{{Short description|British Chinese-Malaysian comedian}} {{For|the filmmaker|Wong Fu Productions}} {{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}{{Use British English|date=April 2024}}
{{Infobox comedian | name = Phil Wang<br>{{nobold|王兴贵}} | image = Phil Wang 2026.jpg | caption = Wang in 2026 | birth_name = Philip Nathaniel Wang Sin Goi | birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1990|01|22|df=y}}<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.chortle.co.uk/news/2018/01/22/38945/aisling_bea_and_phil_wang_head_to_Netflix |title=Aisling Bea and Phil Wang head to Netflix|work=Chortle}}</ref> | birth_place = Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England<ref>{{cite web|url= http://www.weareresonate.com/2017/03/interview-phil-wang-comedian-isnt-afraid-make-laugh-race/ |title= Interview: Phil Wang – The Comedian Who Isn't Afraid to Make You Laugh About Race. |work= weareresonate|date= 2 March 2017 }}</ref> | medium = Stand-up, television, radio | alma_mater = King's College, Cambridge (BEng) | website = {{URL|http://www.philwang.co.uk/}} | education = Maktab Nasional<br>Jerudong International School }}
'''Philip Nathaniel Wang Sin Goi'''{{efn|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 ({{Lang-zh|t=王興貴|s=王兴贵}}).}} ({{Lang-zh|t=王興貴|s=王兴贵|p=Wáng Xīngguì}}; Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: ''Vòng Hîn-kùi''; born 22 January 1990)<ref>{{cite web|url=https://twitter.com/PhilNWang/status/1073903261021888512?t=MNTK7Y2nw3PVI7oGcXYh6Q&s=19|title=Phil Wang's Chinese name|date=16 December 2018}}</ref><ref>''Insert Name Here'' (BBC), Series 3, Episode 2. (First broadcast 27 November 2017.)</ref><ref>{{cite AV media |people= Phil Wang, Alex Horne |date=2018-09-04 |title=Phil Wang Interview Taskmaster S7 - Dave |medium=Video |time=1:37 |via=YouTube |publisher=UKTV |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LsN7OQHk-uE}}</ref> is a Malaysian-British stand-up comedian and comedy writer who is a member of the sketch comedy group Daphne,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/comedy/what-to-see/edinburgh-comedy-2015-what-to-see/ |title=Edinburgh comedy 2015: what to see | work=The Telegraph | date=12 August 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.list.co.uk/article/79574-my-comedy-hero-phil-wang-on-leslie-nielsen/|title=My Comedy Hero: Phil Wang on Leslie Nielsen|work=The List}}</ref><ref>[https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2015/jun/26/edinburgh-festival-2015-10-comedy-acts-to-watch-fringe-standup Edinburgh festival 2015: 10 comedy acts to watch], ''The Guardian''</ref> and co-creator of their BBC Radio 4 series, ''Daphne Sounds Expensive''. Until 2025, he hosted the comedy podcast ''BudPod'' with fellow comedian and Footlights alumnus Pierre Novellie.
==Early life== Wang was born in Stoke-on-Trent to an English mother and a Chinese-Malaysian father of Hakka descent from suburban Tuaran district in Sabah's northern West Coast Division.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Wong |first1=Gabby |title=INTERVIEW: Phil Wang – The comedian who isn't afraid to make you laugh about race. |url=https://www.weareresonate.com/2017/03/interview-phil-wang-comedian-isnt-afraid-make-laugh-race/ |access-date=12 June 2020 |work=Resonate |date=2 March 2017}}</ref><ref name=radio4>Wang P (2019) [https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m00057qs Phil Wang: Wangsplaining], BBC Studios.</ref> A few weeks after his birth, his family returned to the city of Kota Kinabalu in Sabah, Malaysia where his parents had first met in 1982.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=Bennett |first=Steve |title=Phil Wang: I broke my arm filming Wonka : News 2023 |url=https://www.chortle.co.uk/news/2023/11/24/54553/phil_wang:_i_broke_my_arm_filming_wonka |access-date=2023-11-25 |website=Chortle |language=en}}</ref>
Wang was raised in Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia and educated in Malay, Mandarin, and English.<ref name=radio4 /> He first started secondary studies at Maktab Nasional<ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-01-15 |title=‘Funniest’ UK comedian remembers his Kota Kinabalu roots |url=https://www.dailyexpress.com.my/read/4981/funniest-uk-comedian-remembers-his-kota-kinabalu-roots/ |access-date=2026-02-03 |website=www.dailyexpress.com.my |language=en}}</ref> in Kota Kinabalu before later moving on to the Jerudong International School in Brunei. He then moved to Bath, United Kingdom at 16.<ref>{{cite news |title=How JIS Brunei enabled these students to enter the world's elite universities |url=https://www.studyinternational.com/news/how-jis-brunei-enabled-these-students-to-enter-the-worlds-elite-universities/ |access-date=12 June 2020 |work=Study International News |date=19 October 2018}}</ref> Wang attended Kingswood School and then completed a four-year engineering degree at King's College, Cambridge, where he was president of the Cambridge Footlights in 2012.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.dailyexpress.com.my/read/4981/funniest-uk-comedian-remembers-his-kota-kinabalu-roots/ |title='Funniest' UK comedian remembers his Kota Kinabalu roots |work=Daily Express |date=15 January 2023 |first=Kan Yaw |last=Chong}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Gil |first=Natalie |date=14 September 2015 |title=Learn from our mistakes: freshers' week regrets |url=https://www.theguardian.com/education/2015/sep/14/learn-from-our-mistakes-freshers-week-regrets |newspaper=The Guardian |location=London |access-date=19 March 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite podcast |url=http://www.comedianscomedian.com/197-phil-wang/ |title=Episode 197 – Phil Wang |website=The Comedian's Comedian |host=Goldsmith, Stuart |date=13 February 2017 |access-date=26 February 2017 |archive-date=27 February 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170227062601/http://www.comedianscomedian.com/197-phil-wang/ |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.newstatesman.com/culture/music-theatre/2017/07/phil-wang-engineering-comedy-footlights-and-why-brexit-cock-block |title=Phil Wang on engineering comedy, Footlights, and why Brexit is a cock block |date=18 July 2017 |first=Rohan |last=Banerjee |work=The New Statesman}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://thetab.com/uk/cambridge/2011/03/27/thats-number-one-wang-2537 | title=That's Number One, Wang | publisher=The Tab | author=Simon Bajkowski | date=27 March 2011}}</ref>
==Career== Wang won the 2010 Chortle Student Comedian of the Year Award<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.chortle.co.uk/news/2010/08/18/11569/wang_wins | title=Wang wins – Chortle student king crowned | publisher=Chortle | date=18 August 2010 }}</ref> and, in 2011, Comedy Central's Funniest Student Award. Wang has since performed at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.comedy.co.uk/fringe/2015/phil_wang/|title=Phil Wang – Edinburgh Fringe 2015 – British Comedy Guide|website=British Comedy Guide }}</ref> and at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/art-and-design/melbourne-international-comedy-festival-phil-wang-engineers-a-laugh-with-highstatus-comedy-20150323-1m5hvr.html|title=Melbourne International Comedy Festival: Phil Wang engineers a laugh with 'high-status' comedy|work=The Sydney Morning Herald | date=23 March 2015| author=Stephanie Bunbury}}</ref>
Wang has made numerous television and radio appearances, including on shows such as ''Taskmaster'', ''Would I Lie to You?'', ''Have I Got News for You'' (including as compère in 2024), and ''8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown''. He has performed stand-up on ''Live at the Apollo'' and competed on ''Roast Battle''. His BBC Radio 4 comedy special ''Wangsplaining'' aired in 2019. thumb|Wang performing in 2021 Wang has released two Netflix specials; ''Philly Philly Wang Wang'' in 2021<ref>{{Cite news |last=Logan |first=Brian |date=2021-08-10 |title=Phil Wang review – standup’s Netflix special skewers PC panic, Covid racism and himself |url=https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2021/aug/10/phil-wang-netflix-special-review |access-date=2025-07-12 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}</ref> and ''Wang In There, Baby!'' in 2024.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Bennett |first=Steve |title=Phil Wang: Wang In There, Baby! on Netflix : Reviews 2024 : Chortle : The UK Comedy Guide |url=https://www.chortle.co.uk/review/2024/09/02/56543/phil_wang:_wang_in_there,_baby!_on_netflix |access-date=2025-07-12 |website=www.chortle.co.uk |language=en}}</ref>
Beyond stand-up, Wang has acted in the sitcom ''Top Coppers'', appeared in the 2023 film ''Wonka'',<ref>{{Cite web |last=Bennett |first=Steve |title=Phil Wang: I broke my arm filming Wonka : News 2023 : Chortle : The UK Comedy Guide |url=https://www.chortle.co.uk/news/2023/11/24/54553/phil_wang:_i_broke_my_arm_filming_wonka |access-date=2025-12-24 |website=www.chortle.co.uk |language=en}}</ref> and played a role in the Netflix series ''3 Body Problem.''<ref>{{Cite web |title=Meet the cast of 3 Body Problem on Netflix |website=Radio Times |date=22 March 2024 |url=https://www.radiotimes.com/tv/sci-fi/3-body-problem-cast-characters-list/ |access-date=2024-03-22}}</ref> He has also made guest appearances on ''The Graham Norton Show'' and ''Kevin McCloud's Rough Guide to the Future''. In 2021, he launched the Audible podcast ''Phil Wang Hates Horror''.
His first book, ''Sidesplitter: How to Be from Two Worlds at Once'', was published in 2021.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Sidesplitter |url=https://guardianbookshop.com/sidesplitter-9781529350272 |access-date=2023-11-25 |website=The Guardian Bookshop |language=en}}</ref> Wang also embarked on a worldwide comedy tour ending in 2024.
He hosted the British Academy Games Awards in both 2024 and 2025.<ref>{{cite web|last=Gardner|first=Matt|url=https://www.comedy.co.uk/people/fyi/746/phil-wang-to-host-bafta-games-awards-2025/|title=Phil Wang to host BAFTA Games Awards 2025|publisher=British Comedy Guide|date=11 March 2025}}</ref>
From 2026, he is a judge on Great British Menu, replacing Ed Gamble.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Comedian Phil Wang takes over from Ed Gamble on Great British Menu's judging panel |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/mediacentre/2025/phil-wang-joins-great-british-menu/ |access-date=2026-04-10 |website=www.bbc.co.uk |language=en}}</ref>
==Works== * ''Sidesplitter: How To Be From Two Worlds At Once'' (Coronet Books, 2021) {{ISBN|978-1529350272}}
==References== {{notelist}} {{Reflist|2}}
==External links== {{Commons category}} * {{IMDb name|4649621}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wang, Phil}} Category:Malaysian people of Chinese descent Category:People from Kota Kinabalu Category:Living people Category:1990 births Category:Alumni of King's College, Cambridge Category:British Asian writers Category:Comedians from Staffordshire Category:English male film actors Category:English male television actors Category:English male voice actors Category:English male comedians Category:English people of Chinese descent Category:Malaysian people of British descent Category:English people of Malaysian descent Category:English stand-up comedians Category:Entertainers from Stoke-on-Trent Category:Malaysian people of English descent Category:Malaysian people of French descent Category:Malaysian people of Hakka descent Category:People educated at Kingswood School, Bath