Sir Stephen John Fry (born 24 August 1957) is an English actor, comedian, writer, and broadcaster. He began his career on the sketch comedy series Alfresco (1983–1984) and the sitcom Blackadder (1986–1989), before gaining recognition as part of the comedy… Sir Stephen John Fry (born 24 August 1957) is an English actor, comedian, writer, and broadcaster. He began his career on the sketch comedy series Alfresco (1983–1984) and the sitcom Blackadder (1986–1989), before gaining recognition as part of the comedy duo Fry and Laurie alongside Hugh Laurie, appearing together in A Bit of Fry & Laurie (1989–1995) and Jeeves and Wooster (1990–1993). His later television roles include Kingdom (2007–2009), Bones (2007–2017), and It's a Sin (2021). Fry was the original host of the comedy panel show QI (2003–2016), for which he was nominated for six British Academy Television Awards. In 2006, the British public ranked Fry number 9 in ITV's poll of TV's 50 Greatest Stars.
Fry's film credits include Chariots of Fire (1981), A Fish Called Wanda (1988), Gosford Park (2001), The Life and Death of Peter Sellers (2004), V for Vendetta (2005), Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows (2011), and Love & Friendship (2016). He portrayed the Cheshire Cat in Alice in Wonderland (2010) and its 2016 sequel, and the Master of Lake-town in the film trilogy adaptation of The Hobbit (2013–2014). For playing Oscar Wilde in the film Wilde (1997), Fry was nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor. Between 2001 and 2017, he hosted the British Academy Film Awards 12 times.
Fry is known for his work in theatre. In 1984, he adapted Me and My Girl for the West End, where it ran for eight years and received two Laurence Olivier Awards. After it transferred to Broadway, he received a Tony Award nomination. In 2012, Fry played Malvolio in Twelfth Night at Shakespeare's Globe. The production was then taken to the West End, before transferring to Broadway, where he received a nomination for a Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Play. In 2025 and early 2026, Fry played Lady Bracknell in the National Theatre production of The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde.
Fry has written and presented several documentary series, including the Emmy Award-winning Stephen Fry: The Secret Life of the Manic Depressive (2006) and the travel series Stephen Fry in America (2008). He is also a prolific writer, contributing to newspapers and magazines, and has written four novels and three autobiographies. He has lent his voice to numerous projects, including the audiobooks for all seven of the Harry Potter novels as well as the Paddington Bear books. Since 2011, Fry has served as president of the mental health charity Mind. In 2025, Fry was knighted for services to mental health awareness, the environment, and charity.
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