One thing is for sure: he graduated from one of Canada's top business schools with really good grades

Acting or not, the man is a genius.

I think Nathan's most obvious (and hilarious) character-break is his reaction to when the gas station man reveals he sometimes drinks his grandsons pee, for good luck. From eposode "Gas Station Rebate"

Nathan's ability to handle uncomfortable situations is incredible.

He transcends acting. He is a whole other being

"Genuinely shocked and concerned for her safety" Nathan (monotone voice): Are u ok... Sue

He is acting... but his style is so bizzarre. He is just so damn serious and that's the comedy, he talks in a monotone voice, he is very serious and never breaks. It's just an incredible performance and the show was so brilliant.

I went to a mac demarco concert once and Nathan was on the stage the whole time playing a guitar that wasn’t plugged in. He and mac kissed at the end, beautiful.

Finding Francis by Nathan Fielder should be required study for all high school students.

Many philosophers have pondered on this question for thousands of hours

I watched that show a few years back. My take: the dude is naturally awkward and smart enough to know it, so it dials to 11 for the show.

The one thing we know for sure about Nathan is that he is fun. It’s been scientifically proven.

i came for Nathan Answers but I left with Shaquille Questions :/

The title of the show says it all, "This is Nathan (for you)"

I remember Nathan's best bit ever, where he had an interview with his boss at the Canadian public TV channel he was working for, and at some point he pressed him on whether he actually watched his bits. The guy said yes, but as he pressed him more, it became more and more awkward, as it became clear that the guy had just been lying.

I think Nathan is like the old magician from "The Prestige", a true artist committed to his craft.

Ethan Klein met him at a party and said on a later podcast that Nathan acts the same way (monotone, awkward) in real life and that he was confused about whether he's getting trolled by Nathan or not

This almost reminds me of when Filthy Frank used to leave in errors. Like when he woke up his neighbors filming or when random people would just ignore him.

I met Nathan on the street after one of his talking events. I was waiting for a ride and I noticed he was standing a few feet away trying to pet a cat on the sidewalk. Nice guy. He liked my LCD Soundsystem shirt (turns out we went to the same show).

Dude went to school with Seth Rogen. I think he is putting on a show for the camera. Nobody can be that consistently self aware and hilarious without knowing it.

I met the caricature artist he had on the show, the one he turned into “The King of Sting” - that show definitely had real life impact! He now gets lots of celebrity gigs and commissions wanting him to roast them like he did on the show. He didn’t have any say in the direction Nathan had him go in, but it ended up working out well. It’s honestly really cool to see.

Nathan is a completely accurate representation of how all Canadians actually act on a regular day. I don't see why everyone has so much issue figuring out that it's real.

A buddy of mine who works behind the scenes at Knotts Berry Farm saw him at a Halloween scary maze walk through type thing. He was completely alone and still being as weird and awkward as he is on the show, apparently.

Nathan knew real people would act in front of the camera so he put them in awkward and absurd situations, to squeeze what's real

this video deserves a pulitzer it's literally like a doctoral thesis in performance studies

He took an acting program at my college! Not one of Canada's top business schools though, unfortunately.

Nathan for You is one of the most genius and original television shows in recent years. I can't help but laugh at virtually everything Nathan does, as it seems he's always (very cleverly and convincingly) playing this fabricated character that perfectly combats the expectations of what reality television is normally like.

This kind of mockumentary format is quite established in the UK, so it kind of feels like, "yeah, of course it's acting". Think all Sacha Baron Cohen work in the late 90s, which was part of a bigger show doing the same with different characters.

I can’t believe that i just found out about this show this year. One of the funniest shows of all time. Thank you for this video!

Finding Frances is unironically some of the best filmmaking in recent years

I feel all of this can be applied to Jordan Schlansky. He's not a main character but the "acting vs not acting" dilemma is alive and well with this dude

I like how the second search result was, “ is Nathan Fielder single?”

I think the only thing "fake" about his shows is his awkwardness level, because only someone with supreme confidence could do some of the shit he does. I think Nathan is going to go down in history as one of the great comics of our time. Yes he knows how to make a show funny but he also is a master of human behavior, which often leads to very profound insights. Very few comedy shows can make you feel such a wide range of emotions.

I’m dying to know the full truth of every second of the show, and yet, I also don’t want to shatter any of the illusions.

Fastest click of my life. We STAN Nathan Fielder

You touched on so many topics and amazing shows--- from Fleabag to The Office to the movie Eighth Grade-- all to answer a one simple question about Nathan. I just loved how this whole episode felt like a journey and it offered a visual representation of how the brain of a movie geek or a TV geek is continuously resonated while watching something. It shows us why we geeks love the things we love. Loved it.

There really is no mystery. He's a very unique and experienced comedian. Every moment he is being filmed, like Sacha Baron Cohen or other next level prank performers, he is always 'in character' and always 'acting'.

One things for sure. Quiznos use chef inspired sauces.

He broke character once on the drunk antique shopping episode. So yes he is acting. He even said that as soon as the cameras roll other people start acting just for the camera.

I find that entire concept - everyday life as performance, as acting - incredibly interesting. Why am I acting one way to this friend, but a different way to another? What am I trying to express, how do I want to be seen? Who am I posting on social media for? There's so much you can learn about yourself when viewed through a performativity lense.

Clicked for Nathan and got wayyy more than I expected thank you for the deep dive into reality tv. Great video!

Nathan For You has more humanity and depth in its portrayal of our world than just about anything on TV right now.

Nathan for You is the one show that everyone i know loves. i could watch this with my mom, dad, brother, sister, girlfriend and all my homies, and we’d all be sitting there cracking up.

In some sense, we are nearly always acting. Even alone people lie to themselves or have a biased view of themselves that informs their actions. It's more like a spectrum of authenticity rather than a binary acting or not acting

I oftentimes comment on social media as a “character”. It’s my real profile that I’m using, but I say things that don’t necessarily reflect my true feelings because it’s more interesting to have conversations with strangers as someone who thinks differently than I do. Does that make sense? Maybe it doesn’t, I don’t know.

this is the most enlightening video I've seen in a while, thank you for breaking down so fluently what I found so satisfying and relatable about Fleabag and Nathan For You.

Perfect timing, I have been binge watching this show for two weeks!

i really needed this video 😭

My mom was always weirded out that I could properly pronounce “realtor” when I was a toddler.

“The Rehearsal” adds a whole new layer to this question 👀

Hands-down the funniest show on TV

I cannot wait to hear your thoughts on The Rehearsal.

I love how slowly you hammer the point home, fantastic vid

super well done, as always !

Man the title of this video does not do it justice. Amazing video, I loved the insight about how characters aware of the audience have changed over time. genius

This video was so well done, good job!

I loved this so much I saved it to favs, which I don’t think I’ve ever done (on purpose). Thank you.

Excellent insight! Great video to watch before the premiere of The Rehearsal!

Nathan breaks only three times in the whole series from what they show in Nathan For You. One time with a gas station attendant who admits to drinking his grandsons pee and offers it to Nathan, another time when he meets two drunk brothers who brag about tag teaming girls they meet (it’s very quick but you see him painfully hold back a smile and bite his tongue hard), and finally on the last episode when an old impersonator he’s talking to says “you better know what you’re sticking it in” when talking about using escorts to Nathan. Those moments in the show are absolute gold.

How brilliantly you broke that down!!

This is SUCH a well made video. Props.

Wow I didn't expect such a great video!

great man thanks for the video x

was not expecting moonlight and eighth grade to be referenced in a video about nathan for you but i couldn’t be happier about it

This video really hits home for me, especially on how you view your public/private self. Thank you. I appreciate this discussion.

This is a BRILLIANT video! A completely unexplored topic (Or at least I haven't seen it explored before) that is constantly presented to us and we don't even realize, and even more so we contribute to. So glad you were able to explore this topic using Nathan Fielder, one of the funniest people of the generation.

Excellent breakdown. Very impressive editing and examples.

I was hoping you'd touched on his work on This Hour Has 22 Minutes. Growing up watching him do those segments I knew what a genius he was destined to be!

Really good video, good comparisons and great writing, thanks !

Awesome video! You did such a good job explaining the impact of reality tv and how Nathan has turned it on its head.

My favorite character break is the photo of him with his pet fly…he looks so happy

Fantastic analysis!

That was an incredible video!

honestly the show is soo beyond genius in its execution i was genuinely blown away when i found out that it was as real as any other reality tv show as i was convinced something that absurd had to have been 100% scripted. nobody has ever been this committed to a bit before

really well put-together essay

He's acting as a very plain and awkward person. Instead of being a person people can bounce off of he acts as like a social brick wall that people just run into and he catches their reactions. Also a lot of this is described by the Hawthorne effect

Really great video, thanks for putting in the Time

yeah he's actually a really chill and relaxed guy in real life

Wow this is a good video the final conclusion and question was really great and expanded what I thought would be a simple video

Brillant Video, Made me think about the Show Even More.

Goddamn this video hits so many of the points I love to bring up. Great job!

this video has given me a lot to think about. thank you so much.

This was more thought provoking than I was anticipating.

You blew my mind. Thanks:)

Great video!

what a wonderful video this was highly entertaining what a great subject and script

Great video, made me reflect on how much I'm often bothered by the thoughts that someone I've just met may be 'performing' or playing a role

Amazing video! 🏆👏

aww elsie fisher from eighth grade at 1:24❤️

I love this show so much because of how deeply I connect and relate with nathan in the show , and it is just so hilarious

Fantastic piece of art. Very thought provoking.

He plays a character, but for himself and his purposes. He just allows us to watch

This was a very good look into the human experience thank you for making this!

What a great video!

Have you seen Pretend That You Love Me by Joel Haver? It dovetails perfectly into what you're talking about in this video - the blend of reality with fiction, authentic versus projected self, but with the purpose of exploring how we strive for authentic connection despite all these hindrances of projection. It's really beautiful and made me cry, I strongly recommend it.

Hear me out: Nathan Fielder is the modern day Andy Kaufman

Wonderful video well done

This show had myself and partner in tears laughing. Absolute genius comedy.

This video is such a great explanation

This is such a good video I've seen it multiple times :p.