In the Beginning

Modern movies demand their characters have an "arc". A broad sweep of development that takes them in and out of scrapes, creates tension and builds a climax. Truth, it’s often said, is stranger than fiction and nowhere is this more true than in the life of Stephen Fry. When the time comes, his life story will be a very hard film to make.
spacer

Beneath the puckish and jovial exterior there lies a miasma of contradictions. Stephen Fry strives for bold authenticity and truth, but is known for his modest self-effacement and insecurities. Life in that most British of institutions - the Boys Boarding School – has an uncanny knack of turning out highly achieving but emotionally stunted individuals. Only a few avoid its spell, these are the unusual ones and Mr. Fry is one of them.

Fry In Absentia

But that’s not to say he’s escaped unscathed. As a teenager young Fry once considered the church. But his marathon 16 year spell of sexual abstinence that lasted until the mid 90s was entirely secular - the result of a lack of personal confidence. That’s all changed now. No longer does career come first as a proxy for emotional satisfaction. 21st Century Fry is a man matured.

The Long Road Home

Emotionally rehabilitated, Stephen Fry is once again in the public eye. With age, comes the ability to indulge ones passions. His travels to Peru in search of the spectacled bear have brought his passion for conservation to the small screen and bookshop. The eager performer of the 80s and 90s is settling into his new role behind the camera for Bright Young Things. Indeed, the man The Guardian newspaper once mooted as a "Treasure of the British Empire" has discovered that riches are a truly personal commodity.

Ups

Stephen Fry is bashful. Recounting achievements pains him. In a world where we’re used to knowing more about our television personalities than our neighbours any glimpse into the lives of the glitterati can prove irresistible. But what pleases Stephen Fry most is not on public display. It’s his inner work ethic.

Ask him to list his successes and you don’t get a verbal biography. Getting into Cambridge University after a stint in prison comes high up. This marked the first time the young Stephen Fry ever really worked hard at something, using his intellect for development rather than destruction. Winning the Perrier Prize at the Edinburgh fringe was another golden moment.

Downs

But with the pleasure comes the pain. Stephen Fry’s first experience behind bars may have been the making of him, but his second – Simon Gray’s play "Cell Mates" - was very nearly his undoing. Walking out of the play at the beginning of its West End run Fry vanished. Contemplating suicide, he disappeared off to Belgium. The experience still haunts him, but the depression has now faded to embarrassment and the anger to forgiveness. Stephen Fry is now a man content.

Show full bio

Hide full bio