Sophie Wilson//What Is Good?: Opinions: Stephen Fry is Britain's most loved popular figure.

Stephen Fry- a comic, a writer, a presenter, and a human (believe it or not). Stephen Fry is far beyond the status of a household name- more, a religious icon...a figure

So, here is the complication of my reasons and opinions as to why I think STEPHEN FRY IS BRITAIN'S MOST LOVED POPULAR FIGURE.

20 REASONS WHY I THINK STEPHEN FRY IS BRITAIN'S MOST LOVED POPULAR FIGURE

1. If Stephen Fry was your friend, you would never fail a maths exam ever again.

2. Little from intimidating, Fry uses his great knowledge to inspire and encourage the learning of others- and never comes across as cocky or thinking better of himself than anyone else. A truly humble gent.

3. IS THERE NOTHING HE CAN'T DO? A seriously talented man, he writes, acts, presents, is a director of a football club...seriously...

4. Stephen Fry is a wonderful advocate for atheism- a "religious belief" that is so rarely discussed in the popular media- he takes courage in discussing his own views without letting others cloud his personal decisions.

5. The human vulnerability he possesses is one of the traits which people love most about him- his honesty about his life and how he copes with obstacles.

6. Fry is undoubtedly one of the most popular homosexual figures in the UK- speaking out about his teenage and young adult period of sexuality, and his difficulties with sharing his lifestyle have undoubtedly inspired hundreds throughout the country.

7. He may be the current owner of Bernard's watch- if Twitter is anything to go by, Stephen never sleeps- constantly working, learning and being Godly 24/7.

8. A good-hearted and generous man, Fry has been a guest speaker and supporter of numerous charities, many of which he plays a vital role within.

9. Who else could present QI? Really? The show was made for him, despite originally only appearing in a guest position, the role of the presenter was quickly offered and (thankfully!) recieved.

10. A true patriot- Fry's automobile of choice is a London black cab.

11. Fry has openly discussed his manic depression and bi-polar disorder- creating a more human, and less medical and analitical view of the illnesses- making them far less scary, and giving sufferers a sense of inspiration and hope.

12. Despite having homes in both London and Hollywood, Fry is a true homebody, also owning a house in his Norfolk home, and being a primary director in the Norwich football club.

13. As well as being a very polite, and often reserved character, Fry can also be very frank and honest- as shown through some of his past interviews- a trait which, personally, I really appreciate in people.

14. He currently has 2,803,404 followers on Twitter- I have 15.

15. If it weren't for Stephen Fry, there would (probably) be no Hugh Laurie. With no Hugh Laurie, there would be little reason for living (Okay, I exaggerate...but not by much).

16. He's like a walking book of quotes. With great wisdom comes great quotability.

17. He was featured on 'The Culture Show''s' Top Ten Living Icons Award- not too shabby Stephen, not too shabby.

18. He can seemingly turn his hand to anything- "Oh, you want me to present a TV show about bears? Sure, why not!" What a legend.

19. He was by no means an angel at school- getting expelled several times, yet with great intellect and persistence was accepted to a great University, and with a hunger to learn, of course, as we know, went on to achieve great things.

20. He narrates the Harry Potter audio books. Mr Fry, I salute you.

20 FACTS ABOUT STEPHEN FRY

1. Stephen John Fry (born 24 August 1957) is an English actor, screenwriter, author, playwright, journalist, poet, comedian, television presenter and film director, and a director of Norwich City Football Club.

2. With Hugh Laurie, as the comedy double act Fry and Laurie, he co-wrote and co-starred in A Bit of Fry & Laurie, and the duo also played the title roles in Jeeves and Wooster.

3. As a solo actor, Fry played the lead in the film Wilde which depicted the life of writer Oscar Wilde.

4. He also presented a 2008 television series Stephen Fry in America, which saw him travelling across all 50 U.S. states in six episodes

5. Fry has a recurring guest role as Dr. Gordon Wyatt on the Fox crime series Bones.

6. Apart from his work in television, Fry has contributed columns and articles for newspapers and magazines, and has written four novels and two volumes of autobiography, Moab Is My Washpot and The Fry Chronicles.

7. Fry is also known in the UK for his audiobook recordings, including as reader for all seven Harry Potter novels.

8. At 17, after leaving Norfolk College of Arts and Technology, Fry absconded with a credit card stolen from a family friend, was arrested in Swindon, and as a result spent three months in Pucklechurch Prison on remand.

9. Following his release he resumed education at City College Norwich, promising administrators that he would study rigorously to sit the Cambridge entrance exams. He passed well enough to gain a scholarship to Queens' College, Cambridge.

10. At Cambridge, Fry joined the Cambridge Footlights, appeared on University Challenge, and gained a degree in English literature.

11. It was at the Footlights that Fry met his future comedy collaborator Hugh Laurie.

12. In 2003, Fry began hosting the TV game show QI (Quite Interesting), a British comedy panel game television quiz show. QI was created and co-produced by John Lloyd, and features permanent panellist Alan Davies.

13. From 2007 to 2009, Fry appeared in and was executive producer for the legal drama Kingdom, which ran for three series on ITV1.

14. He also lends his voice to the introduction and stings for Phill Jupitus' fortnightly podcast, The Perfect Ten.

15. Fry's distinctive voice has been featured in a number of video games, including an appearance as Reaver, a main character in Lionhead Studios games Fable II and Fable III, and as the narrator in LittleBigPlanet and its sequel on PlayStation 3 and PSP.

16. In November 2010 Fry achieved 2,000,000 followers on Twitter. He welcomed his 2 millionth follower, mobijack, with a blog entry describing Fry's view of the pros and cons of this form of communication.

17. In December 2006 he was ranked sixth for the BBC's Top Living Icon Award, was featured on The Culture Show, and was voted most intelligent man on television by readers of Radio Times.

18. The Independent on Sunday Pink List named Fry the second most influential gay person in Britain in 2006.

19. In February 2011, Fry was awarded the Outstanding Lifetime Achievement Award in Cultural by the Humanist Chaplaincy at Harvard University, the Harvard Secular Society and the American Humanist Association.

20. Fry is a friend of British comedian and actor (and Blackadder co-star) Rowan Atkinson and was best man at Atkinson's wedding to Sunetra Sastry at the Russian Tea Room in New York City.

20 WORDS ASSOCIATED WITH STEPHEN FRY

1. Q.I

2. Intelligence

3. Humour

4. Comedy

5. Hugh Laurie

6. Blackadder

7. University Challenge

8. Twitter

9. Cambridge

10. Smart

11. America

12. Literature

13. Presenting

14. Homosexuality

15. Alan Davies

16. Popular

17. Witty

18. Knowledgeable

19. Clever

20. Treasured

20 OPINIONS OF STEPHEN FRY

(In response to the previously posted question 'What do you think of Stephen Fry?' via http://www.stephenfry.com/forum/topic/what-do-you-think-of-stephen-fry)

1. * Face his own demons - addictions, bipolar, obesity, dis-satisfaction with his physical self - and sharing them openly with the public
* Writing to his 14 y/o self
* Wild uses of language in sexual terms
* A mysterious atmosphere surounding his sexuality
* Eloquence in debate
* Intelligent yet unsophisticated
* What he loves he enjoys them passionately, even if it may not have tremendous public appeal, ie. Wagner
* Self-deprecated yet no false humility
* Vulnerabilty
* Gorgeousness
* Wittiness
* Self-destructive yet not self-centred

2. Stephen Fry seems a jolly nice fellow, loved by all.

3. Stephen Fry for Pope.
I'd like that picture for wallpaper on my iMac.

4. Well I can't speak for society but I've always seen him as brilliant.
In Blackadder, hilarious.
In Fry and Laurie, original and funny.
On Qi I see him as a poor guy that's been given the thankless task of trying to herd cats. But still hilariously intelligent.
The few times I've seen him in interviews, where he has bared his soul, I feel he's a man that would benefit from a hug but is unable to ask, because he doesn't want to be a bother.
Shy Genius.
Hope that helps.

5. He wakes me up every day.

6. I think Stephen Fry would be someone I could have a conversation with. I'm generally very shy around people, but I believe he has a certain quality that would allow me to actually look him in the eye. However, some of his usage of the English language makes me think of an H.P. Lovecraft story, so it would be difficult to understand him at times.

7. I, like apple think I could be able to talk to him without feeling embarressed or to shy, I'm extremly shy and would never look anyone in the face but he seems very truthful and down to earth.
To me he can be an inspiration, as he is still making a life for himself even while fightening himself, (which in my experiances, is extremly hard, scary and tiring. yet he still does it)
I love him in blackadder and now in QI and hope to gain stentgh in how he continues on.

8. After listening to the Fry Chronicles, my impression is that he is a normal, yet extraordinary man. Real, not a media perception. And quite frankly, nice!

9. Stephen Fry is the kind of person that I want to learn about the world from. For two reasons.
One...he has a face that appears smug even when he is far from feeling like that.
Two...he has discovered knowledge through a desire to learn and I think that he would thusly make a good teacher for me. Having both the desire to learn, but also he has this voice can that makes my mind melt into a willingness to absorb the brilliance.

10. I think Stephen Fry works very hard and gets billions of tweets on twitter asking him to do an awful lot. I have bypolar/Aspergers/Crohn's disease which is a lot but I'm not called upon to solve everyone's problems. I think sometimes it would be nice if everyone like today 13th March 2011 just sent nice messages via twitter i.e hope u ok xx, not can you do this/that/the other. Sometimes a person needs space for whatever reason. I like MrsStephenFry tweets and I respect Stephen Fry a great deal but please everyone do not put upon too much, he's only human not superman.

(In response to the previously posted question 'Do you like Stephen Fry?' by 363, via Yahoo Answers)

11. No not really. He use to be funny but he got a bit carried away with how clever he thinks he is, that doesn't do it for me.

He also acts like an old man, he's only 2 years older then Hugh Laurie (who acts like a young man) and he's 5 years younger than my husband, who is definitely not an old man and doesn't act like one- Metal Nettle, via Yahoo Answers.

12. I trully rooly do. He is so funny. I watch Q.I. every week and his nature shows are beautiful. I also like his friends Hugh Laurie and Alan Davis- Sorcereres Mistress, via Yahoo Answers.

13. Yes- Michelle F, via Yahoo Answers.

(In response to the previously posted question 'What do you think of Stephen Fry?' by Jim, via Yahoo Answers)

14. I think he is intelligent, well-spoken, and incredibly witty. I think he is a wonderful person and a phenomenal celebrity advocate for both atheism and gay rights.

And I think he was absolutely hilarious on Whose Line Is It Anyway- Phillip A, via Yahoo Answers.

15. He is great in all ways. But douglas adams was a more brilliant and more famous and more outspoken atheist- boo, via Yahoo Answers.

16. Funny guy, loved him in Blackadder- Salvador, via Yahoo Answers.

17. Stephen Fry... wtf is that?- Dylan, via Yahoo Answers.

18. I'd go gay for him. He's super smexy- Christophe, via Yahoo Answers.

19. Why do them things have to be mutually exclusive? The man is a genius- Je$us, via Yahoo Answers.

20. Well I would tell you if I only knew who he was- kami, via Yahoo Answers.

20 IMAGES OF STEPHEN FRY