Henry Phillips (born November 14, 1969) is an American comedian and comedy musician known for his unique self-deprecating comedic style. He co-wrote and starred in Punching the Clown (2009) and its sequel Punching Henry (2016), and directed My First Comedy Special (2018) and TV series You and Your Fu*king Coffee (2013–). He has made many appearances in films, television shows and podcasts, and is the creator of the web series "Henry's Kitchen".
Early life
Phillips was born on November 14, 1969, in Los Angeles, California.[1] He started playing guitar when he was 8 years old and was inspired by Billy Joel as a teen.[2][3]
Career
In 2005, Phillips appeared on season 9 of Comedy Central Presents.[1][4] In 2009, he co-wrote and starred in Punching the Clown, and appeared in the comedy special 4:20 Hour Stand-Up, directed by Lee Abbott and starring Doug Benson.[5] From 2013, Phillips directed and starred in the television and web seriesYou and Your Fu*king Coffee.[6][7] The series stars Mike Judge and is produced by Jash.[8] The series is described as being about "a man who politely asks for coffee, and in doing so, ends up destroying the lives of those around him."[9] On July 22, 2014, Phillips appeared on Season 2 Episode 4 of Drunk History.[1] In 2016, he co-wrote and starred in Punching Henry, a sequel to Punching the Clown.[10][11] From 2016 to 2019, he had a recurring supporting role as John Stafford in Silicon Valley.[12][13] In 2018, he directed My First Comedy Special. The film was produced by Big Ugly Laugh Productions, LLC, and stars Grey Griffin.[14][15][16]
Phillips holds a strong presence as a comical cook. He creates cooking content via Twitch[22] and his satirical YouTube and Patreon web series "Henry's Kitchen",[20] a cooking show where Henry gives lessons whilst being comically inept at his work.[13] "Henry's Kitchen" has been praised by critics. Writer David Britton states "[only] a true genius could purposely edit something this poorly."[23] Jenn Harris from the Los Angeles Times describes one episode as "amazing".[24]Gabe Dunn in 2013 said, "Is it parody or just plain weird? It's hard to tell, but you'll laugh either way."[4] From September to November 2018, Phillips hosted Henry's Kitchen: Masterclass, a cooking show produced by Thrillist.[25][26] He is also the author of two cookbooks.[13] Henry also performs "Henry's Kitchen live on Twitch
Neither Here Nor There
In 2014, Phillips performed his hour-long debut comedy specialNeither Here Nor There at the Lyric Theatre in Los Angeles. It was directed by Steven Feinartz and produced by United Comedy LLC. The show featured Mark Cohen, Audrey Tess, Brendon Walsh, and Todd Glass.[27][28] The show released exclusively on Vimeo on Demand on August 15, 2016,[29][30] and released as an album on August 19, 2016.[31][32]
Style
Phillips does folk-style and comedy music.[32] His albums feature a mix of live tracks and studio recordings.[13] He is often compared to Tom Lehrer, a musical satirist known for his humorous songs.[3][13]
Phillips typically portrays a classic loser character who is hapless with women and unsuccessful in show business. His musical style is frequently in ballad form where the sincerity of the musical style contrasts with the sad or angry lyrics which become comically absurd as the song progresses.[2][19]
Graham Reid describes some of Phillips' humor as "wickedly funny" whilst "very close to being offensive".[33]
