Do you share your birthday with a well known, highly regarded & famous Actor or Actress; share your special day with a Director, Producer, Writer, Cinematographer or Singer/Songwriter or Composer of repute; or share an interest in whoever might notch up another year in the coming seven days? Then, look no further! Whilst there will be too many to mention in this small but not insignificant and beautifully written and presented Blog, here are the more notable and noteworthy icons of the big screen, and the small screen, that you will recognise, and that you might just share your birthday with in the week ahead. If so, Happy Birthday to you from Odeon Online!
Check out too the spotlight on this weeks Birthday Boy on 24th August, Stephen Fry, at the end of this feature.
Sunday 24th August
- Rupert Grint - Born 1988, turns 26 - Actor
- Steve Guttenberg - Born 1958, turns 56 - Actor | Producer
- Stephen Fry - Born 1957, turns 57 - Actor | Producer | Writer | TV Personality
- Marlee Martin - Born 1965, turns 49 - Actress | Producer
Monday 25th August
- Alexander Skarsgard - Born 1976, turns 38 - Actor
- Sean Connery - Born 1930, turns 84 - Actor | Producer
- Tim Burton - Born 1958, turns 56 - Director | Producer | Writer
- Tom Skerritt - Born 1933, turns 81 - Actor
- Joanne Whalley - Born 1961, turns 53 - Actress
- Elvis Costello - Born 1954, turns 60 - Singer | Songwriter | Actor
Tuesday 26th August
- Chris Pine - Born 1980, turns 34 - Actor
- Macaulay Culkin - Born 1980, turns 34 - Actor
Wednesday 27th August
- Peter Stormare - Born 1953, turns 61 - Actor
- Barbara Bach - Born 1947, turns 67 - Actress
Thursday 28th August
- Jack Black - Born 1969, turns 45 - Actor | Producer | Writer | Singer | Songwriter
- David Fincher - Born 1962, turns 52 - Director | Producer
- David Soul - Born1943, turns 71 - Actor | Singer
- Armie Hammer - Born 1986, turns 28 - Actor
- Luis Guzman - Born 1956, turns 58 - Actor | Producer
Friday 29th August
- Richard Attenborough - Born 1923, turns 91 - Actor | Director | Producer
- Elliott Gould - Born 1938, turns 76 - Actor
- Joel Schumacher - Born 1939, turns 75 - Director | Producer | Writer
- William Friedkin - Born 1935, turns 79 - Director | Writer
- Lenny Henry - Born 1958, turns 56 - Actor | Writer
- Rebecca De Mornay - Born 1959, turns 55 - Actress
Saturday 30th August
- Cameron Diaz - Born 1972, turns 42 - Actress
- Michael Chiklis - Born 1963, turns 51 - Actor | Producer
Stephen John Fry was born in Hampstead, London and grew up in Norfolk attending Stout's Hill Prep School and then Uppingham School from which he was expelled aged 15. He then attended Paston School from which he was also expelled, an then onto Norfolk College of Arts and Technology which he left at aged 17. Following this he was arrested for credit card fraud and spent three months in Pucklechurch Prison after which he went to City College, Norwich and then winning a scholarship, gained entry to Queens College, Cambridge. This was 1979, and at Queens he met Emma Thompson, Tony Slattery and Hugh Laurie.
His writing career began in 1981 with Hugh Laurie, and a year later his TV career took off with the broadcasting of 'The Cellar Tape' - the 1981 Cambridge Footlights Revue which caught the attention of Granada Television who hired Fry and his co-writers (Thompson, Slattery and Laurie) to star with Ben Elton in 'There's Nothing to Worry About', which ran for three successful series. In 1984 he was commissioned to rewrite the Noel Gay musical 'Me and My Girl' which made Fry a millionaire before the age of 30, as well as garnering him a 'Tony Award' nomination in 1987. 
After various appearances in TV series throughout the first half of the 80's, in 1986 the BBC commissioned what was to become 'A Bit of Fry & Laurie' which ran for four successful seasons from 1986 onward. Meanwhile, other opportunities presented themselves which proved to clement Fry in the British comedy pantheon including 'Blackadder II' as Lord Melchett, 'Blackadder the Third' as the Duke of Wellington and 'Blackadder Goes Forth' as General Melchett. From 1990 -1993 he starred with Hugh Laurie's again in 'Jeeves and Wooster' as the Butler and Manservant 'Jeeves' to Laurie's wealthy bumblesome playboy 'Wooster'. 
He has appeared in TV Drama Series including 'Kingdom', 'Bones' and recently '24 : Live Another Day'; has made numerous documentaries such as 'Stephen Fry in America', 'Last Chance to See', 'Gadget Man', 'Stephen Fry : Out There' and has been the Host of the award winning comedy celebrity game show 'QI' since 2003. 
He is a regular on radio - largely for BBC Radio 4; and has been the reader for numerous audio books including the J.K.Rowling 'Harry Potter' series. He has written several novels himself including 'The Liar' subsequently made into a film, 'Making History' and The Star's Tennis Balls'; and has been a regular contributor to assorted newspaper and magazine columns. He also is happy to advertise products and companies and has done so since the early 80's for the likes of Marks & Spencer, Heineken, Honda, Vauxhall, Twinings, Kenco, Virgin Media and Orange Mobile.
He is prolific on 'Twitter' and can boast over four million followers which gives him great influence amongst his group of ardent fans. He has had his own website since 1997 and is an early adopter of new technologies and the latest gadgets including, he says, just about every smartphone new to the market. He is the co-owner of 'Sprout Pictures' - an independent film and television company. He has been diagnosed with bipolar disorder, has attempted suicide several times, is allergic to champagne and bee stings, and describes himself as an atheist and humanist. He kept his homosexuality a secret at school and remained celibate until 1995 he says.
Aside from his TV, stage, radio appearances and writing credits he has had a colourful career to date on the big screen too in roles in such films as 'A Fish Called Wanda', 'Peter's Friends', 'Wilde', 'Spice World', 'A Civil Action', 'Gosford Park', 'Thunderpants', 'V for Vendetta', 'Sherlock Holmes : A Game of Shadows', 'The Hobbit : The Desolation of Smaug' and the upcoming 'The Battle of Five Armies' to close out Peter Jackson's Tolkien journey; with a number of others due for release in 2015 for which he has lent his voice skills including his second stint as 'The Cheshire Cat' in Tim Burton's 'Alice in Wonderland : Through the Looking Glass' due in 2016, and also the 2016 release of 'The Canterville Ghost' with Hugh Laurie.
He has eight award wins to his credit and 14 other nominations including a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actor for 'Wilde', and six BAFTA nominations. He hosted the BAFTA Awards in 2001 and 2002 also.
Known for his crooked nose, his large imposing stature, a distinctive voice and accentuated pronunciation Stephen Fry is ever colourful, outspoken and thought provoking, funny and quick witted, a wealth of knowledge, certainly multi-talented, as much in demand on-screen as off it, and not afraid to put himself out there! Good on you Stephen - keep doing what you're doing, and we'll keep watching and listening - Happy Birthday from Odeon Online.
-Steve, at Odeon Online-
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