LAST NIGHT WE finally saw Gay Byrne’s full interview with Stephen Fry as part of The Meaning of Life series on RTÉ One.
Last week a preview clip of the interview had gone viral, and this had only build anticipation for the in-depth chat that aired on Sunday.
So, here were the best moments from the always eloquent Fry and his head-to-head with Uncle Gaybo:
1. The credit card fraud
Right at the start, Gay got right down to Fry’s past life of compulsive stealing that plagued his younger days.
“At what stage did you come into this compulsive thieving?” Gay started with.
“Just towards the end of prep school and the beginning of public school. When I look back on it, it was most odd. I’d rather cut my legs off now than steal anything.”
Fry followed this up with a tale of credit card fraud that left Gay in shock.
2. Fry’s first taste of Cambridge
It opened up your life, says Gay. “That was huge. I was no longer anxious and no longer felt out of place.”
3. When he fell in love with Hugh Laurie
When Fry met Hugh Laurie at Cambridge, they had an instant connection.
“From the very first moment you met, you were spirits at one,” says Gay.
“It was falling in love, but a falling in love at a comic level not, I’m glad to say, at a personal level. I was always very grateful I didn’t fancy him.”
Also, those two hanging out with Emma Thompson would have made quite the college group of friends.
4. “I am not a party animal.”
“If there is anything I hate, it’s a party.” Fry’s tales of cocaine use and self-medicating gave everyone an insight into his early years.
5. When Gay called his early lifestyle of excess a waste of money
“Looking back on that period of my life, it was a terrible waste…”
To which Gay responds, “A terrible waste of money.”
6. “Dare I ask you… are you chemically balanced?”
“I believe I am.” Fry starts out, going on to give details of his medication to control his bi-polar disorder. ”Bi-polar is a chronic condition like asthma or diabetes – you have to manage it,” he says.
7. Then there was that discussion on God
Garnering over three million views before the full interview had even aired last night, the portion of the interview where Gay asks Fry about his views on whether there is a God and what he would think about that God if it were to exist caused much online murmuring.
And that’s the note that the interview finished up on.
The reaction to Fry was mostly positive
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With the odd contrasting voice
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Still, we’ll always have those reactions
