⚡️We Surprise Will With Stephen Fry - EXTENDED INTERVIEW

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Nervous. I'm very nervous.

Speaker 2 (00:02):
You know.

Speaker 1 (00:02):
This is my number one.

Speaker 3 (00:03):
This is we've all got like a top shelf interview
that we want to do in media.

Speaker 1 (00:07):
This is definitely mine. Now he can't hear us. He's
over zoom.

Speaker 3 (00:10):
It is Stephen Frye. Look if you don't know who
that is, that's your problem and you've missed out. I
think he's the greatest person alive. We're connecting with him.
I think now we can't see him.

Speaker 1 (00:21):
You might be able to hear us.

Speaker 2 (00:25):
I'm so sorry. Sorry. It's Will and Woody, isn't it is?

Speaker 1 (00:29):
Yes, Yes, very good to talk it is.

Speaker 3 (00:33):
It's great to talk to you. Thanks for thanks so
much for coming on the show. It's an enormous that's
very kind of you. I Steve, and I just wanted
to start start off the interview by saying, because I've
really wanted to say this to you for a very
long time. You were very much my inspiration for getting into.

Speaker 1 (00:56):
Performance and entertain terrible responsibility. Yes, I'm so sorry. Sorry,
I know you don't want to hear that responsibility.

Speaker 3 (01:06):
That's because I was a very nerdy boy, and I
you know you were. I just grew in confidence knowing
that you were also a massive nerd, but you were
also doing fun things like you know, the work with
the Cambridge foot lights and a bit of Fryan Lourie
and all that sort of stuff. And then I just
was just like, oh, I can still be a nerd
and still have fun.

Speaker 1 (01:28):
And then you on.

Speaker 3 (01:30):
Top of that, I was really struggling with depression, and
you brought out the secret life and make depressive that
the doctor, and that was for me just hugely enabling
because I was like, oh, it's probably good that I'm
just honest about this and I can carry on.

Speaker 2 (01:45):
So thank you, well, thank you. That's very very touching.
It's a delightful thing here, it really is. I mean,
you know, one never sets out in life to do
any good. You set up to do your best, but
necessarily good. But it's very very hard things like that.
I shall have to I shall have to pack that

(02:07):
memory away into a into.

Speaker 4 (02:09):
A perfect what haven't he's not he's talking, he's.

Speaker 1 (02:23):
Impac he's saying all the things I want to hear.

Speaker 4 (02:27):
No feeling he received it well, Oh no, I feel
like he received it well.

Speaker 2 (02:34):
I mean I couldn't hear all that oh my gosh,
I mean, come on, for heaven's sake, after saying that
I had to fly over as fast as I could.

Speaker 4 (02:46):
Guys, I should probably tell you Stephen Fryan is actually
in the studio now.

Speaker 1 (02:49):
He've been in the station the entire time. Huge titch
up on will.

Speaker 2 (02:53):
It was a quick flight, but it was worth it.
Hello to see you.

Speaker 4 (02:57):
To.

Speaker 1 (03:00):
Thank you so much.

Speaker 2 (03:04):
Thank you.

Speaker 1 (03:06):
Oh, I will never forget that.

Speaker 2 (03:11):
Well. Always a pleasure at your service at any time,
day or night.

Speaker 1 (03:18):
So nice to meet you, to meet you too, Oh
my god.

Speaker 3 (03:21):
Well then everyone, I hate each of you and equivocally,
oh my god.

Speaker 1 (03:30):
Oh wow, that was a lot.

Speaker 2 (03:32):
Thank you so much, not at all.

Speaker 1 (03:34):
Okay, all right, well I think we're done here.

Speaker 3 (03:37):
Yeah, oh my god.

Speaker 1 (03:43):
Well what are you doing here?

Speaker 2 (03:47):
Well, you know, I thought i'd come say hello to
you because it's something anniversary of your career in show business,
for which I am personally. While there, I better pay
for the flight by doing some shows around Australia. So
that's what Which one I'm coming with my mum here
in Melbourne? Oh great, of course Melbourne obviously. Yeah, we

(04:08):
are in Melbourne. Yes, the Plenary, Yes, yes, good name
for it. Yeah, rather Sovieting Session of the Fifth Presidium
kind of thing.

Speaker 1 (04:20):
Isn't it a strange place? There are beautiful places in Melbourne.

Speaker 2 (04:24):
I've done the Hammer Hall, and I've done and I've
done the Civic, the Arts place on the river.

Speaker 4 (04:29):
Yes didn't You didn't choose the plenary.

Speaker 2 (04:32):
No, might find an excellent promoter, mister bowm chose I
say good reasons.

Speaker 1 (04:37):
It was public.

Speaker 2 (04:38):
That's financial. It's just thinking of the way promoters work.
It might have been something to do with the color scheme.
It may have been to do with the dollars. You
can make her own decision on that one.

Speaker 1 (04:51):
And then the not inclodes questions from the audience.

Speaker 2 (04:54):
We have these. Have you heard of quick response codes?

Speaker 4 (04:58):
No?

Speaker 2 (04:58):
No, yes, you have, just didn't know that's what it
stood for their QR codes, Yes, response codes. So we'll
have those in the lobbry and lobby and program and everything,
so people can can can program a question in and
then in the interval while everyone else is enjoying a
chocolate Freddo or something, I will be triarging the questions

(05:23):
finding out an answer. So really, on any subject of
anyone's listening, including you, will.

Speaker 1 (05:30):
I'm sorry the questions.

Speaker 2 (05:42):
The words are available for us as well. Pick a
fresh one out of the bolt.

Speaker 1 (05:50):
But now I'm nd, I'manda.

Speaker 3 (05:54):
We I know there's a little bit of chat, and
I'm going to be very honest about the fact that
we don't want to bring up the King's recent visit
to Australia.

Speaker 2 (06:03):
Listen, I see my published people in which yes, your sons,
if I'm Taylor Swift merged with a K pop band,
which I'm not. But but I think that obviously people
worried that my tongue runs away with me, I'm but
I'm not. You know, I'm not going to be impertinent.
Suggest that I have a view about whether or not

(06:25):
you should be a republic or a monarchy is absolutely
none of my business. And I can understand there. I've
met plenty of Australians who I love the royal family,
and then I've met others who will say, what the
hell is going on? And I stand back and say,
you know, help yourselves, guys.

Speaker 4 (06:40):
Definitely, we definitely don't want to crow down the more
fun path. Will Will is a I mean, it's probably
very clear to you now. Will is a huge, huge,
but but Will regales a story to me. I'm going
to say once every two months, and it's a story
about you around Christmas time and you were having Christmas

(07:04):
with Rowan Atkinson and you're a saved a fine call.

Speaker 2 (07:07):
Yes, this is my house in the country. Let's see
how far from your knowledge of Will's version of this
story it is diverged from the truth of the matter.
But anyway, yes, I had a houseful in my in
my house in the countryside in Norfolk, which is on
the East coast, and i'd done one of some birthday

(07:29):
party for the Prince as he then was, and he
had said in the lineup you live in Norfolk, didn't
And I said yes. He said, we're always there for Christmas,
as you probably know, which I did. They have the
place Sandring of Its Call, which is not very six
seven miles from where I live, and he said we
must see each other Christmas, and he thought he was

(07:52):
just being polite. And so one morning it's after Christmas,
a week nearly a week after Christmas, and I'm making
eggs Benedict for the for the guests, and as you know,
Hollandais takes a little bit of concentration. He's got the
melted butter and you don't want to it's too hot,
little scramble and all the rest of it. So the

(08:14):
phone goes and I'm going somebody answer that, and everyone's
asleep or taking a shower or whatever they're doing. So God,
I pick up the phone. Yes, Hillo, is that Stephen Fry. Yes,
this is Prince of Wales. And part of me was
going to go, oh, f off Rory Rory Bremner, being
a well known impressionist, thinking, But somehow, when it's the

(08:36):
real person, you know, don't you, You just know? So
I said, sir, I love didn't hear from you anyway.
He invited himself around fatigue on New Year's Day, And
so I stand in the sort of middle of the
hallway of the house and I yell up like like
Rick in the Young Ones House meeting, and people appear

(08:58):
in dressing gowns and sort of look over the bargaony
eight in the morning. I'm a very early riser, and
I said, we've got to get the house ready because
tomorrow the king's coming for the Prince of Wales there
was obviously is coming for Tea and they go, of course,
they don't believe me. But then in. About four hours later,

(09:18):
the two dark green range rovers appear with men in
short haircuts and dogs, and we're just just checking the
premises as Hisness hasn't been here before, is it all right?
And so of course now my guests are going, oh
my goodness, and they realize it's true. So suddenly Hugh

(09:41):
Laurie is hoovering, vacuuming the house virtually in a pinny,
but not quite. I mean, you can imagine the sight
of it. Rowan has investigated the kitchen and has decided
that we need two more cakes, and so he goes
off and most of the shops are shut. So he
comes back with us sort of shot bought ginger cake.

(10:02):
It's all really ridiculous and it's just and we're polishing
the silver, you know. Anyway, the next day nervous as anything.
Of course, it's January, the first in it is only
a week or so after mid Winter's Day in the
northern hemispheres, you probably know. So it was dark by
about half past three, certainly, and so we're waiting and

(10:24):
waiting like children waiting for their parents to come home.
You know, when you think the headlights are going to
stab the windows and play over the ceiling. Oh, mommy
and Daddy are back, kind of feeling they're in the driveway.
You know, it's that sort of ridiculous nerves. We're grown ups,
but we just can't help it. And then eventually they're
are there are the lights, Steven.

Speaker 1 (10:43):
Who's in the house at this day?

Speaker 2 (10:44):
There was Ron and Hugh and about six others you
wouldn't know, but the old friend. Yeah, that's right.

Speaker 1 (10:54):
It's a quick quick question. Rowan Atkinson.

Speaker 4 (10:57):
Yeah, is it like mister Bean when when he goes
up to get because.

Speaker 1 (11:06):
That's all I'm figuring.

Speaker 2 (11:08):
There is another Rowan who is very shy, so he
was more that run. But anyway, the doorbell then goes
and I turned around. They've all disappeared out of an
excess of childish shyness, have run after every corner of

(11:31):
the house. So I'm left to open it on my own.
And I open it and I get the immortal words,
I don't mind. I brought my wife, and Princess Dianah
pokes her head around hell and so in they come,
and the detectives go around in the kitchen where I
knew they were coming. So I'd made a tea for
the detectives who were in the lovely and then we

(11:52):
went in to go into the into the drawing room
or sitting room what have you call it in Australia,
I you call it the city. Yeah, the lounge, the lounge.
We went into the lounge. I thought we need some
fresh air, so I got out a can of air
fresh air and no anyway, sorry, don't insult your host

(12:16):
version of their accent. When do you behave? Anyway? The
thing went really well and it was charming. What was
very interesting was that all the men, apart from myself
there were straight and so when they eventually went as
soon as I shut the door, they all said, almost
in one voice, well I'm in there. I said, excuse me,

(12:42):
and they all said They all said with the same
kind of amazement that I no one else had noticed it.
But you saw the way she looked at me, and
that when she died, and you know, the sort of
tragedy of it was over. That's what I That's what
I said. That was her gift. That did she looked

(13:03):
at you and you thought she was virtually going upstairs.
It was just a I mean, it wasn't I don't
think a calculated thing. Way she was. It was hilarious.
They were all convened and she was wearing cowboy birds.
That made them particularly excited. There was something about that
that made it so it was a very enchanting. I
don't know if that's the way you done it.

Speaker 1 (13:24):
No, that's exactly extraory.

Speaker 3 (13:30):
Obviously, of all the different parts of your life, I
was thinking about all the different.

Speaker 1 (13:36):
People that you've sort of because obviously you were very
good friends with the late Carrie Fisher.

Speaker 3 (13:41):
I was telling that I remember seeing you on Parkinson
with Rob Williams one time. You sort of had these
quite amazing interactions with a lot of these people who
now passed away.

Speaker 1 (13:53):
And I mentioned those.

Speaker 3 (13:54):
Two particular because I know both of them were sort
of deep in struggles, disturbed people, both them.

Speaker 2 (14:01):
Yes, indeed I did, and they were both also phenomenally generous.
They were extraordinary friends. I was reading just today about
someone who was whose wife was incredibly ill and probably dying,
and he was a friend of Robin Williams, and Robin
didn't know about this, and he told him and two

(14:23):
hours later Robin Williams was there at the bedside, making
her laugh in a way she hadn't laughed for for centuries,
the husband said, and he said, I'm not claiming it
was him, but she did recover. But it was that,
you know, he was there for four hours and just
giving her everything of himself, and that's what he did.
I remember when when Parkinson I did with him, you know,

(14:43):
the chat show host, and it was terrific fun and
he was on fire and they were having a great time.
And then afterwards his assistant came out to my dressing
room and says, Robin says, you're staying for dinner after
should have dinner and a or something like that. And
I said yeah, and he said, come into his dressing room.
We go together, and so I said yes and told

(15:03):
my driver he could go, and so and I went
in and there and Robin was changing his shirt and
it was literally dripping with ya, absolutely dripping. He had
been there in the chair seemed like so relaxed and
funny and fast, yes, but it was what the motor
inside was thrashing, absolutely, And it was almost frightening somehow

(15:23):
to think of how much of himself he gave all
the time and had nothing left for himself at all.
And Carrie was a bit like that. Carry's amazing house
in Beverly Hills, and it was eccentric and every tree
had weird things hanging from it, and you know, but
there were also tents in the in the in the lawn,

(15:46):
on the lawn and the yard, as they say, and
it was a mixed tents of people staying there that
she had said, good stay by homeless people, people recovering
from drug addiction at its height, a lot of people
with HIV and AIDS, and she was she could just
couldn't say no to people and except herself.

Speaker 1 (16:08):
So yes, So do you think that's what I mean?
I was just going to ask what separates why you're
still here?

Speaker 2 (16:14):
And then I had a very good fortune knowing a
little towards the end of his life the artist Francis Bacon,
and I remember once there was a lock in at
the Groucher Club in London and it was him, Gilbert
and George and a couple of artists, an art writer
I know, and a couple of other people. And at
about two o'clock I said I've got to go now,

(16:37):
and the other word stay stay and I said, no, no,
I'm I'm actually working tomorrow. I got a car at
seven and I'm just four hours sleeping.

Speaker 1 (16:49):
Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Speaker 2 (16:51):
And Francis said to me, he said, oh, you like me.
He said, You've got a little man, haven't you. I said, well, no,
I'm single. He said, no, I don't mean that, he said,
I mean, he said, your head, You've got a little
man in your head. I said, so, what do you mean?
He said, well, he said, I knew a lot of
people and soho in the fifties and sixties, photographers, painters, poets,
some of them geniuses. They didn't have a little man.

(17:13):
So the drink got them. They never stopped, they stayed
on and they But I have a little man, he said,
He said, maybe tomorrow, maybe next week. I'll have been
on this vicious bender, drinking and drinking as I'd love
to do, as you know, he said, And then the
little man will say no, Francis studio, and I have
to obey him. He just goes on and on at me.
He says, studio studio now, And that's why I'm alive.

(17:35):
He said, you keep your don't you drown your little man,
Keep your little man alive. And I remember that and
thinking it's true, I mean we The little man could
be described as many things.

Speaker 3 (17:46):
I mean demonized, isn't it. Yeah, it can become it
can go the other way. It can be whipped into subservience.

Speaker 2 (17:53):
Yeah, it's Jiminy Cricket on your shoulder.

Speaker 1 (17:57):
Thinking it negative things, and.

Speaker 2 (18:00):
The you know, the devil of me on the other
But but somehow this deontic voice I think philosophers call
it is is stronger in me than it is in
some people I've known who just could tell yeah it is.
In the end, it means sometimes that I'm with groups
of people having a good time and I feel slightly
bourgeois because part of me thinks and I needed that

(18:26):
dreadful drug in order to stop me from being my
real self. You think you take drugs because it amplifies
who you are, but actually it often smothers who you are.
And it made me into a party animal, which I'm
just not temperamentally meant to be. Meant to be in
bed at nine with a book on my lap. You
know I'm a dull, dull person.

Speaker 1 (18:47):
I've only got one more questions with you.

Speaker 3 (18:49):
But speaking of books on your lap side, question very quickly,
I only need a quick answer. Is have you have
you read the Song of Achilles.

Speaker 2 (18:56):
Yes, absolutely, Medlyn Miller, yes, yes, I think it's we
all loved that, love that. Yeah. One of the things
I've enjoyed about, you know, bringing these Greek myths to
life in my own ways, is that it seems to
accidentally maybe it's morphic resonance, I think is the phrase
coincided with a zeitgeisty thing of the increase in interest

(19:18):
in Greek mythology everywhere. I mean, more people read at
university now than they did fifteen years ago, and writers
like Madeleine Miller have become very, very great.

Speaker 3 (19:30):
So obviously your your mythos if people from read it
is awesome, and it really sort of there's humor, but
it makes all of those tales accessible. I was going
to ask you, if you're going to write a story
about like today, do you think that, you know, in
one hundred years, in a thousand years, if there's an
Ai Stephen Frye or equivalent of you sort of romanticizing

(19:51):
tales contemporary tales, do you think that there is a
story or a set of stories in sort.

Speaker 2 (19:57):
Of modern videin the way we are now, which which would.

Speaker 3 (20:00):
Catch as much interest.

Speaker 2 (20:03):
The risk of sounding bloody minded in my paradoxicality. The
reality gets in the way of truth, which is why
fiction and myth are so much more revealing of the
truth of human desire and behavior, impulses and failings and

(20:25):
all the other things that make us who we are.
Whereas when it's reality, you can always say, oh, it's
because they're a middle class person, or it's because they
come from Perth, or it's because they're Scottish. Everything is
somehow contextualized into an identity. You can't escape what is
horribly called the discourse when you if you write a
modern novel, now, you cannot escape writing about sexuality, gender politics, race,

(20:48):
They're all implicit in everything we do and think about
in the way we think about them now, as opposed
to being an eternal verity, an eternal truth about what
it is to be human, which I think is.

Speaker 1 (20:59):
When you've got infinite giant.

Speaker 2 (21:01):
That's that's why I think, that's why the franchises, the
fantasy franchises. So it's the Harry Potter universe, the Magical World,
or it's Tolkien, or it's George R. R. Martin, or
it's Marvel exactly, and you don't say I hate that
guy because I know people like that who live in

(21:23):
that place and read that newspaper and use that language,
and everything's tribal in our world. You have archetypes and
you have mythic forms. You can then see the truth.

Speaker 1 (21:35):
I think fascinating. It's been such a pleasure, real delight.
Thank you so much for coming, Thank you, thank you.

Speaker 2 (21:44):
For putting up with my silly trick. It was not
my idea, obviously, but nonetheless I am delighted to take.

Speaker 1 (21:50):
We've never got in so well.

Speaker 2 (21:54):
You've got to plan your revenge now, swift Davin, thanks
and match. Such a pleasure.