Although his comic persona is often smug, occasionally overbearing and sometimes even mannered, the multi-talented Stephen Fry is quite unlike that in real life. Tall and husky, with large, expressive eyes, a broken nose , strong jaw and a sonorous yet mellow voice, the actor exudes an easy charm and rapier wit. It is not hard to understand how this man has been able to carve careers as both an actor of repute and a respected author.

Born in Hampsted, the middle child of a physicist father and housewife mother, Fry was a curious child, who was constantly seeking knowledge to the point of