Phil Wang transforms into the legendary horror icon Nosferatu - and reveals his top horror pics

This article first appeared in Radio Times magazine.

Don’t let anyone tell you that Phil Wang isn’t a trouper. In a studio in south London, the amiable comedian has submitted, uncomplainingly, to two hours in the make-up chair to be transformed into Count Orlok – bloodsucking antagonist of one of his favourite films, Nosferatu: a Symphony of Horror – to help draw together the threads of RT’s horror special and his latest gig as a judge on the new, film-themed series of Great British Menu.

Having been fitted with a bald cap (“like a big condom,” according to the make-up artist), slathered in grease paint and accessorised with razor-sharp nails and false teeth – Phil Fang, anyone? – the only thing our easy-going vampire draws the line at is shaving off his moustache. “I’ve got five minutes of material about it in my stand-up show,” he explains, apologetically. That’s OK, we assure him – hipster Orlok is actually quite a strong look.

“I feel like I’ve unleashed an inner part of me,” says the 36-year-old, as he vamps it up for the camera. “Also, it’s nice to have a preview of what I look like bald. I think I’ve got quite a good-shaped head.”

According to his self-effacing tour blurb, Wang is best known “for one series of Taskmaster, one episode of Would I Lie to You? and one minute of Wonka”.

In reality, of course, he’s one of Britain’s most in-demand stand-ups, a regular TV fixture on everything from Graham Norton’s sofa to Have I Got News for You, and the star of two hit Netflix specials, Philly Philly Wang Wang and Wang in There, Baby!

He also hosted the 2021 podcast series Phil Wang Hates Horror, in which comedy pals including Ed Gamble, Rose Matafeo and Nish Kumar forced him to overcome his lifelong fear of scary movies. Did it work? Judging by his current get-up, yes – even if, as we talk, he’s slightly ruining the effect by sipping peach water instead of drinking blood…

What was your main takeaway from the Phil Wang Hates Horror podcast?

That horror can be really fun. As heightened emotions, laughter and being scared are actually very close together. To anyone who doesn’t like horror, I’d say the best cure is definitely immersion therapy – you just have to watch lots of it.

What’s your favourite horror film?

Nosferatu, a Symphony of Horror is obviously up there – especially the 2024 remake. I didn’t sleep for three days after watching The Babadook [2014], but it was worth it.

Are films like Weapons, Sinners and Frankenstein – which are up for multiple Bafta Film Awards – proof we’re living in an age of “prestige horror”?

It seems that way, and that can only be a good thing. There’s a kind of snobbery around film awards – comedy never, ever gets a look in, for example. But I think they’re finally recognising that horror is a very significant genre. Plus, horror seems to be single-handedly keeping cinemas alive, because it’s more fun as a shared experience.

The new series of Great British Menu, which you’ve joined as a judge, is a celebration of great British films. I guess you’d include Wonka [2023] in that category?

Of course. Paul King [director and writer] and Simon Farnaby have made some of the most beloved films of this century. Paddington 2 is a cultural behemoth. I’m in Wonka for a glorious one minute and 48 seconds [as wedding groom Colin]. It was my first day on a big movie set, and I broke my elbow falling through a table. But there was so much adrenaline surging through me, I didn’t really feel the pain.

Are we calling it the greatest 1 min 48 sec in British film history?

I think so. I think British film will now be separated into pre-Colin and post-Colin.

In other film news, you wrote a gag for Amy Schumer at the 2022 Oscars…

That was really exciting. It was the year Will Smith was nominated for King Richard, and the joke was, after years of Hollywood ignoring women’s stories, this year we finally have a movie about the incredible Williams sisters’… dad. Then it cut to Will Smith and he was laughing. At my joke! I thought that would be the most surreal moment of the night. But it wasn’t. Afterwards I was like, “Can we just skip over the slap thing? I feel like that was a really good joke earlier!”

This isn’t your first Great British Menu rodeo. You were a guest judge in 2021 – when you went, in your own words, “full Asian parent”.

Yeah, I was a bit mean with some of the scores. I was giving threes and fours, and the producers had to have a word, saying, “People don’t normally go below a six.” So I’ve gone in with a different attitude this time around. I get it.

You’re a big foodie, aren’t you?

I’m a glutton. I love foods of all different types – I love a 17-course tasting menu; I love a KFC. I’m just a pig. When I moved to the UK [Wang was born in Stoke-on-Trent to an English mother and Chinese-Malaysian father, but grew up in Borneo, before returning aged 16], the biggest culture shock was curry sauce, from a chip shop – I’d never had sweet curry glue. British food is now spectacular, though. It’s unrecognisable compared to when I moved here.

And we all know how you feel about our fear of reheating rice…

That was a shock. People were like, “You will die if you eat a single grain of this reheated rice.” Which is weird, because old rice is literally what you make fried rice out of. So that became a routine in my last Netflix special. I like to think I’ve started a very important dialogue.

Your forthcoming stand-up tour is called Uh Oh. Should we be worried?

It’s about the vibe shift in the Western world – the end of the progressive era and the lurch towards the right, politically and culturally, that’s coincided with the ageing of my millennial generation. That doesn’t sound like a laugh a minute, does it? But it is.

• Photography - Simon Webb @simonwebbphoto
• Make-up and prosthetics - Bryony Blake @bryony_blake
• Make-up and prosthetics - Holly Davies @hollylouisehmua
• Styling - Maureen Vivian @maureenstylist

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