The Film Career of Stephen Fry
The National Treasure of Television and Radio at the Movies
Sep 21, 2009
Fry was first seen on the big screen in 1981, although he was uncredited for his brief appearance as an artist in Chariots of Fire. But success with the Cambridge Footlights productions soon led him into television, along with his writing and performing partner Hugh Laurie, and from there came bit-parts in three further eighties movies.
The first was The Good Father starring Anthony Hopkins in 1985, then came the Oscar nominated drama A Handful of Dust (1988) and in the same year the John Cleese film, A Fish Called Wanda.
Fry Stars in Peter’s Friends
These cameo appearances, along with his burgeoning television reputation, meant that Fry was soon considered a big enough talent to take the lead role in a film. Peter’s Friends (1992) starred Fry as Peter, and the ‘friends’ included Laurie, and another old friend from Cambridge, Emma Thompson, as well as Kenneth Branagh, who also directed. The film, a mixture of revelations and discoveries, crossing genres between drama, romance and comedy, proved to be engaging but insufficiently dramatic, romantic or comedic enough to make either a hit at the box office or a lasting impression on the public.
Fry was next seen in IQ (1994) not to be confused with his popular television series, QI. This was another romantic comedy, starring Tim Robbins and Meg Ryan, with Fry taking the unlikely role of Ryan’s initial lover. This was followed by The Steal, a comedy drama, in 1995, and then two films in which Fry played the part of a Judge, the Terry Jones version of The Wind in the Willows (1996) and the Spice Girls vehicle Spice World (1997)
Stephen Fry Tackles Oscar Wilde and Evelyn Waugh
These small roles were overshadowed however by the most important part in Fry’s career, that of the title character in Wilde (1997) The renowned wit Oscar Wilde was the part Fry was born to play, and the resonance of the story of genius and homosexuality in Victorian London shone through his performance. The film told the story of Wilde’s doomed affair and marriage, his literary achievements and eventual imprisonment. Co-starring Jude Law and Vanessa Redgrave, Wilde falls short of being an iconic biopic, but remains a creditable achievement.
The lack of real success for Wilde and Peter’s Friends meant that Fry was once again reduced to playing small parts, or playing in small films, and a series of forgettable roles followed in the late nineties and into the early Twenty-First century. Fry’s most interesting outing during this time was as Inspector Thompson in Gosford Park in 2001, a multi-layered murder mystery tale set in a 1930's country house. This Oscar winning Robert Altman film featured a who’s-who of British acting talent, including Maggie Smith, Michael Gambon, Charles Dance and many more.
Fry then took a turn on the other side of the camera, writing and directing Bright Young Things in 2003. Fry took a cameo in the film, which was an adaptation of the Evelyn Waugh novel Vile Bodies. Also set in the 1930's, Bright Young Things was a comedy drama of the London literary scene, and despite it’s relatively unknown cast, and novice director, achieved some kind reviews.
Fry Takes a Part in Alice in Wonderland
Another relatively fallow period followed in Fry’s film acting career, but since the middle of the decade his roles have at least been in more famous films, even if not always wisely chosen. 2005 saw him appear in four films adapted from literature. Firstly he voiced ‘The Guide’ in The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, which almost managed to transfer the brilliance of Douglas Adams’ cult novel into a worthy film. A Cock and Bull Story was an adventurous attempt from Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon to translate Lawrence Sterne’s eclectically brilliant book to the screen, but as with The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, it fell just short. V for Vendetta was adapted from a comic book, but failed to equal the likes of Sin City in scope or success; and Stormbreaker the story of boy-spy Alex Rider and based on the popular Anthony Horowitz children’s book noticeably failed to spark calls for a sequel.
Fry’s work has continued to be patchy, and he can hardly be said to have lived up to his reputation or his talent with roles in films such as St Trinian’s in 2007, or Tales of the Riverbank in 2008. There is however some reason to believe the future may be brighter, and Fry fans can look forward to at least four films in the near future. The most exciting of these may be the new version of Alice in Wonderland, due out in 2010, which will once again see maverick director Tim Burton team up with Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham-Carter in what is sure to be a spectacle. Fry, who will play the Cheshire Cat, may once again have something to smile about.
