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Adam Ray (born June 16, 1982, in Seattle, Washington)1 is an American comedian, actor, voice artist, and podcaster. He is widely recognized for his stand-up career, his long-running podcast "About Last Night," and his signature parody impression of Dr. Phil McGraw. In Ghostbusters: Answer the Call (2016), he played the Lead Singer of the fictional rock band Beasts of Mayhem and voiced Slimer, marking the character's return to the theatrical film series.
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Ray grew up in Seattle, Washington, attending Shorecrest High School.1 He earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the University of Southern California.1 He has cited Chris Farley, Eddie Murphy, Jim Carrey, and Adam Sandler as his primary comedy influences.1
Ray began performing stand-up comedy around 2006 and built his early reputation working clubs and late-night television.1 He has appeared on The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson and Comedy Central specials, and has performed at venues including The Comedy Store in Los Angeles.2 His YouTube channel, "adamraycomedy," has accumulated more than 506,000 subscribers and over 90 million views,1 and his voice work has appeared in commercials for McDonald's, Hyundai, Brooks Brothers, the San Diego Zoo, and Burger King.1
In 2012, Ray launched the "About Last Night" podcast, which he continues to host.34 The show features long-form conversations with comedians, actors, musicians, and athletes. Guests have included Sandra Bullock, Melissa McCarthy, Dana Carvey, Bill Burr, Lisa Kudrow, Neil Patrick Harris, Tony Danza, and Chevy Chase, among many others.4 USC's School of Dramatic Arts has featured Ray in profiles of alumni who became notable figures in podcasting.3
Ray's film work began with supporting roles in Paul Feig comedies: he appeared in The Heat (2013) and Spy (2015).2 His role in Ghostbusters: Answer the Call (2016) is covered separately below. Later credits include Game Over, Man! (2018), Good on Paper (2021), the Greta Gerwig blockbuster Barbie (2023), and Jackpot (2024).2
Ray has appeared in Arrested Development, Curb Your Enthusiasm, and American Vandal.2 He joined NBC's biographical comedy series Young Rock in its second season (2021-2023), playing Vince McMahon.2 In the Hulu limited series Pam and Tommy (2022), he portrayed Jay Leno.5 He also appeared in the Kumail Nanjiani-led Hulu drama Welcome to Chippendales (2022-2023) as Larry the Emcee.5
On the voice-acting side, Ray contributed to King of the Hill, Rick and Morty, Trolls, and She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (26 episodes) on Netflix.2
Around 2019, Ray began developing a parody character based on TV personality Phil McGraw.1 What started as a costume for a television pilot grew into his signature live act. Starting in 2023 he mounted monthly shows at The Comedy Store in Los Angeles built around the persona, with footage posted to his YouTube channel.1 The character drew the attention and personal endorsement of Phil McGraw himself.
In November 2024, Netflix released Adam Ray Is Dr. Phil UNLEASHED, a 49-minute comedy special directed by Ray.6 The special features crowdwork, celebrity appearances (including Patton Oswalt and comedian Jay Pharoah), and a live, improvised face-to-face segment with the real Phil McGraw. The special reached number three on the Netflix Top 10 chart following its release.
In 2026, Ray launched the "WHO IS ME" comedy tour, described as his largest solo touring run.7 He is also developing The Adam Ray Show, a video podcast for Netflix.8
In Ghostbusters: Answer the Call, Ray has a dual on-screen and vocal role. He appears as the Lead Singer of Beasts of Mayhem, the fictional heavy-metal band playing Rock Revenge Fest XIV near the start of the film. The band's performance is interrupted when a ghost materializes in the concert venue, triggering the Ghostbusters' first public capture. Ray's grunts and physicality as the Lead Singer also fed into the vocal performance of Slimer; according to production accounts, he voiced the character by drawing on the same energy from his on-screen performance.
On April 11, 2016, Ray announced via social media that he was the voice of Slimer in the new film.9 The iTunes-exclusive featurette "The Return of Slimer" provided additional production detail: Ronald Binion wore the Slimer suit as the practical puppeteer on set, and Peter Epstein performed the stunt sequences involving Slimer driving.10 Ray's performance was the vocal layer applied to those on-set physical elements.
The role represented Slimer's return to a Ghostbusters theatrical film following his appearances in the original 1984 film and Ghostbusters II (1989).
Ray married Amanda Ray in 2022.1
Some content on this page was researched using the Ghostbusters Wiki on Fandom.
"Adam Ray," Wikipedia, accessed 2026-06-13, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adam_Ray ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5 ↩6 ↩7 ↩8 ↩9 ↩10
"Adam Ray," IMDb, accessed 2026-06-13, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm3066532/ ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5 ↩6
USC School of Dramatic Arts, "Pioneers of the Pod," accessed 2026-06-13, https://dramaticarts.usc.edu/pioneers-of-the-pod/ ↩ ↩2
"About Last Night," Apple Podcasts, accessed 2026-06-13, https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/about-last-night/id518082771 ↩ ↩2
Deadline, "Pam & Tommy Star Adam Ray Boards Kumail Nanjiani Drama" (August 1, 2022), https://deadline.com/2022/08/pam-tommy-star-adam-ray-boards-kumail-nanjianis-hulu-chippendales-drama-immigrant-1235082146/ ↩ ↩2
Netflix, "Adam Ray Is Dr. Phil UNLEASHED" (released November 19, 2024), https://www.netflix.com/title/81944995 ↩
Deadline, "Comedian Adam Ray Sets North American Tour For 2026" (September 2025), https://deadline.com/2025/09/adam-ray-sets-tour-dates-2026-1236553432/ ↩
Variety, "Adam Ray Sets Netflix Video Podcast 'The Adam Ray Show'" (June 10, 2026), https://variety.com/2026/tv/news/adam-ray-netflix-video-podcast-the-adam-ray-show-1236769752/ ↩
Adam Ray, Twitter/X (April 11, 2016). Announcement of Slimer voice role in Ghostbusters: Answer the Call. ↩
"The Return of Slimer," iTunes-exclusive featurette, Ghostbusters: Answer the Call (2016), Sony Pictures. ↩
