Big Think Interview With Stephen Fry | Big Think

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Big Think Interview With Stephen Fry
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A conversation with the British comedian, author, actor and filmmaker.
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STEPHEN FRY:

Comedian, actor and writer Stephen Fry was born in 1957 in London and brought up in Norfolk. He attended Queen’s College Cambridge from 1979, joining the Cambridge Footlights Dramatic Club where he met Hugh Laurie, with whom he forged a highly successful writing partnership. His first play, Latin! or Tobacco and Boys, written for Footlights, won a Fringe First at Edinburgh Festival in 1980. He wrote again for theatre in 1984 when he rewrote Noel Gay’s musical Me and My Girl (1990). This was nominated for a Tony Award in 1987.

He has written for television and screen, and as a newspaper columnist – for the Literary Review, Daily Telegraph and The Listener. Stephen Fry's four novels are The Liar (1991), The Hippopotamus (1994), Making History (1996) and The Stars' Tennis Balls (2000). He has also published a collection of work entitled Paperweight (1992); Moab is My Washpot (1997) - an autobiography; and Rescuing the Spectacled Bear: A Peruvian Journey (2002) – his diary of the making of a documentary on the plight of the spectacled bears of Peru.

His book, Stephen Fry's Incomplete History of Classical Music (2004), written with Tim Lihoreau, is based on his award-winning series on Classic FM and is an irreverent romp through the history of classical music. The Ode Less Travelled - a book about poetry - was published in 2005. His latest book is Stephen Fry in America (Harper Collins 2008).
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TRANSCRIPT:

Question: Who are your main influences?

Stephen Fry: Probably in terms of writing and linguistic awareness there were a combination, firstly of W’s, P.G. Woodhouse, Oscar Wilde and Evelyn Waugh, the British novelist. That’s a male Evelyn by the way. And I would add to that Arthur Chonan Doyle, the author of Sherlock Holmes. When I was between the ages of about seven and twelve I was obsessed with Sherlock Holmes and I would read and reread and re, re, reread all those, so the rhythms and tones of the English language as exemplified by that kind of grand perfect Victorian manner and then Dickens, but it was really Oscar Wilde who awoke language in my head in a way like nobody else and I think also discovering the kind of man Oscar Wilde was, was an enormous influence as well. The fact that you could be such a towering intellect, such a lord of language and be charming and graceful, kind, good natured, but also unhappy and unlucky was a great discovery for an adolescent because one of the traps of adolescence is the sort of paranoid resentment that somehow you’re never going to match up and that everybody else’s life is going to be better and finer and fuller. That everyone else attended some secret lesson in which how to live was taught and you had a dental appointment that day or you were somehow not invited and the point of great writers like Wilde is that they make that invitation to you. They welcome it. Perhaps the greatest definition I think of character and quality is people who when they’re truly great rather than making you feel that tall they make you feel that tall, that they’re greatness as it were improves you. They used to say of Oscar Wilde that when you got done from a dinner table you felt funnier and wittier and cleverer. Now a lot of Brilliant people make you feel less funny, less clever, less witty because they’re so clever, witty and funny, but he had the opposite effect. A bit like what Shakespeare said about Falstaff, not just a wit, but a cause of wit in others.

Question: What philosophers influenced you?

Stephen Fry: Philosophy is an odd thing. When we use the word in everyday speech you know you sometimes hear it hilariously. They say, “Oh, it’s never good to be late.” “That’s my philosophy.” You think that’s a generous description of that rather dull precept to call it a philosophy, but it’s odd how philosophers generally speaking, at least the ones I’ve read or the ones I you know value, don’t have in that sense a philosophy. There is no particular Socratic or Dimechian or Kantian way to live your life. They don’t offer...

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What a wonderful man... It is so true: "Great people lift you up, not put you down."  I have to say I don't understand the 62 people who disliked this.  Thank you for your wisdom, kindness and laughter Mr. Fry.  He is as wonderful to me as Mark Twain and Oscar Wilde ever were.

cloudincloudout
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one of the very few people that you can listen to for an hour and still want more from his very inspiring mind

kiely
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In my humble opinion, Stephan Fry has one of the best minds alive today. He is witty, in touch with his own feelings and so eloquent. I always gain by hearing some of his personal experience. Thank you Stephen.

johnferguson
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Having watched this video in its entirety, I think there's probably no greater compliment I can give Stephen Fry than to say, as he says of Wilde, that he makes me feel tall and funny and intelligent and witty. I feel such genuine joy when he's talking about even the most mundane things, that I am inspired to go and read something wonderful or learn about something interesting.

OoOoOlornaOoOoO
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What a wonderful attitude to life. I would concur with all of his views. I would love to meet this guy for a coffee what a wonderful conversation there would be. I wish more people had this view on life. would it not be a wonderful world. And as he says let us not waste time now because this is our only life.

PhilipMcAdam
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What he said about first loves was so profound, and a very good thing to think on while you're going through it.
I think his way of thinking is very clear and calm. So many people are so quick to react with anger or hate instead of holding off on judgement for a second and taking time to observe and learn about things....listening to this was so refreshing.

Azure
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Such a treat to hear his thoughts, lucid and simple and yet so ! Thank you Big Think....

sooneatyOrchids
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Was in a dark part of YouTube. Stephen Fry restored my faith in humanity.

jordangreen
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I always make a point of watching all Stephen's documentaries and shows. He's articulate in a way that few people are these days, and seems perfectly at ease on safari, hosting a QI episode, talking about the history of printing, linguistics, the composer, Wagner. Then we have the books, the plays, the movies... Is there anything this amazing man hasn't done successfully?

alanlawrence
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I'm 29 and I find Stephen Fry to be incredibly charming, witty, intelligent and attractive on every level. I can't get enough of his thoughts. I respect him for being open and honest with who he is. He's my Oscar Wilde! :D

veganbuildinfidel
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"Would you be in any way offended if I say that you seem to me to be in every way the visual personification of absolute perfection?"

Hjelmsveis
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<3 I hope he knows how much he's loved and appreciated and that it helps in those darker times. I guess this is as close as I'll ever get to the feel of hanging out with him and I enjoyed it very much.

ukanthandlethetruthh
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As an author, to discover that what influenced Stephen Fry also influenced you is a great thing indeed. And then to be influenced by him in turn. What a marvelous man.

jethrowegener
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'Love educates your soul' - just beautiful.
'Mood is the equivalent of weather' - fabulous statement.

...And the whole interview is just brilliant - Fry his usual witty, eloquent and wonderful self. I feel like this video really made me think about some fundamentally important things.
Thanks for posting!

MiceHellHillPips
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Stephen Fry truly lives up to the idea of great people make you feel like a better person too. His work always makes me feel like I've come out of it a better person for having read/watched his works.

lanestovall
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"A suppurating, boiling sea of acid where if you just so much as dip a toe you've lost your limbs"... That may be the best description of Internet comment sections that I've ever heard.

DodderingOldMan
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He is one of the very few people of our modern age I deeply admire. Thank you Stephen Fry for being you.

sarahwolfmayr
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When I first turned this on, I thought to myself: "Wow, an hour of Stephen Fry. This should be fascinating." After the hour finished, I found myself thinking: "Such a short interview. I wish it could have gone on longer...."

darkridr
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With his use of language, Sephen Fry provides us aesthetic and phonetic pleasure. He’s so lovely to listen to.

persephone
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Beautifull, eloquent and brilliant mind...

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