Stephen Fry
About
Biography
Filmography
Bibliography
Biography
The multi-talented Stephen Fry exuded an easy charm and rapier wit while successfully mining numerous mediums - film, television, theatre, novels and even Twitter. Fry first made a name for himself alongside fellow Cambridge chum Hugh Laurie on popular British comedies like "A Bit of Fry and Laurie" (BBC2/BBC1, 1989-1995), while also co-starring opposite Rowan Atkinson in the "Blackadder" series. Following another hit with Laurie, "Jeeves & Wooster" (BBC, 1990-93), Fry became a frequent presence on films in both his native England and in America, including an acclaimed portrayal of Irish playwright Oscar Wilde in "Wilde" (1997). He next logged an appearance in "A Civil Action" (1998) before delivering a finely tuned comic turn in Robert Altman's "Gosford Park" (2001). After making his directorial debut with the well-received seriocomedy "Bright Young Things" (2003), Fry was the subject of the documentary "Stephen Fry: The Secret Life of the Manic Depressive" (2006), which detailed his lifelong struggle with bipolar disorder, while garnering praise for his hit series "Stephen Fry in America" (BBC1, 2008). By the time he was seen in "Alice in Wonderland" (2010) and "Sherlock Holmes 2" (2011), there was no doubt that the multifaceted Fry had become an audience favorite on both sides of the Atlantic.
Born on Aug. 24, 1957 in Hampsted, London, England, Fry was raised by his father, Alan, a physicist and inventor, and his mother, Marianne, a homemaker. Though a curious child who constantly sought knowledge - he reportedly memorized the Guinness Book of World Records - his education proved troublesome. Over the course of his youth, Fry was expelled from several boarding schools, including Uppingham School in Rutland and Paston School in Norfolk. Having been diagnosed as dyslexic while acknowledging his homosexuality at an early age, Fry's troubled academic life was compounded by clashes with his father at home, leading to a suicide attempt at age 16 and a scrape with the law the following year. When he was 17, Fry ran away from home and supported himself with a credit card stolen from a family friend. Eventually he was caught and jailed for a few months before receiving probation. According to Fry, the experience forced him to get serious about his education. With renewed purpose he buckled down with his studies and earned a scholarship to Cambridge, where he began coming into his own as an actor and writer. As a member of the famed Footlights Theater Group at Cambridge, he debuted as a playwright with "Latin" (1980) while meeting future collaborators Emma Thompson and Hugh Laurie.
After graduation, Fry, Thompson, Laurie and Robbie Coltrane joined the short-lived sketch comedy series "Alfresco" (ITV, 1983-84). Two years later, he garnered acclaim and earned millions for adapting the book of the musical "Me and My Girl," which teamed Robert Lindsay and Emma Thompson in London. When the show transferred to Broadway, only Lindsay was allowed to perform, but it proved to be one of the hits of the 1986-87 season and earned Fry a Tony nomination for his script. Back on the screen, he went on to portray the sniveling Lord Melchett, the bitter enemy of Rowan Atkinson's Lord Blackadder, in "Blackadder II" (BBC, 1986), a role he reprised as General Melchett in the final segments of "Blackadder Goes Forth" (BBC, 1989). Sandwiched between were three seasons of "A Bit of Fry and Laurie" (BBC2/BBC1, 1989-1995), a sketch show featuring complicated wordplay and irreverent humor a la "Monty Python" that Fry co-wrote with co-star Hugh Laurie. The busy performer also managed to squeeze in writing a column for The Daily Telegraph, while him and Laurie launched a second successful comedy, "Jeeves & Wooster" (BBC, 1990-93), adapted from the P.G. Wodehouse stories.
In features, Fry actually began his career as a screenwriter contributing to "Gossip" (1983) before moving in front of the cameras to turn in insightful bits in "The Good Father" (1986) and "A Handful of Dust" (1988). Working with several of his Cambridge colleagues, he was the host of a reunion of college chums in Kenneth Branagh's comedy-drama "Peter's Friends" (1992), while in "I.Q." (1994) Fry was cast as Meg Ryan's conniving psychologist fiancé. Having been told for much of his life that he had more than a passing resemblance to Irish playwright Oscar Wilde, Fry finally had his chance to portray the character in an episode of the short-lived American series, "Ned Blessing: The Story of My Life and Times" (CBS, 1993). Though there was much anticipation when he agreed to co-star in Simon Gray's West End drama "Cell Mates" (1995), the actor caused quite a stir after apparently quitting the production after three days once it opened to poor reviews. Although he was replaced by Simon Ward, the producers found the resulting negative publicity too difficult to overcome and the show shut down 10 weeks ahead of schedule. Fry's disappearance sparked headlines, with some fearing the actor was dead. Fry was found in Europe, copped to suffering a nervous breakdown as a result of bipolar disorder and underwent psychiatric counseling. He also agreed to pay an undisclosed amount to the producers in an out-of-court settlement.
Following "Cold Comfort Farm" (1995), in which he played an odd-ball pursuing Kate Beckinsale, Fry was back on the mend as the Judge in Terry Jones' adaptation of "The Wind in the Willows" (1996). Meanwhile, he reprised what many touted as the role he was born to play for the big screen take on "Wilde" (1997), which allowed the actor to deliver an award-worthy impersonation of the Irish playwright, only to be done in by a slow-moving script that attempted to stuff too many details into a two-hour movie. After playing a witty barrister in the otherwise stuffy British historical drama, "The Tichborne Claimant" (1998), Fry returned to supporting turns in American studio films as an expert witness called by lawyer John Travolta in "A Civil Action" (1998). Fry followed up with a supporting turn in "Whatever Happened to Harold Smith?" (1999) before playing the Duke of Wellington in the lavish, internationally cast comedy "Sabotage!" (2000). He had one of his best performances in years as a police inspector called to a countryside manor to investigate a murder in Robert Altman's upstairs-downstairs satire, "Gosford Park" (2001).
After appearing in the flatulence-laced children's comedy "Thunderpants" (2002), Fry made his directorial debut with "Bright Young Things" (2003), a sophisticated seriocomedy set in the 1930s that follows the romantic entanglements of a group of young talented aristocratic bohemians. He next had a supporting role as British clairvoyant and astrologer Maurice Woodruff in the acclaimed television biopic "The Life and Death of Peter Sellers" (HBO, 2004), starring Geoffrey Rush as the troubled, but brilliantly funny Sellers. Fry then narrated the disappointing adaptation of Douglas Adams' cult sci-fi comedy, "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" (2005), before showing up on an episode of "Extras" (BBC2/HBO, 2005-07) to take a few potshots at Andy Millman (Ricky Gervais), and landing a supporting role as homosexual game show host in the futuristic dystopian thriller, "V is for Vendetta" (2006), starring Natalie Portman and Hugo Weaving. Fry was next the subject of the Emmy Award-winning documentary, "Stephen Fry: The Secret Life of the Manic Depressive" (2006), which explored his struggle - and the struggles of other celebrities - with bipolar disorder.
Turning to more dramatic fare, Fry co-starred in the disturbing courtroom drama, "Eichmann" (2007), which chronicled the trial and execution of Adolf Eichmann (Thomas Kretschmann), one of the architects of Adolf Hitler's "Final Solution." Back on television, Fry served as host of "Stephen Fry in America" (BBC One, 2008), where he explored the country he was almost born in, traveling through all 50 states in a London cab. Featuring run-ins with celebrities like Morgan Freeman and billionaire Ted Turner, Fry's six-part documentary series proved to be a huge ratings earner for the BBC. Returning to the big screen, Fry voiced the Cheshire Cat in Tim Burton's "Alice in Wonderland" (2010), before taking a stab at stand-up comedy with a performance at The Royal Albert Hall in September 2010. Having already been an established published author with works novels like The Liar (1991), The Hippopotamus (1994) and Making History (1998), as well as a memoir Moab is My Washpot (1997), Fry became a powerful wielder of social media with his well-followed Twitter account, where he generated a huge amount of traffic with his pithy observations. By the end of 2010, Fry began rivaling Ashton Kutcher with over two million followers. Fry was next cast as the incredibly gifted, but unambitious Mycroft Holmes in the sequel "Sherlock Holmes 2" (2011), starring Robert Downey, Jr. as the famed detective and Jude Law as Dr. Watson.
Filmography
Director (Feature Film)
Cast (Feature Film)
Writer (Feature Film)
Producer (Feature Film)
Music (Feature Film)
Film Production - Construction/Set (Feature Film)
Special Thanks (Feature Film)
Misc. Crew (Feature Film)
Cast (Special)
Writer (Special)
Special Thanks (Special)
Cast (TV Mini-Series)
Life Events
1980
Penned his first play "Latin" while at Cambridge
1981
First appeared on TV with the Cambridge Footlights Revue in "The Cellar Tapes"; also joined by Hugh Laurie and Emma Thompson
1983
Feature writing debut, "Gossip"
1983
Appeared on two seasons of the British comedy series "Alfresco"; again teamed with Hugh Laurie and Emma Thompson
1984
Acted in the stage production of "Forty Years On"
1984
Adapted the successful musical "Me and My Girl," starring Emma Thompson; production later transferred to Broadway without Thompson; earned a Tony nomination for Best Book of a Musical
1986
Played Lord Melchett in "Blackadder II" for the BBC
1986
Made his feature acting debut in "The Good Father"
1986
With Hugh Laurie, performed sketches on the comedy show "Saturday Live"
1986
Co-wrote and co-starred (with Hugh Laurie) the sketch comedy show "A Bit of Fry and Laurie"
1988
Originated the role of philosopher Humphry in the London production of Simon Gray's "The Common Pursuit"
1988
Was a regular contestant on the improvisational comedy radio show "Whose Line Is It Anyway?"; only appeared a few times when the show was moved to television
1989
Reprised role of Melchett in "Blackadder Goes Forth" (BBC)
1990
Starred as Jeeves (alongside Hugh Laurie's Bertie Wooster) in the PBS/BBC presentation of P.G. Wodehouse's "Jeeves and Wooster"
1991
Published first novel, <i>The Liar</i>
1992
Played the title character in Kenneth Branagh's "Peter's Friends"
1992
Reprised the role of Humphry in the BBC/PBS version of Simon Gray's "The Common Pursuit"
1993
Portrayed Irish writer and poet Oscar Wilde in an episode of the CBS series, "Ned Blessing: The Story of My Life and Times"
1994
Cast as James Moreland in the romantic comedy "I.Q."
1995
While appearing in Simon Gray's West End play, "Cell Mates," he suffered nervous breakdown and retreated from public view for several days
1997
Released his second novel <i>Making History</i>
1997
Returned to features in the title role of "Wilde"
2000
Began starring as Charles Prentiss in the Radio 4 comedy "Absolute Power"
2000
Played the role of Professor Bellgrove in BBC's "Gormenghast," a four-episode television serial based on the Gormenghast series by Mervyn Peake
2000
Published his memoirs <i>Moab Is My Washpot: An Autobiography</i>
2001
Played the detective in Robert Altman's period drama "Gosford Park"
2003
Made directorial debut with "Bright Young Things"; also adapted the script from Evelyn Waugh's <i>Vile Bodies</i>
2003
Hosted the British television quiz show "QI"
2004
Appeared in HBO's "The Life and Death of Peter Sellers," starring Geoffrey Rush in the title role
2005
Appeared in the British comedy "A Cock and Bull Story"
2005
Served as the narrator for the film version of "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy"
2006
Played the role of gadget-master Smithers in "Stormbreaker"
2006
Featured in the two-part television documentary "Stephen Fry: The Secret Life of the Manic Depressive"
2006
Co-starred in the Wachowski brothers' "V for Vendetta" with Natalie Portman and Hugo Weaving
2007
Cast in a recurring guest role as psychiatrist Dr. Gordon Wyatt on the Fox drama "Bones"
2007
Starred in and executive produced the British legal drama "Kingdom"
2008
Hosted the six-part travel series "Stephen Fry in America" on the BBC
2008
Hosted the three-part series on BBC Radio 4 "Fry's English Delight"
2009
Released the 12-part series "The Dongle of Donald Trefusis"; Fry wrote and read the material (a mixture of podcast, audio book and radio monologue)
2010
Played the Cheshire Cat in Tim Burton's "Alice in Wonderland"
2011
Cast as the title character's brother opposite Robert Downey, Jr. and Jude Law in Guy Ritchie's "Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows"
2013
Was a supporting character in the comedy "The Look of Love"
2014
Played Prime Minister Alastair Davies on the Fox reboot "24: Live Another Day"
2015
Voiced the role of Colonel K on the animated series "Danger Mouse"
2016
Voiced a role in the animated film "Duck Duck Goose"
2016
Was a supporting character in the comedy "The Brits Are Coming"
2016
Voiced the Cheshire Cat in "Alice Through the Looking Glass"
2016
Cast as Roland on "The Great Indoors"
2017
Voiced Uncle Duke on "The Mr. Peabody & Sherman Show"
2018
Appeared as Chris in "Tomorrow"
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