Stephen Fry

Stephen Fry held a speech on the twitter phenomenon and compared the early critique and doubt regarding twitter to the early days of e-mail. Both would have been initially for nerds only. The aim of twitter would be foremost social and emotional; he calls it human-shaped, not business-shaped.
He also hypothesized that twitter must be very upsetting for journalists because the relationship between celebrities and audience is not dependent on them anymore. He gave examples when his credit or blame (critique of an article, a political decision) was overemphasized. He did not start those topics, he merely participated in the debate. He acknowledges his influence because of his followers but the community would decide what to pick up. You had to experience twitter to understand it.

Stephen Fry was among the celebrities who responded to children at Oakwood Primary School in Leeds, asking for items they would otherwise have thrown away - his was a plastic dinosaur and a Hong Kong two dollar coin. He also contributed a Doodle to the National Doodle Campaign, which auctions off celebrity doodles for charity.

In 2001, Stephen Fry was a guest on Room 101, a BBC comedy show. The basic premise is to name things that are hated, loathed, or despised and put them into Room 101. Stephen went so far as to put Room 101 itself into Room 101 since it only focuses on negative things. He would like to add a Room Lovely.

As a teenager, Stephen wrote to PG Wodehouse, and received an autographed photograph in response.

Stephen abstained from sex for 16 years due to a lack of personal confidence.

Stephen Fry as a host Stephen Fry hosted the 2001 and 2002 British Academy Awards (BAFTAS), which have been their two most successful years. In 2002, he presented the trophy to the winning team on the University Challenge 40th Anniversary special. Stephen had previously been a panelist on the show as a student.

Support for campaigns Stephen Fry has endorsed the campaign to save Bletchley Park, as the UK Government will not extend its museums funding to support it. He has also endorsed the Money Advice Hub's new campaign to become "the most authoritative source of data relating to debt, credit and money advice in the UK", particularly in relation to mental health.

Listings in polls In a BBC Worldwide poll in 2003 to celebrate 40 years of Doctor Who, 130 MPs (Members of Parliament) put Stephen Fry forward as their choice for the next Doctor. In the BBC poll for the Greatest Living Icon, Stephen was ranked 6th. In the Independent on Sunday's annual Pink List - the Top 100 powerful and influential and openly gay - Stephen was No. 2 in 2007, rising from No. 23 in 2006, but dropped again to No. 12 in 2008. In the 2008 Guardian Media 100 (UK Media power list), Stephen was a new entry at 54.

Much of Stephen's mother's family were sent to concentration camps during World War II. They were Jewish.

When he grew up, Stephen Fry's mother was embarrassed by him telling elderly relatives he wanted to be an actor. In consequence, he spent three years pretending to want to be a barrister.

In December 2006, Stephen was banned from driving for 6 months for speeding.

In September 2006, BBC aired Fry's two- part documentary The Secret Life of the Manic Depressive, in which he recounts his own experiences with manic depression (also known as bipolar disorder) and talks with several people, including Carrie Fisher, Richard Dreyfuss, Tony Slattery, and many non-celebrities, about their experiences and how they deal with the disease.

Stephen Fry's favorite joke is: How do you make God laugh? - Tell him your plans. Stephen Fry's two favorite quotations are "We are all of us in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars" (Oscar Wilde) and "If you want to know what God thinks of money, just look at the kind of people he gives it to." (Unknown). If he could invite anyone he wished to a hypothetical dinner party, Fry would invite Oscar Wilde, for his wit and charm, and Queen Elizabeth I, because she was also very witty and an extraordinary woman. If he had a time machine, Fry would travel to London during the Regency era (1811-1820) because the combination of style, language, and energy appeals to him.

Awards: In 2002, Stephen won a SAG Award for Outstanding Performance by the Cast of a Theatrical Motion Picture for the movie Gosford Park. Fry played Inspector Thompson, and the movie itself won the Best Ensemble/Cast awards from the Screen Actors Guild, the International Press Academy Satellite Awards, the Online Film Critics Society, Florida Film Critics Circle, and Broadcast Film Critics Association. Stephen Fry's c FM show The Incomplete and Utter History of cal Mustic with Stephen Fry was nominated for a "Sony Radio Award" in 2003. Fry received the BAFTA TV Award (the British equivalent of the Emmys) nominations for Best Entertainment Performance for his work on the show QI in both 2004 and 2005. Stephen was awarded a Lifetime Achievement Award in the 2007 British Comedy Awards. Stephen Fry's The Secret Life of the Manic Depressive won Best Documentary in the 2007 Emmy Awards. Nominations: Fry was nominated for the Best Actor Golden Globe for his performance as Oscar Wilde, the title role in Wilde (1997). For that performance, he won the Best Actor award at Seattle International Film Festival, and was nominated for awards from the Chlotrudis Society for Independent Film and the International Press Academy Satellite Awards. Bright Young Things (2003), Fry's directorial debut, was nominated for awards from the British Independent Film Awards and the Emden International Film Festival. Fry also produced the movie; wrote the screenplay, adapted from the Evelyn Waugh novel Vile Bodies; and wrote one of the songs for the film. Stephen was nominated in two categories in the 2007 Television BAFTAs - Best Entertainment Performance for QI but lost out to Jonathan Ross, and Best Factual Series for The Secret Life of a Manic Depressive but lost out to Ross Kemp on Gangs.

The title of Fry's autobiography, Moab Is My Washpot, is from the Bible verse Psalms 108:9, "Moab is my washpot; over Edom will I cast out my shoe; over Philistia will I triumph." The verse refers to the victories of King David and the Israelites over those nations, and has the more general meaning of how vanquished difficulties can revive and refresh a person.

Stephen claims the UK record for saying 'f**k' on television most times in one live broadcast.

Stephen narrates the audiobook versions (British releases) of the wildly popular Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling. In May 2008, it was announced that Stephen was to read the audio version of new Paddington Bear books.

Preferences and hobbies: Stephen Fry revealed his secret pleasures in Guilty, a programme shown by the BBC to celebrate his 50th birthday. Those include Countdown, Darts, ABBA, Georgette Heyer and Farley's Rusks. Stephen Fry is also an avid Conan Doyle fan, especially of Sherlock Holmes. He is a member of London's Sherlock Holmes and Oscar Wilde societies. Also, when he appeared on Mastermind his specialist subject was Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes. Stephen Fry is regarded in the UK as "Britain's Favourite Teddy Bear" and is a keen teddy bear collector himself. He also co-founded the Bear Rescue Foundation with Nick Green, a charitable trust to rescue and nurture distressed bears. He admits to be a MAC fanatic, Usenet lurker, and a Internet enthusiast. Stephen Fry is a noted pilot, owns a classic biplane, and is a charter member of the Groucho Club (Soho). He is a major cricket fan. Stephen Fry is regularly seen smoking a pipe.

Stephen is 6' 4½" (1.94 m) tall and has blue eyes and brown hair.