Asked to leave three of the boarding schools he attended; once for running away to the cinema in London

Attempted suicide at age 16 (date approximate)

Ran away from home at age 17; lived on stolen credit cards; arrested for fraud and remanded to prison for three months; eventually received probation

Briefly worked at a prep school before enrolling at Cambridge

Wrote his first play, "Latin", while at Cambridge

Was a member of the Footlights, a theater group at Cambridge

Performed in two seasons of the English comedy series "Alfresco"; series also featured Hugh Laurie

Feature writing debut (with Michael and Stephen Tolkin), "Gossip"

Acted in the stage production "Forty Years On"

Adapted the book for the musical, "Me and My Girl", starring Emma Thompson and Robert Lindsay; production later transferred to Broadway without Thompson; earned over a $1 million for his efforts; shared 1987 Tony nomination for Best Book of a Musical

Played Lord Melchett in "Blackadder II" (BBC)

Feature acting debut in "The Good Father"

Regular performer on the English comedy/variety series, "Saturday Live"; also in the cast was Hugh Laurie

Contributed a regular weekly column to THE DAILY TELEGRAPH

Co-wrote and co-starred in the English comedy series, "A Bit of Fry and Laurie" with Hugh Laurie

Originated the role of the philosopher Humphry in the London production of Simon Gray's "The Common Pursuit"

Reprised role of Melchett in "Blackadder Goes Forth" (BBC)

Co-starred in the PBS/BBC presentation of P G Wodehouse's "Jeeves & Wooster" series; again teamed with Laurie

Published first novel, "The Liar"

Co-starred in the role of Humphry in the BBC/PBS version of Simon Gray's "The Common Pursuit"

Starred as the title character in Kenneth Branagh's "Peter's Friends"

Cast as Oscar Wilde in an episode of the CBS series "Ned Blessing: The Story of My Life and Times"

While appearing in Gray's "Cell Mates" in the West End, suffered nervous breakdown and retreated from public view for several days; eventually returned to London

Published his memoirs, "Moab Is My Washpot", in the UK

Returned to features in the title role of "Wilde"

Appeared as a bumbling police inspector in "Gosford Park"

Made directorial debut with "Bright Young Things" an adaptation of Evelyn Waugh's novel "Vile Bodies"; also wrote and starred in the feature

Cast in the HBO movie "The Life and Death of Peter Sellers" starring Geoffrey Rush

Starred in the Wachowski brothers' "V for Vendetta" based on the acclaimed graphic novel by author Alan Moore