How comedian Adam Ray turned a gag Dr. Phil impersonation into a Netflix special with the man himself
Comedian Adam Ray isn’t feeling quite like himself these days — and that’s just fine with him. Since becoming the doppelganger of daytime talk show therapist Dr. Phil McGraw, he’s actually never felt better. Who knew that his first Netflix special would require him to trade in his slick, radio announcer speaking voice for a North Texas drawl, his thick hair for a rather ample-yet-distinguished bald spot and his sharp, comedic wit for — OK, well, he still has that. The result is that he’s now making more people laugh than ever before.
On Tuesday, Netflix premieres Ray’s latest special, “Adam Ray Is Dr. Phil Unleashed.” The veteran stand-up and character actor steps into the role of Dr. Phil for a twist in a taped version of his popular live show at the Comedy Store — sitting down with none other than the real Dr. Phil.
Ray is also bringing along a star-studded lineup of funny friends, including Patton Oswalt, Jay Pharoah, Joe Gatto, Fahim Anwar, and Jeremiah Watkins, promising one of the best, and most wild, comedy shows of the year.
Judging by the success from Ray’s smash hit comedy show, “Dr. Phil Live!”, which inspired Netflix to approach him about doing a special, it’s clear that Ray (and Dr. Phil) are ready to take the show to the next level. Recently Ray spoke to The Times about how his signature live show started as a gag to maximize the usage of exceptional makeup and turned Ray into an “advice”-giving, viral sensation.
What made you decide on doing a special with Netflix as Dr. Phil rather than doing a standard stand-up special as yourself?
Adam Ray: Yeah, [Netflix] came to us once [the show] got as big as it’s gotten. Shows were selling out months in advance at the Comedy Store, then we added theater shows, and those are all 2,500 to 5,000 seats, and those started selling out well in advance. So, I think it was just one of those things where the people in comedy over [at Netflix] got wind of it and had been tracking it. We’ve had big names in the comedy game, but once we booked the real Phil, the Netflix people were like, all right, this is something special. Phil and Phil together is really cool. Let’s do this! It all came together really quickly.
It’s going to be so great when this leads to seeing more of you on Netflix and they’ll be like, why didn’t we swoop in on all of his other specials?
Definitely. They’re gonna eat their words. They’re gonna be like, hey, can we please grab all of your specials? And I’ll be like, sorry, I’m a [YouTube] guy now.
How did you even get the idea to dress like Dr. Phil, of all people?
I had got to a point where I was getting in a monotonous routine of auditioning, stand-up, podcasting, and waiting to be on people’s stuff. All good and no complaints, but I was losing some joy for what I was doing. If I’m not creating, I’m not happy. I just got tired of waiting around and was thinking, if I could have my show, what would it be? I thought releasing a pilot would be a way to challenge myself, so I was like, all right, I’d love to play three different characters in a dysfunctional family show. I had met Jennifer Aspinall, who does my Phil makeup, on a “Mad TV” reboot on CW that I did. She’s done “SNL,” the original “Mad TV,” “Westworld,” she won Emmys, and all that stuff. I asked her if she could do me up for a few of these characters. There was a son, a grandma, and one was a gay hairdresser with a fat suit. A bald guy that left his wife, became gay, and opened a salon. The makeup took four-plus hours, we shot it over a weekend, and I got a bunch of favors from friends who are in it. One of my friends that was playing a salon client in it told me I sort of looked like Dr. Phil, so that night I was like, I should go do stand-up in this outfit. I figured I should milk it and get a little bit more content after getting into makeup for that long. I hit up Joel McHale, who was over at Laugh Factory, and told him I was going to come by, and Joel said he’d bring me up as Dr. Phil. I went up as him and was messing around with the voice a little bit, and people were eating it up.
And that was pre-pandemic, right? Because props for keeping it going throughout.
Exactly. When COVID hit, Jeremiah Watkins, who plays a different character in every show, and I were talking about trying to find a safe way to have some fun. We rented a little studio space and did these lost Dr. Phil episodes where Phil would interview one of his characters. We’d improvise for two hours and put around 40 minutes of it on YouTube. That’s where I got to find what the version of the character was for me, honing it, and getting reps from doing it. I found this kind of likable, yet abrasive guy who is still trying to help these people.
How did it evolve from a hilarious video podcast to its current state on a stand-up stage?
The actor’s strike hit shortly after we got back from COVID and then it was like, I feel like I need to be throwing more darts. I was already doing these “Adam & Friends” shows at the Comedy Store, but there were a bunch of those types of shows that started popping up, so again it kind of made me feel like I was just doing what everybody was. Bill Burr had to cancel on one of my shows, but he was committed to do the next date no matter what. I was like, OK, now would be a good time as any to try this out. I was like, Bill, instead of doing a stand-up show, I’m thinking of doing Dr. Phil with a monologue, some crowd work, we’ll do an interview and then play a game. He couldn’t have been more excited about it so that really gave me the juice to do it. It went really well, it sold out in a day, and then it became a challenge of, let’s do more of these but let’s really play with the elements of it. It changes all of the time, but we found a really good groove. Next thing you know, we’re doing the Netflix Festival and livestreaming it, and that was a huge success and got the show to people outside of my normal fan base.
What was the reaction when Dr. Phil’s camp found out about your show? Had you ever met him before this point?
I had been doing the show a little over a year and had never met him. Dr. Phil’s son reached out to me on Instagram and was like, we gotta get my dad on your show. We got in touch with his publicist and went back and forth for like six or seven months. I had almost given up, but then I was like, OK, here’s 3 more dates. They said, Sept. 18 works. I Facetimed with Phil, maybe an hour before makeup, just to talk through what the show would look like. Then we locked up everyone’s phone, no one knew, and Phil was awesome. The crowd went nuts and the whole show was great.
Give us some fly on the wall info. What did your convo backstage sound like after meeting?
I asked him if he was online and he was like, “That’s how I found you! My son was like, you gotta see this! I’ll admit, it’s hysterical.” He gave me some nice flowers during the show, but he also told me backstage, “You would have known a long time ago if I wasn’t cool with this.” I think he and his fans know that my intentions are pure with the character, and it’s also made him popular in a space that he otherwise might not be in. I think he’s gotta be enjoying the extra bump of recognition, right?
Oh I’m sure! I love that he’s down for the fun of it all. You’ve also become a star in the Kill Tony universe. How did getting that show’s 2023 Guest of the Year award, from the real Dr. Phil, at Madison Square Garden feel?
It was wild. I thought I was dying for a minute because they were playing a montage of me, and I thought the real Phil was going to come out and stab me in the neck and go, “We won’t be right back. We’ll edit that part out.” It really caught me way off guard and got me emotional too. Not for narcissistic reasons, but when you see the video of me doing the show in 2014 it was like, wow, I’ve been doing this show a long time. I’m so happy to see how the show has grown, and I’m so happy for Tony [Hinchcliffe] and [Brian] Redban. Consistency is key and they stuck with it. We were in the Belly Room of the Store, and now we’re at Madison Square Garden. Then I got emotional thinking about all of the appearances, characters, and there was a true evolution of my place on the show. Then I looked over and Tony shot me a look like, f— yeah dude. First and foremost, you want to be good at your job and make people laugh. Get opportunities that make more opportunities. And after that, all you want is respect and validation from your peers, and I felt that. Then I saw Joe Rogan dressed like Big Bird’s agent, and that took me back to reality.
How great would it be if Dr. Phil went on tour as Adam Ray?
I mean, I don’t know if he has the calves for it, but I’m sure he can get the voice down. I’d watch that.
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