Character Actor Extraordinaire: Comedian Adam Ray On The Origins Of His Viral Digital Series ‘Dr. Phil LIVE!’

deadline.com:

After hustling for nearly two decades to build a career as an actor and stand-up comedian, Adam Ray has recently hit on an entirely new level of exposure.

The person he has to thank for it, you might be surprised to hear, is none other than Dr. Phil. For many a performer, Ray tells Deadline, the goal is to hone one’s craft until hitting on something “that’s yours” and yours alone.

This is what he’s accomplished with Dr. Phil LIVE!, a digital series garnering huge attention online of later, in which he plays a heightened version of the popular daytime talk show host, with the help of detailed prosthetics.

Well known for his gifts as an impressionist, having been tapped to play everyone from Jay Leno in Pam & Tommy to Vince McMahon on Young Rock, Ray has been drawn to character work since he was a child. “I wasn’t the kid that was entertaining the family at dinners and stuff like that,” he clarifies. “My family didn’t even know I was funny until, I don’t know, a couple hours ago.” But from an early age, he idolized everyone from Jim Carrey to Robin Williams and Eddie Murphy, multi-hyphenate comedic performers who could capably ground and sell the audience on even the most absurd of characters.