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Philip Tandy "Phil" Miller is the protagonist of the show and title character and is the husband to Carol Pilbasian.
Phil is an average man who likes Twinkies, Star Wars, and sex. He is a kind person, but only when inspired. Phil was born on June 17, 1980 and is 41 years old as stated in "Alive in Tucson". His mother and father passed away as a result of the virus and believed his younger brother Mike, an astronaut, was dead, until Mike makes his way back to Earth and reunites with him on the beach in "Fish in the Dish".
After Phil gets Carol pregnant in "Falling Slowly", Carol gives birth to two twin daughters in "Double Cheeseburger", named Bezequille & Mike Miller, the latter being named after Phil's brother Mike.
Phil is portrayed by series creator and producer Will Forte. A younger version of Phil was portrayed by Jacob Tremblay in "Pitch Black".
Biography
Phil's childhood life consisted of living in Tucson, Arizona with his parents, Patti and Reb Miller, and a younger brother, Mike Miller, who became much more successful than Phil. A few years before the virus, Phil lived in a small apartment and worked at a bank as a temp. As a kid, Phil also drank out of baby pools and also had the nickname "Skidmark".
In the year 2021, Phil is now 41 years old and is one of the remaining survivors of a virus that wiped out humanity. Phil begins to spend the next year in search of any living person in his RV, traveling through the U.S., Mexico, and Canada. Much to his dismay, Phil fails to find anyone and travels back to his hometown of Tucson, Arizona, where he breaks into a mansion and begins talking to sports balls for companionship. Five months later, Phil plans to commit suicide by crashing his pickup truck into a painted target, only to see the smoke signal of Carol Pilbasian, who he laters marries to ensure that they do not have a "bastard child." When more survivors begin to arrive, Phil continues to lie to them to get them to like him. Phil continues to make more mistakes following more apologies. As things begin to go a bit better for him, another survivor with the same name, Phil Miller (II) saves him from a billboard. But when a rivalry forms between the two and the women, Phil threatens to kill him and is exposed by Todd Rodriguez, where Phil (II) kicks him out of Tucson and into the desert. Carol eventually goes to the desert to be with Phil and travel in the other direction of Tucson.
After six months to a year, Phil and Carol continue traveling across the United States for a new home. The recently remarried couple eventually get separated by each other at a gas station, but Phil uses a train to send a message to her where they reunite in Tucson and discover the survivors have left the cul-de-sac and torched Phil's former mansion. They discover from a note that the group has moved to Malibu, California, where they travel there to rebuild trust. He gains trust from Todd and tries his best to make amends with Phil (II), before his death and later achieves closure.
Meanwhile, Phil and Carol continue to have children together, but Phil learns he is sterile. When he tries to tell Carol, he discovers his brother, Mike Miller on the beach. After some sibling rivalry and a nice patch up, Carol and Phil decide to have Mike to be their sperm donor. While Carol and Mike have sex with Phil watching, Phil surprisingly says "I love you" to Carol for the first time and it is discovered the next day that Carol is pregnant with Phil's child, as the timing with Mike is too soon. Phil offers Mike to be the godfather of their baby, but Mike's presumed containment of the virus sends the group into worry. Mike moves back to their childhood home, where he parts ways with Phil and gives Mike his sports ball collection.
When the group moves to a self-sustaining office building, Phil makes Carol a small wooden house to raise their child in. Later on, Phil befriends Lewis and kidnaps him to bring him to Lewis' former home to help him seek closure for his presumed deceased husband, Mark. He decides to leave a note for Mark, where Phil decides to travel to Tucson to find closure with Mike. Phil attempts to open Mike's bedroom door, but can not accept the possibility that his brother might not be alive inside and leaves a note on his door instead. Phil and Carol also go on a honeymoon in the woods, where they find a fish, which they named after Gail Klosterman. Phil also convinces Lewis to fly an actual plane, which results in his demise and helps Todd to cure Melissa Chartres' new mental state. Gail and Phil also get into a feud about who will deliver Carol's baby. He tells Carol he does not want to feel helpless and she advises him that he will be there to hold her hand.
Notes/Trivia
- The commentary for "The Elephant in the Room" noted that the original middle name for Phil was going to be "Adam". This was later change to "Tandy", when the idea for a Phil Miller (II) was introduced.
- In fact, Phil has officially gone by his middle name Tandy since the end of the first season and resurfaced in the middle of the second season. This continued far after Phil (II)'s death as well. Fox press releases and videos also credit him as Tandy.
- Phil's name comes from the names of executive producers and directors, Phil Lord & Christopher Miller
- In the episode, "Pitch Black", present-day Phil does not make an appearance. A younger version of Phil, portrayed by Jacob Tremblay, appears in Mike's hallucinations. Phil is also mentioned by Mike.
- Phil notes that he is 43 years old in "Stocko Syndome". But in "30 Years of Science Down the Tubes", the current date is listed as February 11, 2024. Later on, a six month time jump occurs in "The Big Day", making it effectively no earlier than August 2024. With Phil's birth date being listed as June 17, 1980, Phil is at least 44 years old.