedian Who Isn't Afraid to Make You Laugh About Race". weareresonate. 2 March 2017.
  3. ^ "Phil Wang's Chinese name". 16 December 2018.
  4. ^ Insert Name Here (BBC), Series 3, Episode 2. (First broadcast 27 November 2017.)
  5. ^ Phil Wang, Alex Horne (4 September 2018). Phil Wang Interview Taskmaster S7 - Dave (Video). UKTV. Event occurs at 1:37 – via YouTube.
  6. ^ "Edinburgh comedy 2015: what to see". The Telegraph. 12 August 2015.
  7. ^ "My Comedy Hero: Phil Wang on Leslie Nielsen". The List.
  8. ^ Edinburgh festival 2015: 10 comedy acts to watch, The Guardian
  9. ^ Wong, Gabby (2 March 2017). "INTERVIEW: Phil Wang – The comedian who isn't afraid to make you laugh about race". Resonate. Retrieved 12 June 2020.
  10. ^ a b Bennett, Steve. "Phil Wang: I broke my arm filming Wonka : News 2023". Chortle. Retrieved 25 November 2023.
  11. ^ a b c Wang P (2019) Phil Wang: Wangsplaining, BBC Studios.
  12. ^ "How JIS Brunei enabled these students to enter the world's elite universities". Study International News. 19 October 2018. Retrieved 12 June 2020.
  13. ^ Gil, Natalie (14 September 2015). "Learn from our mistakes: freshers' week regrets". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 19 March 2018.
  14. ^ Goldsmith, Stuart (13 February 2017). "Episode 197 – Phil Wang". The Comedian's Comedian (Podcast).
  15. ^ Banerjee, Rohan (18 July 2017). "Phil Wang on engineering comedy, Footlights, and why Brexit is a cock block". The New Statesman.
  16. ^ "Wang wins – Chortle student king crowned". Chortle. 18 August 2010.
  17. ^ Simon Bajkowski (27 March 2011). "That's Number One, Wang". The Tab.
  18. ^ "Phil Wang – Edinburgh Fringe 2015 – British Comedy Guide". British Comedy Guide.
  19. ^ Stephanie Bunbury (23 March 2015). "Melbourne International Comedy Festival: Phil Wang engineers a laugh with 'high-status' comedy". The Sydney Morning Herald.
  20. ^ Wang, Phil (31 July 2014). "Phil Wang: Impossibly wise or offensively stupid – Chinese people in US films". The Guardian. Retrieved 12 August 2018.
  21. ^ "Sarah Chong Is Going to Kill Herself (Short 2016)". IMDb. Retrieved 29 April 2023.
  22. ^ Guide, British Comedy. "Series 7, Episode 1 (Bleed The Radiators) – Pappy's Flatshare Slamdown". British Comedy Guide.
  23. ^ "Do The Right Thing on acast". acast.
  24. ^ Taskmaster Series 7 | Coming Soon | Dave, retrieved 5 July 2018
  25. ^ "Sidesplitter". The Guardian Bookshop. Retrieved 25 November 2023.
  26. ^ Bennett, Steve. "Radio 4 shows for Phil Wang and others : News 2019". Chortle.
  27. ^ "Kevin McCloud's Rough Guide to the Future". Channel 4. Retrieved 13 February 2022.
  28. ^ "Have I Got News For You". BBC. Retrieved 8 December 2020.
  29. ^ "Have I Got News For You replaces Amol Rajan after election announcement". Yahoo News. 25 May 2024. Retrieved 29 May 2024.
  30. ^ "Phil Wang: Philly Philly Wang Wang and Sidesplitter". Digital Spy. 21 July 2021. Retrieved 26 October 2021.
  31. ^ "Jazz Emu: Pilot" – via YouTube.
  32. ^ "concert archives phil wang".
  33. ^ "Meet the cast of 3 Body Problem on Netflix". Radio Times. 22 March 2024. Retrieved 22 March 2024.
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