Stephen Fry
Born 24 August 1957
From Hampstead, England, United Kingdom · Nationality: Austria, United Kingdom · Writes fiction and nonfiction
Stephen John Fry (born 24 August 1957) is a British actor, writer, journalist, comedian, television presenter and film director. He first came to attention in the 1982 Cambridge Footlights Revue presentation, "The Cellar Tapes", which also included Hugh Laurie, Emma Thompson and Tony Slattery. With Hugh Laurie, as the comedy double act Fry and Laurie, he co-wrote and co-starred in A Bit of Fry and Laurie, and the duo also played the title roles in Jeeves and Wooster.
As a solo actor, Fry played the lead in the film Wilde, was Melchett in the Blackadder television series and is the host of the quiz show, QI. He also presented a 2008 television series Stephen Fry in America, which saw him travelling across all 50 U.S. states in six episodes. Fry has become known to American audiences for his recurring guest role as Dr. Gordon Wyatt on the Fox crime series Bones.
Since the publication of his first novel, The Liar (1993), Fry has written three additional novels, several non-fiction works and an autobiography. Making History (1997) is partly set in an alternative universe where Adolf Hitler's father is made infertile and his replacement proves a rather more effective Führer. The book won the Sidewise Award for Alternate History. The Hippopotamus (1994) centers around Edward (Ted/Tedward) Wallace and his stay at his old friend Lord Logan's country manor in Norfolk. The Stars' Tennis Balls (2000) is a modern retelling of The Count of Monte Cristo.
Quotes
“My first words, as I was being born... I looked up at my mother and said, "that's the last time I'm coming out one of those."”
Moab is My Washpot autobiography, 1997 “My vocal cords are made of tweed. I give off an air of Oxford donnishness and old BBC wirelesses.”
Moab is My Washpot autobiography, 1997 “Wit can be beautiful, because it expresses and distils an idea.”
2010s “… but love, like all art, as Oscar said, it's quite useless. It is the useless things that make life worth living and that make life dangerous too: wine, love, art, beauty. Without them life is safe but not worth bothering with.”
Moab is My Washpot autobiography, 1997 “It is a cliché that most clichés are true, but then like most clichés, that cliché is untrue.”
Moab is My Washpot autobiography, 1997
Quotes from Wikiquote (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Books by Stephen Fry in order
Books by Stephen Fry in the order they were published, from A Bit of Fry and Laurie (1990) to Odyssey (2025).
- 1A Bit of Fry and Laurie
A Bit of Fry and Laurie1990 - 2Amassed Hysteria!
Amassed Hysteria!1991 - 3The Liar
The Liar1991 - 4Paperweight
Paperweight1992 - 5Three Bits of Fry and Laurie
Three Bits of Fry and Laurie1992 - 6The Hippopotamus
The Hippopotamus1994 - 7Fry and Laurie Bit No. 4
Fry and Laurie Bit No. 41995 - 8Party AnimalsParty Animals1998
- 9Cancelled Stephen FryCancelled Stephen Fry1999
- 10Rescuing the Spectacled Bear
Rescuing the Spectacled Bear1999 - 11The Stars' Tennis Balls
The Stars' Tennis Balls2000 - 12Untitled Novel TwoUntitled Novel Two2004
- 13The Ode Less Travelled
The Ode Less Travelled2005 - 14Stephen Fry in America
Stephen Fry in America2008 - 15Fry's English Delight
Fry's English Delight2009 - 16The Fry Chronicles
The Fry Chronicles2010 - 17The History Of The World Through Twitter
The History Of The World Through Twitter2010 - 18How to Have an Almost Perfect Marriage
How to Have an Almost Perfect Marriage2012 - 19More Fool Me
More Fool Me2014 - 20Mythos
Mythos2017 - 21Heroes
Heroes2018 - 22Troy
Troy2020 - 23Fry's Ties
Fry's Ties2021 - 24Odyssey
Odyssey2025