document_title: List of Thomas & Friends voice actors

question_text: who does the voiceover for thomas the tank engine

text: List of Thomas & Friends voice actors

text: Cast[edit]

text: Voices[edit]

text:
Actor/Actress
Region
Role(s)

Joseph May
US
Thomas ("The Adventure Begins" onwards)

John Hasler
UK

UK/US
Rheneas (series 20 onwards)[1]

David Bedella
Victor, Carlos, The Mayor of Sodor and the Cuban man

Jamie Campbell Bower
Skiff

Jonathan Broadbent
Bill, Ben and The First Slip Coach

Nathan Clarke
Alfie

Olivia Colman
Marion

Jules de Jongh
US
Emily, Lady Hatt (Season 13, "Day of the Diesels", and Season 15), the Duchess of Boxford, Stephen Hatt ("Diesel's Special Delivery"), Bridget Hatt, Bridget Hatt's friends, Mavis (Season 13–16), the teacher, the laundry lady, some children, small little boy, the ginger-haired boy ("Diesel's Special Delivery", "Emily and Dash", "Percy the Snowman", "Emily's Winter Party Special" and "Pouty James"), little girl in the red dress, the blond-haired boy (Season 15–18), the blond-haired girl, and the school children

UK/US
Emily ("4-D Bubbling Boilers" only) and Alicia Botti

Jonathan Forbes
Connor

Teresa Gallagher
UK
Emily, Lady Hatt (Season 13, "Day of the Diesels" and Season 15), The Duchess of Boxford, Stephen Hatt ("Diesel's Special Delivery"), Bridget Hatt, Bridget Hatt's friends, the teacher, the laundry lady, small little boy, some children, the school children, little girl in the red dress, the blonde-hair girl, the blonde-hair boy and Albert's wife

US
The blond-haired girl and the blonde-haired boy ("Very Important Sheep")

UK/US
Belle, Frieda, Gina, Mavis, Annie, Clarabel, Judy, Lady Hatt (Season 17 only and Season 21 onwards), the teacher (Season 18 only), the ginger-hair boy, the shouting little boy, the lady with the big hat, some passengers, the Knapford Station speaker ("The Adventure Begins"), some children ("The Adventure Begins" onwards), the school children ("Lost Property"), Stephen Hatt, Bridget Hatt, the lady in the blue dress, the barrow fan ("Reds vs. Blues" and "Useful Railway"), Albert's wife ("Thomas the Babysitter" and "Unscheduled Stops"), the lady in the spring green dress, the female puppet show entertainer, little girl in the turquoise dress with pink flowers, the lady in the white dress and gray vest, the lady in the white shirt, light brown skirt and hat, the lady in the grayish white shirt, blackish gray skirt, and white pearl necklace, the chubby little boy in dark green shirt and dark gray shorts and the lady in the yellow dress and hat

Bob Golding
Stephen, Sidney (series 17 onwards), Ivan, some dock workers ("Tale of the Brave") and a railway inspector ("Lost Property")

Mike Grady
Sir Robert Norramby

Rasmus Hardiker
Philip and Some Troublesome Trucks ("The Fastest Red Engine on Sodor" only)

UK
Monty

William Hope
US
Edward, Toby, Stephen Hatt ("Thomas and the Runaway Kite" only), Whiff, Bash, Rocky, Farmer McColl, the Duke of Boxford, the blond-haired boy ("Merry Misty Island" and "The Way She Does It" only), the Maithwaite stationmaster ("Double Trouble" and "Wonky Whistle" only), the man in the gray shirt and black pants ("Race to the Rescue"), the Dock Manager and the Wellsworth Station worker

UK/US
Bert (the Diesel) (series 16 onwards), a railway inspector, a steamworks worker ("Wonky Whistle"), 2 farmhands ("Wonky Whistle"), a workman ("Toad and the Whale"), Passenger, and Farmer McColl ("Philip's Number" only)

Togo Igawa
Hiro

Rufus Jones
Flying Scotsman

Ashna Kapur
UK
The blond-haired girl ("Very Important Sheep")

Steven Kynman
Porter, Jack and the dock manager ("Tale of the Brave" only)

US
Charlie ("The Great Race" onwards) and Butch (series 17 onwards)

UK/US
Duck, Ryan (series 20 onwards), Dart (Season 17 onwards), Paxton ("Blue Mountain Mystery" onwards), Peter Sam, "The Third Slip Coach", a workman (Journey Beyond Sodor), a railway inspector (Season 17) and the bird watcher ("Who's Geoffrey?")

Michael Legge
Luke

Oliver McCue
UK
The blond-haired boy ("Very Important Sheep")

Ian McCue
UK/US
The Blue Sea Serpent

David Menkin
Porter (US; series 17 onwards/UK; "Pouty James" and "Cranky at the End of the Line" only) and Stanley ("The Truth About Toby" only)

US
Jack

Joe Mills
UK/US
Douglas, Oliver, Toad, the Welsh bird watcher ("Thomas and the Emergency Cable"), and a Knapford Station yard workman ("Toad and the Whale")

Lucy Montgomery
Lexi, Hannah and Carly

Tracy-Ann Oberman[2]
Daisy (series 20 onwards)

Maggie Ollerenshaw
Henrietta

Rebecca O'Mara
Caitlin and the Second Slip Coach

Nigel Pilkington
UK
Percy (Series 19 onwards), and Trevor

UK/US
A passenger

Rob Rackstraw
James (US; Season 19 onwards/UK; "Tit for Tat" onwards), Donald (Season 20 onwards), Raul, Axel, Étienne, Flynn (Season 19 onwards), Bradford, The Great Railway Show announcer, some passengers, the man in the blue shirt and light brown hat, The Bird Watcher ("The Railcar and the Coaches"), Fergus Duncan, The Welsh Bird Watcher ("Mike's Whistle"), The Thin Clergyman ("Tit for Tat"), and The Red Sea Serpent.

UK
Toby (Season 19 onwards)

US
Monty

Christopher Ragland[3]
Percy (Season 19 onwards) and Trevor

UK/US
The Troublesome Trucks ("The Adventure Begins" onwards)

Miranda Raison
Millie and the Knapford Station speaker

Kerry Shale
UK
Thomas and Spencer ("Hero of the Rails", originally)

US
Henry, Gordon, James ("Hero of the Rails" – Season 18), Dash, Scruff, Harold, Max, Kevin, Sir Topham Hatt ("Hero of the Rails" – Season 18), Sir Lowham Hatt, Mr. Percival, Farmer Trotter, The Maithwaite stationmaster ("Time For a Story" and "A Blooming Mess"), a railway inspector, the photographer (Season 16), the railway coal inspector, the zoo keeper and some workmen

UK/US
Kevin ("Hasty Hannah" only), Diesel (series 19 onwards), 'Arry, some groaning passengers ("Calm Down Caitlin") and the man on the bridge

John Schwab
Vinnie, Bridlington Diesel, Ulli

US
Stanley (Series 20 onwards, excluding "Saving Time")[4]

Nicola Stapleton
UK/US
Rosie (Season 21 onwards)

Tom Stourton
Duncan, Rex, Terence and The Fat Clergyman

Tim Whitnall
Timothy, Mike, Jerome, Oliver the Excavator, Reg, the deputy minister and some workmen

US
The man in the hat ("Spencer's VIP")

UK
Max

Keith Wickham
Edward, Henry, Gordon, James ("Hero of the Rails" – Season 20, excluding "Tit for Tat"), Whiff, Dash, Harold, the Thin Controller, the railway coal inspector, the man at the fire, the Wellsworth station worker, The Man in the Gray Shirt and Black Pants, the Fat Controller's assistant, some workmen, some passengers, Gator's driver, and steamworks workman

UK/US
Harvey, Glynn, Salty, Den, Norman, Stafford, Skarloey, Sir Handel, Bert (the small engine), Bertie, Captain, Sir Topham Hatt (UK; "Hero of the Rails" onwards, US; "The Adventure Begins" onwards), Dowager Hatt, Sir Lowham Hatt, Lord Callan, the photographer ("Wild Water Rescue"), a railway inspector, the great composer, the Maron station speaker, the Wellsworth stationmaster, Thomas' guard, the grumpy passenger, Father Christmas, the groundsman, the postman, Gordon's driver ("The Adventure Begins"), James' guard ("The Adventure Begins"), a Knapford station worker ("The Adventure Begins"), some workmen, sometsignalmen, the dock manager ("Who's Geoffrey?" only), a Sodor search & rescue centre worker ("Toad and the Whale"), a policeman ("Sodor's Legend of the Lost Treasure"), a diver ("Sodor's Legend of the Lost Treasure"), The Man in the Hat, some passengers, Albert ("Thomas the Babysitter"), Mr. Bubbles, the man in the sea green shirt and glasses, the Welsh bird watcher ("Sidney Sings and Three Steam Engines Gruff"), one of Dowager Hatt's friends ("Best Engine Ever" and "Sidney Sings"), the museum manager, male puppet show entertainer, the man in the gray shirt and black pants, the Great Railway Show judge, the fat clergyman, the man in the blackish gray shirt and blackish gray pants, Willie the lazy farmer, the man in the black shirt and black pants, Franz, The Man in the Whitish Brown Shirt and Brown Pants, and The Station Announcer.

Robert Wilfort
Samson and the Great Railway Show judge ("The Great Race")

Matt Wilkinson
UK
Spencer, Stanley, Charlie, Bash, Scruff, Rocky, Cranky, Butch (Season 16 onwards), Kevin, Stephen Hatt ("Thomas and the Runaway Kite"), Farmer McColl, the Duke of Boxford, the photographer (series 16), the Maithwaite stationmaster, Farmer Trotter, the Knapford stationmaster, the bird watcher ("Henry's Good Deeds"), the blond-haired boy ("Merry Misty Island"), the dock manager, a railway inspector, some dock workers, the island inspector, the Sodor search & rescue centre manager, the Blue Mountain Quarry workman, the zoo keeper and the man with the hat

UK/US
Diesel 10, Winston, Rusty, Merrick, Captain Joe and some workmen

Glenn Wrage
US
Spencer, Ferdinand, Cranky, the Sodor search & rescue centre manager, Sir Topham Hatt's Assistant, Gator's driver and a Steamworks worker

text: Former voices[edit]

text:
Actor/Actress
Region
Role(s)

Rupert Degas
UK
Butch (series 15)

UK/US
Dart ("Day of the Diesels" – Season 16), Flynn ("Day of the Diesels" – Season 16) and Bertie (Season 15 and 16)

Michael Brandon
US
Diesel (Season 13–16) and Mr. Bubbles (Series 13–15)

Martin Sherman
Thomas ("Hero of the Rails" – Season 18), Henry (originally), Percy ("Hero of the Rails" – Season 18), Diesel ("King of the Railway" - Series 18), The Bird Watcher ("Henry's Good Deeds") and some children ("Time for a Story", "Pop Goes Thomas" and "Toby and Bash")

Ben Small
Stanley (Season 15) and Charlie (Season 16–18)

UK
Thomas ("Hero of the Rails" – series 18), Toby ("Hero of the Rails" – Season 18) and Ferdinand ("Misty Island Rescue" – Season 16)

UK/US
Rheneas (Season 16–18), Flynn (series 17 only), Troublesome Trucks (Season 16–18) and Owen ("Blue Mountain Mystery" – Season 18)

text: Guest voices[edit]

text:
Actor/Actress
Role(s)

Clive Mantle
Gator ("Tale of the Brave" and Series 18 only)

Sir John Hurt
Sailor John ("Sodor's Legend of the Lost Treasure" only)

Eddie Redmayne
Ryan ("Sodor's Legend of the Lost Treasure")

Tina Desai
Ashima

Hugh Bonneville
Merlin

Darren Boyd
Theo

Jim Howick
Hurricane

Sophie Colquhoun
Frankie

Colin McFarlane
Bulgy and Beresford

text: Online videos[edit]

text:
Actor/Actress
Role(s)

Sabrina Frederick-Traub
Tracy

Matthew Richardson
Shane

text: Thomas and the Magic Railroad voices[edit]

text:
Actor/Actress
Role(s)
Notes

Eddie Glen
Thomas

John Bellis
Originally

Keith Scott
Diesel 10

Neil Crone
Gordon, Diesel 10, Splatter and a tumbleweed

Troublesome Trucks
Originally

Kevin Frank

Henry, Dodge, Bertie and Harold

Patrick Breen
Splatter and Dodge (Splodge)
Originally

Susan Roman
James

Michael Angelis
Originally

Percy

Linda Ballantyne

Colm Feore
Toby

Shelley-Elizabeth Skinner
Annie and Clarabel

Britt Allcroft
Lady

text: Narrators[edit]

text: Current narrator(s)[edit]

text:
Actor
Region
Years
Peroid

John Hasler
UK
2018–present
Season 22–present

Joseph May
US

text: Former narrators[edit]

text:
Actor
Region
Years
Period

Ringo Starr
UK/US
UK: 1984–86

US: 1984–90
Season 1 and 2

Michael Angelis
UK: 1991–2012

US: 2002-2004
Season 3–16

Alec Baldwin
US: 1998–2003

UK/US: 2000
Season 5 and 6 / Thomas and the Magic Railroad

Mark Moraghan
2013–17
Season 17–21 / re-dubbed 5 episode of Season 13-15

George Carlin
US
1984–96
Season 1-4

Michael Brandon
2003–12
Season 7–16 / re-dubbed 6 episodes of Season 6

text: Guest narrators[edit]

text:
Actor/Actress
Region
Years
Period

Mara Wilson
UK/US
2000
Thomas and the Magic Railroad (Originally)

Gwyneth Paltrow
2008
original script of The Great Discvoery

Pierce Brosnan
2008
The Great Discovery/original cut of season 12

text: Timeline[edit]

text:
Series
Narrator
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22

Ringo Starr

Michael Angelis

George Carlin

Alec Baldwin

Michael Brandon

Pierce Brosnan*

Mark Moraghan

John Hasler

Joseph May

text:
A light green cell indicates the narrator who officially narrated the series.
An orange cell indicates the narrator who re-narrated the series.

text: * Pierce Brosnan narrated the original cut of Series 12, but withdrew from the series, and his narrations left unreleased.


document_title: Alexa & Katie

question_text: who plays lucas mendoza in alexa and katie

root

text: Alexa & Katie

text: Plot[edit]

text: Lifelong best friends Alexa and Katie are eagerly anticipating the start of their freshman year of high school. The two friends confront a crisis when Alexa discovers that she is ill and starts undergoing treatment for cancer, which leaves them feeling like outsiders at a time when what seems to matter most is fitting in.The girls try to navigate through high school while dealing with the illness.[2]

tag: p

text: Cast[edit]

text: Main[edit]

text:
Paris Berelc as Alexa
Isabel May as Katie
Tiffani Thiessen as Lori
Eddie Shin as Dave
Emery Kelly as Lucas
Finn Carr as Jack
Jolie Jenkins as Jennifer

tag: ul

text: Recurring[edit]

text:
Kerri Medders as Gwenny
Merit Leighton as Hannah
Jack Griffo as Dylan
Iman Benson as Reagan

text: Production[edit]

text: Alexa & Katie is the first multi-camera sitcom produced by Netflix.[3] On April 9, 2018, Netflix renewed the series for a second season, with Wordham set to take over as showrunner.[4]

text: Episodes[edit]

text:
No.
Title
Directed by
Written by
Original release date

1
"Bad Hair Day"
Andy Cadiff
Heather Wordham
March 23, 2018 (2018-03-23)

Alexa has cancer, however after the doctor clears her for school, she and her best friend Katie get ready to start their first day of high school. However due to Alexa's chemo her hair begins to fall out, which leaves her distressed. She convices Katie to teepee her rival Gwenny's house, but they then realize they accidentally teepee'd their principal Trugly's house. After being suspended for three days, Dave then finds out that Alexa knew she was teepee'ing Trugly, making Katie upset. After Jennifer returns Katie's ski cap, which Alexa had borrowed when they teepee'd Trugly's house, Katie finds Alexa's hair in the cap and realizes why Alexa wanted to get in trouble. After Katie confronts Alexa, Katie helps Alexa by shaving her hair off with Alexa.

2
"Wigs"
Andy Cadiff
Heather Wordham
March 23, 2018 (2018-03-23)

After the girls shaved their hair off, they go to a department store to buy wigs. The wig Katie wants to buy, however, costs $300, more than she can afford. Not wanting to let Alexa know about her money troubles, she buys the wig anyway, along with a brightly colored one. Meanwhile, Dave struggles with seeing Alexa without any hair.

3
"Basketball"
Jeff Melman
Matthew Carlson
March 23, 2018 (2018-03-23)

Alexa wants to try out for the basketball team and compete with her rival, but due to her chemo, she isn't allowed to. Katie tries out for her as a sign of support. Subsequently, a rumor starts to spread that someone in the grade has cancer. Lori starts to work from home to be closer to Alexa, but it doesn't work out. During basketball try-outs, Katie's wig falls off and her bald head is revealed, leading everyone to believe she is the one with cancer.

4
"Ungroundable"
Jeff Melman
Nancy Cohen
March 23, 2018 (2018-03-23)

Alexa continually ropes Katie into doing bad things with her to prove to her that her mother won't ground her. Eventually, Lori comes to her senses and grounds Alexa, and for getting a bad grade on her math test, hires a tutor, which is Lucas's friend Dylan.

5
"The Play, Part 1"
Jeff Melman
Gary Murphy
March 23, 2018 (2018-03-23)

As everyone thinks Katie is the one with cancer, she is left wondering if she is getting special treatment after she is given the lead in the school play. Jennifer asks Lucas to babysit Jack, however it proves harder than he thought.

6
"Picture Day"
Victor Gonzalez
Ray Lancon
March 23, 2018 (2018-03-23)

Alexa reveals she is the one with cancer, and everyone starts being very nice to her - even her rival, Gwenny. She continually plays pranks on Gwenny to get her to start being mean to her again, which ultimately works. Jennifer and Jack form a rivalry with Dave over football.

7
"The Play, Part 2"
Jeff Melman
Todd Linden
March 23, 2018 (2018-03-23)

Katie starts to ignore Alexa more and more, as she becomes focused on the play. Lori gives Katie life lessons during rehearals, which annoys Jennifer.

8
"Support Group"
Phill Lewis
Erin Wagoner
March 23, 2018 (2018-03-23)

Katie starts to feel left out as Alexa, who is back in hospital, is receiving support from her fellow cancer patients. Lori stresses over her care, and bakes a load of cookies to try to bribe the hospital nurse into giving Alexa special treatment.

9
"Winter Luau"
Trevor Kirschner
Kamon Naddaf
March 23, 2018 (2018-03-23)

Due to her low immune system, Alexa is ordered to stay home, however she video-chats with Katie on an iPad to access her lessons. Jennifer gets upset when Jack asks Dave to go to his school career day instead of her.

10
"Thanksgiving"
Trevor Kirschner
Gary Murphy
March 23, 2018 (2018-03-23)

Alexa cooks Thanksgiving dinner, however it doesn't take long for it to ruin. Meanwhile, Katie tries to reconnect with her father, but gets upset when he continues to treat her like a little girl.

11
"Secret Sleepover"
Katy Garretson
Nancy Cohen
March 23, 2018 (2018-03-23)

Dave and Lori take Lucas on a trip to pilot-school interviews, leaving Alexa home for the weekend, at Jennifer's. However, she and Katie get up to no good while they are gone. Ryan asks Katie to the winter formal.

12
"Winter Formal, Part 1"
Andy Cadiff
Blake J. Williger
March 23, 2018 (2018-03-23)

Jack takes a 'stray' cat under his wing, which Dave develops an allergic reaction to. While Dylan and Alexa try to get closer, Lucas persistently interrupts the two and tries to break them apart.

13
"Winter Formal, Part 2"
Andy Cadiff
Matthew Carlson
March 23, 2018 (2018-03-23)

Alexa and Katie get ready for the Winter Formal. Alexa convices Katie to ask Ryan to the dance, and Hannah tells everyone. Eventaully, the news gets to Ryan, and he says yes before Katie can even ask him. On the day of the dance, they find out there is a flu outbreak, meaning Alexa can't go. However Katie get an idea which will allow Alexa to go; wearing a medical mask. Upon entering the dance, Alexa finds everyone with masks, including Gwenny. The episode end with everyone dancing to Katy Perry's "Firework".

tag: table


document_title: List of actors with two or more Academy Awards in acting categories

question_text: who has the most oscars for best actress

text: The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has given Academy Awards to actors and actresses for their performances in films since its inception. Throughout the history of the Academy Awards, there have been actors and actresses who have received multiple Academy Awards for Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Supporting Actor, or Best Supporting Actress.[1] The only restriction is that actors cannot receive multiple nominations for the same performance.[2] This rule was implemented after Barry Fitzgerald received a Best Actor and a Best Supporting Actor nomination for his performance in Going My Way.[3]

text: As of 2017[update], 40 actors and actresses have received two or more Academy Awards in acting categories. Six of these actors and actresses have received three or more acting Academy Awards: Katharine Hepburn (four Best Actress awards),[4] Ingrid Bergman (two Best Actress awards and one Best Supporting Actress award),[5] Walter Brennan (three Best Supporting Actor awards),[6] Jack Nicholson (two Best Actor awards and one Best Supporting Actor award),[7] Meryl Streep (two Best Actress awards and one Best Supporting Actress award), and Daniel Day-Lewis (three Best Actor awards). Brennan was the first to receive three or more Academy Awards in 1940, followed by Hepburn in 1968, Bergman in 1974, Nicholson in 1997, Streep in 2011, and most recently Day-Lewis in 2012. Of the six, only Nicholson, Streep, and Day-Lewis are still living.

text:
Actor/Actress
Best Actor/Actress Awards
Best Supporting Actor/Actress Awards
Total awards
Total nominations

Hepburn, KatharineKatharine Hepburn
Morning Glory (1933)
Guess Who's Coming to Dinner (1967)
The Lion in Winter (1968)
On Golden Pond (1981)

4
12

Day-Lewis, DanielDaniel Day-Lewis
My Left Foot (1989)
There Will Be Blood (2007)
Lincoln (2012)

3
5

Streep, MerylMeryl Streep
Sophie's Choice (1982)
The Iron Lady (2011)
Kramer vs. Kramer (1979)
3
20

Nicholson, JackJack Nicholson
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975)
As Good as It Gets (1997)
Terms of Endearment (1983)
3
12

Bergman, IngridIngrid Bergman
Gaslight (1944)
Anastasia (1956)
Murder on the Orient Express (1974)
3
7

Brennan, WalterWalter Brennan

Come and Get It (1936)
Kentucky (1938)
The Westerner (1940)
3
4

Davis, BetteBette Davis
Dangerous (1935)
Jezebel (1938)

2
10

Tracy, SpencerSpencer Tracy
Captains Courageous (1937)
Boys Town (1938)

2
9

Brando, MarlonMarlon Brando
On the Waterfront (1954)
The Godfather (1972)

2
8

Lemmon, JackJack Lemmon
Save the Tiger (1973)
Mister Roberts (1955)
2
8

Blanchett, CateCate Blanchett
Blue Jasmine (2013)
The Aviator (2004)
2
7

De Niro, RobertRobert De Niro
Raging Bull (1980)
The Godfather Part II (1974)
2
7

Fonda, JaneJane Fonda
Klute (1971)
Coming Home (1978)

2
7

Hoffman, DustinDustin Hoffman
Kramer vs. Kramer (1979)
Rain Man (1988)

2
7

Washington, DenzelDenzel Washington
Training Day (2001)
Glory (1989)
2
7

Caine, MichaelMichael Caine

Hannah and Her Sisters (1986)
The Cider House Rules (1999)
2
6

Lange, JessicaJessica Lange
Blue Sky (1994)
Tootsie (1982)
2
6

Smith, MaggieMaggie Smith
The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie (1969)
California Suite (1978)
2
6

Cooper, GaryGary Cooper
Sergeant York (1941)
High Noon (1952)

2
5

de Havilland, OliviaOlivia de Havilland
To Each His Own (1946)
The Heiress (1949)

2
5

Hackman, GeneGene Hackman
The French Connection (1971)
Unforgiven (1992)
2
5

Hanks, TomTom Hanks
Philadelphia (1993)
Forrest Gump (1994)

2
5

March, FredricFredric March
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1931)
The Best Years of Our Lives (1946)

2
5

Penn, SeanSean Penn
Mystic River (2003)
Milk (2008)

2
5

Taylor, ElizabethElizabeth Taylor
BUtterfield 8 (1960)
Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1966)

2
5

Foster, JodieJodie Foster
The Accused (1988)
The Silence of the Lambs (1991)

2
4

Jackson, GlendaGlenda Jackson
Women in Love (1970)
A Touch of Class (1973)

2
4

Quinn, AnthonyAnthony Quinn

Viva Zapata! (1952)
Lust for Life (1956)
2
4

Winters, ShelleyShelley Winters

The Diary of Anne Frank (1959)
A Patch of Blue (1965)
2
4

Douglas, MelvynMelvyn Douglas

Hud (1963)
Being There (1979)
2
3

Field, SallySally Field
Norma Rae (1979)
Places in the Heart (1984)

2
3

Robards, JasonJason Robards

All the President's Men (1976)
Julia (1977)
2
3

Ustinov, PeterPeter Ustinov

Spartacus (1960)
Topkapi (1964)
2
3

Wiest, DianneDianne Wiest

Hannah and Her Sisters (1986)
Bullets over Broadway (1994)
2
3

Hayes, HelenHelen Hayes
The Sin of Madelon Claudet (1931)
Airport (1970)
2
2

Leigh, VivienVivien Leigh
Gone with the Wind (1939)
A Streetcar Named Desire (1951)

2
2

Rainer, LuiseLuise Rainer
The Great Ziegfeld (1936)
The Good Earth (1937)

2
2

Spacey, KevinKevin Spacey
American Beauty (1999)
The Usual Suspects (1995)
2
2

Swank, HilaryHilary Swank
Boys Don't Cry (1999)
Million Dollar Baby (2004)

2
2

Waltz, ChristophChristoph Waltz

Inglourious Basterds (2009)
Django Unchained (2012)
2
2


document_title: Table setting

question_text: which side do fork and knife go on

question_tokens: which side do fork and knife go on

text: Table setting

text: Place setting[edit]

text: Informal settings generally have fewer utensils and dishes but use a layout based on more formal settings. Utensils are arranged in the order and according to the manner in which the diner will use them. In the West, forks, plate, butter knife, and napkin generally are placed to the left of the dinner plate, and knives, spoons, stemware and tumblers, cups, and saucers to the right. (By contrast, formal settings in Armenia place the fork to the right of the dinner plate and informal settings in Turkey place the fork to the right of the dinner plate if not accompanied by a knife) Sauceboats and serving dishes, when used, either are placed on the table or, more formally, may be kept on a side table.

text: Informal[edit]

text: At an informal setting, fewer utensils are used and serving dishes are placed on the table. Sometimes the cup and saucer are placed on the right side of the spoon, about 30cm or 12 inches from the edge of the table. Often, in less formal settings, the napkin should be in the wine glass. However, such objects as napkin rings are very rare in the United Kingdom, Spain, Mexico, or Italy.

text: Formal[edit]

text: Utensils are placed inward about 20cm or 8 inches from the edge of the table, with all placed either upon the same invisible baseline or upon the same invisible median line. Utensils in the outermost position are to be used first (for example, a soup spoon or a salad fork, later the dinner fork and the dinner knife). The blades of the knives are turned toward the plate. Glasses are placed an inch (2.5 cm) or so above the knives, also in the order of use: white wine, red wine, dessert wine, and water tumbler.

text: Formal dinner[edit]

text: The most formal dinner is served from the kitchen. When the meal is served, in addition to the central plate (a service plate or dinner plate at supper; at luncheon, a service plate or luncheon plate) at each place there are a bread roll (generally on a bread plate, sometimes in the napkin), napkin, and flatware (knives and spoons to the right of the central plate, and forks to the left). Coffee is served in Butler Service style in demitasses, and a spoon placed on the saucer to the right of each handle. Serving dishes and utensils are not placed on the table for a formal dinner.[1] The only exception in the West to these general rules is the protocol followed at the Spanish royal court, which was also adopted by the Austrian court, in which all cutlery was placed to the right of the central plate for each diner.

text: At a less formal dinner, not served from the kitchen, the dessert fork and spoon can be set above the plate, fork pointing right, spoon pointing left.[2]

text: Gallery[edit]

text:
Formal dining

Formal Place Setting for 8 Course Dinner

Appetizer Course

Soup Course

Fish Course

Entrée Course

Palate Cleanser

Main (Releve) Course

Salad Course

Fingerbowl Before Dessert

Dessert Place Setting Before Dessert

Dessert Course

Coffee/Tea Course

Tea Service


document_title: Stephen Fry

question_text: who does stephen fry play in the hobbit

question_tokens: who does stephen fry play in the hobbit

text: Stephen Fry

text: Early life and education[edit]

text: Fry was born in Hampstead, London, on 24 August 1957,[1] the son of Marianne Eve Fry (née Newman) and Alan John Fry, a British physicist and inventor.[6][7][8] Fry's father is English, and his paternal grandmother had roots in Kent and Cheshire.[9][10] The Fry family originates in Dorset, at Shillingstone and Blandford; in the early 1800s, Samuel Fry (second son of James Fry, of Shillingstone and Blandford) settled in Surrey, with his descendants residing in Middlesex.[11]

text: Fry's mother is Jewish, but he was not brought up in a religious family.[12] His maternal grandparents, Martin and Rosa Neumann,[8] were Hungarian Jews, who emigrated from Šurany (now Slovakia) to Britain in 1927. Rosa Neumann's parents, who originally lived in Vienna, were sent to a concentration camp in Riga, Latvia, where they were murdered.[8][12][13] His mother's aunt and cousins were sent to Auschwitz and Stutthof and never seen again.[8]

text: Fry grew up in the village of Booton near Reepham, Norfolk, having moved from Chesham, Buckinghamshire, at an early age. He has an elder brother, Roger, and a younger sister, Joanna.[14] Fry briefly attended Cawston Primary School in Cawston, Norfolk,[15] before going on to Stouts Hill Preparatory School in Uley, Gloucestershire, at the age of seven, and then to Uppingham School, Rutland, where he joined Fircroft house, and was described as a "near-asthmatic genius".[16] He was expelled from Uppingham when he was 15 and subsequently from the Paston School.

text: At 17, after leaving Norfolk College of Arts and Technology, Fry absconded with a credit card stolen from a family friend.[17] He had taken a coat when leaving a pub, planning to spend the night sleeping rough, but had then discovered the card in a pocket.[18] He was arrested in Swindon, and, as a result, spent three months in Pucklechurch Prison on remand. While Fry was in Pucklechurch, his mother had cut out the crossword from every copy of The Times since he had been away, something which Fry said was "a wonderful act of kindness". Fry later stated that these crosswords were the only thing that got him through the ordeal.[17]

text: Following his release, he resumed his education at City College Norwich, promising administrators that he would study rigorously to sit the Cambridge entrance exams. He scored well enough to gain a scholarship to Queens' College, Cambridge. At Cambridge, Fry joined the Footlights, appeared on University Challenge,[19] and read for a degree in English literature, graduating with upper second-class honours.[20][21] Fry also met his future comedy collaborator Hugh Laurie at Cambridge and starred alongside him in the Footlights.

text: Career[edit]

text: Television[edit]

text: Comedy[edit]

text: Fry's career in television began with the 1982 broadcasting of The Cellar Tapes, the 1981 Cambridge Footlights Revue which was written by Fry, Hugh Laurie, Emma Thompson and Tony Slattery. The revue caught the attention of Granada Television, who, keen to replicate the success of the BBC's Not the Nine O'Clock News, hired Fry, Laurie and Thompson to star alongside Ben Elton in There's Nothing to Worry About!. A second series, retitled Alfresco, was broadcast in 1983, and a third in 1984; it established Fry and Laurie's reputation as a comedy double act. In 1983, the BBC offered Fry, Laurie and Thompson their own show, which became The Crystal Cube, a mixture of science fiction and mockumentary that was cancelled after the first episode. Undeterred, Fry and Laurie appeared in an episode of The Young Ones in 1984, and Fry also appeared in Ben Elton's 1985 Happy Families series. In 1986 and 1987 Fry and Laurie performed sketches on the LWT/Channel 4 show Saturday Live.

text: Forgiving Fry and Laurie for The Crystal Cube, the BBC commissioned, in 1986, a sketch show that was to become A Bit of Fry & Laurie. The programme ran for 26 episodes spanning four series between 1986 and 1995, and was very successful. During this time, Fry starred in Blackadder II as Lord Melchett, made a guest appearance in Blackadder the Third as the Duke of Wellington, then returned to a starring role in Blackadder Goes Forth, as General Melchett. In a 1988 television special, Blackadder's Christmas Carol, he played the roles of Lord Melchett and Lord Frondo. Between 1990 and 1993, Fry starred as Jeeves (alongside Hugh Laurie's Bertie Wooster) in Jeeves and Wooster, 23 hour-long adaptations of P. G. Wodehouse's novels and short stories.

text: Towards the end of 2003, Fry starred alongside John Bird in the television adaptation of Absolute Power, previously a radio series on BBC Radio 4. In 2010, Fry took part in a Christmas series of short films called Little Crackers. His short was based on a story from his childhood at school.[22] He appeared as the Christian God in 2011's Holy Flying Circus. In January 2016 it was announced that Fry would be appearing as the character "Cuddly Dick" in Series 3 of the Sky One family comedy Yonderland.[23] In 2016, Fry had a lead role in the American sitcom The Great Indoors. He portrayed an outdoor magazine publisher helping to ease his best worldly reporter (Joel McHale) into a desk job.[24] The show was cancelled after one season.[25]

text: Drama[edit]

text: Fry has appeared in a number of BBC adaptations of plays and books, including a 1992 adaptation of the Simon Gray play The Common Pursuit (he had previously appeared in the West End stage production); a 1998 Malcolm Bradbury adaptation of the Mark Tavener novel In the Red, taking the part of the Controller of BBC Radio 2; and in 2000 in the role of Professor Bellgrove in the BBC serial Gormenghast, which was adapted from the first two novels of Mervyn Peake's Gormenghast series. In 2011, Fry portrayed Professor Mildeye in the BBC adaptation of Mary Norton's 1952 novel The Borrowers.[26]

text: Fry narrates the first two seasons of the English-language version of the Spanish children's animated series Pocoyo.[27] From 2007 to 2009, Fry played the lead role in (and was executive producer for) the legal drama Kingdom, which ran for three series on ITV1.[28] He has also taken up a recurring guest role as FBI psychiatrist Dr. (later chef) Gordon Wyatt in the popular American drama Bones. In 2010, having learned some Irish for the role,[29] he filmed a cameo role in Ros na Rún, an Irish-language soap opera broadcast in Ireland, Scotland and the US.[30][31][32] In 2014 he began starring alongside Kiefer Sutherland and William Devane in 24: Live Another Day as British Prime Minister Alastair Davies.[33]

text: Documentaries and other factual programmes[edit]

text: Fry's first documentary was the Emmy Award-winning Stephen Fry: The Secret Life of the Manic Depressive in 2006.[34] The same year, he appeared on the BBC's genealogy series Who Do You Think You Are?, tracing his maternal family tree to investigate his Jewish ancestry.[35] Fry narrated The Story of Light Entertainment, which was shown from July–September 2006.[36] In 2007, he presented a documentary on the subject of HIV and AIDS, HIV and Me.[37]

text: On 7 May 2008, Fry gave a speech as part of a series of BBC lectures on the future of public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom,[38] which he later recorded for a podcast.[39] His six-part travel series Stephen Fry in America began on BBC One in October 2008, and saw him travel to each of the 50 US states.[40] In the same year, he narrated the nature documentaries Spectacled Bears: Shadow of the Forest for the BBC Natural World series. In the 2009 television series Last Chance to See, Fry and zoologist Mark Carwardine sought out endangered species, some of which had been featured in Douglas Adams' and Carwardine's 1990 book and radio series of the same name.[41]

text: In August 2011, Stephen Fry's 100 Greatest Gadgets was shown on Channel 4 as one of the 100 Greatest strand.[42] His choice for the greatest gadget was the cigarette lighter, which he described as "fire with a flick of the fingers".[42] In the same month, the nature documentary series Ocean Giants, narrated by Fry, premiered. In September 2011, Fry's Planet Word, a five-part documentary about language, aired on BBC HD and BBC Two.[43][44] In November 2011, an episode of Living The Life featured Fry in an intimate conversation discussing his life and career with Rolling Stones bass player Bill Wyman.[45]

text: At the 2012 Pride of Britain Awards shown on ITV on 30 October, Fry, along with Michael Caine, Elton John, Richard Branson and Simon Cowell, recited Rudyard Kipling's poem "If—" in tribute to the 2012 British Olympic and Paralympic athletes.[46] In November 2012, Fry hosted a gadgets show called Gadget Man, exploring the usefulness of various gadgets in different daily situations to improve the livelihoods of everyone.[47] In October 2013, Fry presented Stephen Fry: Out There, a two-part documentary in which he explores attitudes to homosexuality and the lives of gay people in different parts of the globe.[48]

text: On Christmas Day 2013, Fry featured with adventurer Bear Grylls in an episode of Channel 4's Bear's Wild Weekends. Over the course of two days, in the Italian Dolomites, Fry travelled on the skids of a helicopter, climbed down a raging 500-foot waterfall, slept in a First World War trench and abseiled down a towering cliff face.[18] In June 2015 Fry was the guest on BBC Radio 4's Desert Island Discs. His favourite piece was the String Quartet No. 14 by Beethoven. His book choice was Four Quartets by T. S. Eliot and his luxury item was "canvasses, easels, brushes, an instruction manual".[49]

text: QI[edit]

text: In 2003, Fry began hosting QI (Quite Interesting), a comedy panel game television quiz show. QI was created and co-produced by John Lloyd, and features permanent panellist Alan Davies. QI has the highest viewing figures for any show on BBC Four and Dave (formerly UKTV G2).[50][51] In 2006, Fry won the Rose d'Or award for "Best Game Show Host" for his work on the series. In October 2015, it was announced that Fry would retire as the host of QI after the "M" series.[52]

text: Film[edit]

text: Having made his film début in the 1985 film The Good Father, Fry had a brief appearance in A Fish Called Wanda (in which he is knocked out by Kevin Kline, who is posing as an airport security man), and then appeared as the eponymous Peter in Kenneth Branagh's Peter's Friends in 1992. In the 1994 romantic comedy film I.Q., he played the role of James Moreland. Portraying Oscar Wilde (of whom he had been an ardent admirer since the age of 13) in the 1997 film Wilde, he fulfilled to critical acclaim a role that he has said he was "born to play". It also earned him a nomination for Best Actor – Drama in the 1998 Golden Globe Award. A year later, Fry starred in David Yates' small independent film The Tichborne Claimant, and in 2001 he played the detective in Robert Altman's period costume drama, Gosford Park. In the same year, he also appeared in the Dutch film The Discovery of Heaven, directed by Jeroen Krabbé and based on the novel by Harry Mulisch.

text: In 2003, Fry made his directorial début with Bright Young Things, adapted by him from Evelyn Waugh's Vile Bodies. In 2001, he began hosting the BAFTA Film Awards, a role from which he stepped down in 2006.[53] Later that same year, he wrote the English libretto and dialogue for Kenneth Branagh's film adaptation of The Magic Flute.[54]

text: Fry continues to make regular film appearances, notably in treatments of literary cult classics. He portrayed Maurice Woodruff in The Life and Death of Peter Sellers, served as narrator in the 2005 film version of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, and in 2005 appeared in both A Cock and Bull Story, based on Tristram Shandy, and V for Vendetta, as a non-conforming TV presenter who challenges the fascist state. The Wachowskis pointed out that it was Fry's "normalcy" in the face of the insanity of the censorship of BTV that makes his character truly powerful and adds a "wholly unexpected dimension to the film".[55] In 2006, he played the role of gadget-master Smithers in Stormbreaker, and in 2007 he appeared as himself hosting a quiz in St Trinian's. In 2007 Fry wrote, for director Peter Jackson, a script for a remake of The Dam Busters.[56] He also appeared that year in Eichmann.

text: Fry was offered a role in Valkyrie, but was unable to participate.[57] Fry starred in the Tim Burton version of Alice in Wonderland, as the voice of the Cheshire Cat.[58] He played Mycroft Holmes in the 2011 film Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows, directed by Guy Ritchie.[59] In 2010, Fry provided the voice of Socrates the Lion in the environmental animated film Animals United. He portrayed the Master of Lake-town in two of Peter Jackson's three film adaptation of J. R. R. Tolkien's The Hobbit: the second The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug,[60] and the third The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies.

text: Radio[edit]

text: Fry came to the attention of radio listeners with the 1986 creation of his alter-ego, Donald Trefusis, whose "wireless essays" were broadcast on the BBC Radio 4 programme Loose Ends. In the 1980s, he starred as David Lander in four series of the BBC Radio 4 show Delve Special, written by Tony Sarchet, which then became the six-part Channel 4 series This is David Lander in 1988. In 1988, Fry wrote and presented a six-part comedy series entitled Saturday Night Fry. Frequent radio appearances have ensued, notably on panel games Just a Minute and I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue. In 2000, he began starring as Charles Prentiss in the Radio 4 comedy Absolute Power, reprising the role for three further series on radio, and two on television. In 2002, Fry was one of the narrators of A.A. Milne's Winnie-the-Pooh and The House at Pooh Corner, in which he voiced Winnie-the-Pooh. He presented a 20-part, two-hour series, The Incomplete and Utter History of Classical Music, a "witty guide" to the genre over the past 1,000 years, on Classic FM.

text: In 2007, he hosted Current Puns, an exploration of wordplay, and Radio 4: This Is Your Life, to celebrate the radio station's 40th anniversary. He also interviewed the Prime Minister Tony Blair as part of a series of podcasts released by 10 Downing Street.[61] In February 2008, Fry began presenting podcasts entitled Stephen Fry's Podgrams, in which he recounts his life and recent experiences.[62] In July 2008, he appeared as himself in I Love Stephen Fry, an Afternoon Play for Radio 4 written by former Fry and Laurie script editor Jon Canter.[63]

text: Since August 2008, he has presented Fry's English Delight, a series on BBC Radio 4 about the English language.[64] As of 2015, it has been running for eight series and 30 episodes. In the summer 2009 series of I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue, Fry was one of a trio of hosts replacing Humphrey Lyttelton (the others being Jack Dee and Rob Brydon).[65] In 2012, he appeared as a guest panellist in the BBC Radio 4 comedy panel show Wordaholics.[66] In September 2012, he guest-starred as himself in the audio comedy drama We Are The BBC, produced by the Wireless Theatre Company, written by Susan Casanove.[67]

text: Theatre[edit]

text: Fry wrote the play Latin! or Tobacco and Boys for the 1980 Edinburgh Festival, where it won the Fringe first prize.[68] It had a revival in 2009 at London's Cock Tavern Theatre, directed by Adam Spreadbury-Maher.[69] The Cellar Tapes, the Footlights Revue of 1981, won the Perrier Comedy Award. In 1984, Fry adapted the hugely successful 1930s musical Me and My Girl for the West End, where it ran for eight years.

text: Fry was cast in Simon Gray's The Common Pursuit for its first staging in London's West End on 7 April 1988, with Rik Mayall, John Sessions, Sarah Berger, Paul Mooney and John Gordon Sinclair, directed by Simon Gray.[70] He was also cast in a lead role in Simon Gray's 1995 play Cell Mates, which he left three days into the West End run, pleading stage fright. He later recalled the incident as a hypomanic episode in his documentary about bipolar disorder, The Secret Life of the Manic Depressive. In 2007, Fry wrote a Christmas pantomime, Cinderella, which ran at London's Old Vic Theatre.[71]

text: Fry is a long-standing fan of the anarchic British musical comedy group the Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band, and particularly of its eccentric front man, the late Vivian Stanshall. Fry helped to fund a 1988 London re-staging of Stanshall's Stinkfoot, a Comic Opera, written by Vivian and Ki Longfellow-Stanshall for the Bristol-based Old Profanity Showboat. Fry performed several of Stanshall's numbers as part of the Bonzos' 2006 reunion concert at the London Astoria. He also appears as a shiny New Millennium Bonzo on their post-reunion album, Pour l'Amour des Chiens, on which he recites a recipe for "Salmon Proust", plays a butler in "Hawkeye the Gnu", and voices ads for the fictitious "Fiasco" stores. Following three one-man shows in Australia, Fry announced a 'sort of stand-up' performance at The Royal Albert Hall in London for September 2010.[72]

text: In September 2012, Fry made a return to the stage at Shakespeare's Globe, appearing as Malvolio in a production of William Shakespeare's Twelfth Night, which transferred to the West End in November 2012.[73][74] He received excellent reviews.[73][74] The production transferred to Broadway, with previews beginning 15 October 2013 and Opening Night 10 November 2013. Fry was nominated for a Tony in the category Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Play for the Broadway revival.[75][76] In August 2013, he lent his voice to the title role in Britten's operetta Paul Bunyan at the Wales Millennium Centre with the Welsh National Youth Opera.[77]

text: In December 2013, Fry was invited by The Noel Coward Society to lay flowers on the statue of Sir Noël Coward at The Gershwin Theatre in Manhattan to celebrate the 114th birthday of "The Master".

text: Audiobooks[edit]

text: Fry has been the reader for the British versions of all of J. K. Rowling's Harry Potter series of audiobooks. He discussed this project in an interview with Rowling in 2005.[78] He has also read for Douglas Adams' The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy film tie-in edition and has made recordings of his own books, such as The Stars' Tennis Balls and Moab Is My Washpot, and of works by Roald Dahl, Michael Bond, A. A. Milne, Anthony Buckeridge, Eleanor Updale, and Alexander Pushkin. In June 2015, Fry backed children's fairy tale app GivingTales in aid of UNICEF together with other British celebrities Sir Roger Moore, Ewan McGregor, Dame Joan Collins, Joanna Lumley, Michael Caine, David Walliams, Charlotte Rampling, Paul McKenna and Michael Ball.[79]

text: In February 2017, Audible released Sherlock Holmes: The Definitive Collection, a complete collection of Sherlock Holmes stories, all read by Fry, who also narrated an introduction for each story.

text: Fry is the patron of the audiobook charity Listening Books.[80] Fry said of his patronage, "I’m proud and delighted to be patron of the first audiobook charity to offer downloads to its members and excited about what this will mean for all print impaired people who can now listen on-the-go."[80]

text: Video games[edit]

text: Fry's distinctive voice has been featured in a number of video games, including an appearance as Reaver, an amoral supporting character in Lionhead Studios games Fable II and Fable III, and as the narrator of the LittleBigPlanet series.[81][82] He also narrated the first four Harry Potter games: Philosopher's Stone, Chamber of Secrets, Prisoner of Azkaban, and Goblet of Fire.

text: Advertising[edit]

text: Fry has appeared in numerous advertisements – either on-screen or in voice-over – starting with an appearance as "Count Ivan Skavinsky Skavar" in a 1982 advert for Whitbread Best Bitter. Fry has said, in his memoirs, that after receiving his payment for this work – £25,000 – he has never subsequently experienced "what one could call serious money troubles".[83] He has since appeared in adverts for products and companies such as Marks and Spencer, Twinings, Kenco, Vauxhall, Honda, Direct Line, Calpol, Heineken, Alliance & Leicester (a series of adverts which also featured Hugh Laurie), After Eights, Trebor, Panama cigars, Virgin Media and Orange Mobile.

text: Literature[edit]

text: Since the publication of his first novel, The Liar (1991), Fry has written three further novels, several non-fiction works and three volumes of autobiography. Making History (1997) is partly set in an alternative universe in which Adolf Hitler's father is made infertile and his replacement proves a rather more effective Führer. The book won the Sidewise Award for Alternate History. The Hippopotamus (1994) is about Edward (Ted/Tedward) Wallace and his stay at his old friend Lord Logan's country manor in Norfolk. The Hippopotamus was later adapted into a 2017 film.[84] The Stars' Tennis Balls (2000) is a modern retelling of The Count of Monte Cristo. Fry's book The Ode Less Travelled: Unlocking the Poet Within is a guide to writing poetry.

text: When writing a book review for Tatler, Fry wrote under a pen name, Williver Hendry, editor of A Most Peculiar Friendship: The Correspondence of Lord Alfred Douglas and Jack Dempsey, a field close to his heart as an Oscar Wilde enthusiast. Once a columnist in The Listener and The Daily Telegraph, he now writes a weekly technology column in the Saturday edition of The Guardian. His blog attracted more than 300,000 visitors in its first two weeks.[40]

text: In May 2009, Fry unveiled The Dongle of Donald Trefusis, an audiobook series following Donald Trefusis (a fictional character from Fry's novel The Liar and from the BBC Radio 4 series Loose Ends), set over 12 episodes.[85] After its release, it reached No. 1 on the UK Album Chart list. Ultimately however only three episodes were released, the rest with the note 'exact release date pending'. Fry's use of the word "luvvie" (spelled "lovie" by Fry), in The Guardian on 2 April 1988, is given by the Oxford English Dictionary as the earliest recorded use of the word as a humorous synonym for "actor".[86]

text: Football[edit]

text: In August 2010, Fry joined the board of directors at Norwich City Football Club. A lifelong fan of "the Canaries" and a regular visitor to Carrow Road, he said, on being appointed, "Truly this is one of the most exciting days of my life, and I am as proud and pleased as I could be."[87] Fry stepped down from his Board position in January 2016, to take up a new position as "Norwich City Ambassador".[88] Fry said, "My five years in the role have been an honour and a privilege beyond almost anything I can remember. I wish I could take credit for ushering the club up from League One to the Premiership during that time on the Board. Actually, I’m going to. It was all me. It can’t have been a coincidence ... But now I’m so happy to relinquish my seat on the board to Thomas Smith and to engage as fully as I can in the role of ambassador for Norwich City. We have so much to be proud of, both on and off the pitch, and I hope to welcome many new fans to the greatest club of all. On the Ball, City!"[88] In February 2014, Fry became the honorary president of Proud Canaries, a new club for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender fans.[89]

text: Twitter[edit]

text: In October 2008, Fry began posting to the social networking site Twitter,[90] which he regularly updated.[91] On 16 May 2009, he celebrated the 500,000-follower mark: "Bless my soul 500k followers. And I love you all. Well, all except that silly one. And that's not you."[92]

text: Fry wields a considerable amount of influence through his use of Twitter.[93][94] He is frequently asked to promote various charities and causes, often inadvertently causing their websites to crash because of the volume of traffic generated by his large number of followers; as Fry notes on his website: "Four thousand hits a second all diving down the pipeline at the same time for minutes on end."[95] He uses his influence to recommend underexposed musicians and authors (who often see large increases in web hits and sales)[96][97] and to raise awareness of contemporary issues in the world of media and politics, notably the dropping of an injunction against The Guardian[98][99] and the attacking of Daily Mail columnist Jan Moir over her article on the death of Boyzone member Stephen Gately.[100][101]

text: In November 2009, Fry's Twitter account reached one million followers. He commemorated the million-followers milestone with a humorous video blog in which a 'Step Hen Fry' clone speaks from the year 2034, where MySpace, Facebook and Twitter have combined to form 'Twit on MyFace'.[102] In November 2010, he welcomed his two-millionth follower with a blog entry detailing his opinions and experiences of Twitter.[103] On 11 March 2012, Fry noted his passing of the four-million-followers mark with a tweet: "Lordy I've breasted the 4 million followers tape. Love you all. Yes even YOU. But let's dedicate today to Douglas Adams's diamond jubilee".[104] As of February 2017[update] he had 12.4 million followers.[105]

text: Fry has a history of temporarily distancing himself from the social networking site which began when he received criticism in October 2009. However, he retracted the announcement that he would be leaving the following day.[106] In October 2010, Fry left Twitter for a few days, with a farewell message of "Bye bye", following press criticism of a quote taken from an interview he had given. After returning, he explained that he had left Twitter to "avoid being sympathised with or told about an article" he "would otherwise never have got wind of".[107] In some quarters, the general methods Fry uses on Twitter have been criticised.[108] On 15 February 2016, Fry deleted his Twitter account, after receiving criticism for a tweet about Jenny Beavan and her dress.[109] Fry alluded to this on an April 2016 episode of The Rubin Report in which he criticized groupthink mentality and stated that his return to Twitter was a "maybe".[110][111] He returned to Twitter in August 2016.[112]

text: Honours[edit]

text: In 1995, Fry was presented with an honorary doctorate from the University of Dundee, which named their main Students' Association bar after his novel The Liar. Fry is a patron of its Lip Theatre Company.[113] He also served two consecutive terms – 1992 to 1995 and 1995 to 1998 – as the student-elected Rector of the University of Dundee. Such was his popularity, he was unopposed when he sought re-election to office in 1995, and by the time he completed his second term in office, he had won the widespread admiration of the University's staff and students.[114][115] He was awarded the AoC Gold Award in 2004, and was entered into their Hall of Fame.[116] Fry was also awarded an honorary degree from Anglia Ruskin University in 2005.[117][118]

text: He was made honorary president of the Cambridge University Quiz Society and honorary fellow of his alma mater Queens' College, Cambridge. On 13 July 2010, he was made an honorary fellow of Cardiff University,[119] and on 28 January 2011, he was awarded an honorary doctorate at the University of Sussex, for his work campaigning for people suffering from mental health problems, bipolar disorder and HIV.[120] He is a Patron of the Norwich Playhouse theatre and a Vice-President of The Noël Coward Society.[121] Fry was the last person to be named Pipe Smoker of the Year before the award was discontinued.[122] In 2017, Fry became the latest patron of the Norwich Film Festival, and said he was "Very proud now to be a patron of a festival that encourages people from Norfolk, Norwich and beyond to be enchanted, beguiled and entranced by all kinds of film that might not otherwise reach them."[123]

text: In December 2006, he was ranked sixth for the BBC's Top Living Icon Award,[124] was featured on The Culture Show, and was voted Most Intelligent Man on Television by readers of Radio Times. The Independent on Sunday Pink List named Fry the second most influential gay person in Britain in May 2007; he had taken the twenty-third position on the list the previous year.[125] Later the same month, he was announced as the 2007 Mind Champion of the Year,[2] in recognition of the success of his documentary The Secret Life of a Manic Depressive in raising awareness of bipolar disorder. He was also nominated in "Best Entertainment Performance" for QI and "Best Factual Series" for Secret Life of the Manic Depressive at the 2007 British Academy Television Awards.[126] That same year, Broadcast magazine listed Fry at number four in its "Hot 100" list of influential on-screen performers, describing him as a polymath and a "national treasure".[127] He was also granted a lifetime achievement award at the British Comedy Awards on 5 December 2007,[128] and the Special Recognition Award at the National Television Awards on 20 January 2010.[129]

text: BBC Four dedicated two nights of programming to Fry on 17 and 18 August 2007, in celebration of his 50th birthday. The first night, comprising programs featuring Fry, began with a sixty-minute documentary entitled Stephen Fry: 50 Not Out. The second night was composed of programmes selected by Fry, as well as a 60-minute interview with Mark Lawson and a half-hour special, Stephen Fry: Guilty.[130] The weekend programming proved such a ratings hit for BBC Four that it was repeated on BBC Two on 16 and 17 September 2007. In 2011, he was the subject of Molly Lewis's song An Open Letter to Stephen Fry, in which the singer jokingly offers herself as a surrogate mother for his child.[131] In February 2011, Fry was awarded the Outstanding Lifetime Achievement Award in Cultural Humanism by the Humanist Chaplaincy at Harvard University, the Harvard Secular Society and the American Humanist Association.[132]

text: In 2012, Fry wrote the foreword to the Union of UEA Students report on the student experience for LGBT+ members.[133] As recognition of his public support for LGBT+ rights and for the Union's report, the Union of UEA Students awarded him, on 18 October 2012, Honorary Life Membership of the Union.[134] In March 2014 Fry beat David Attenborough and Davina McCall to win the Best Presenter award at the Royal Television Society Programme Awards. The award was given for his BBC2 programme Stephen Fry: Out There.[135] In an episode of QI, "M-Merriment", originally broadcast in December 2015, Fry was awarded membership of The Magic Circle.

text: In 2017, the bird louse Saepocephalum stephenfryii was named after him, in honour of his contributions to the popularization of science as host of QI.[136]

text: Personal life[edit]

text: Fry married comedian Elliott Spencer in January 2015.[137] Fry is on cordial terms with Prince Charles, through his work with the Prince's Trust. He attended the Prince's wedding to Camilla Parker Bowles in 2005. Fry is a friend of 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. Fry was a friend of British actor John Mills.[138] His best friend is Hugh Laurie,[139] whom he met while both were at Cambridge and with whom he has collaborated many times over the years. He was best man at Laurie's wedding and is godfather to all three of his children.[140] Fry became a vegetarian in 2017,[141] having earlier expressed a desire to become so.[142]

text: A fan of cricket, Fry has stated that he is related to former England cricketer C.B. Fry,[143] and was interviewed for the Ashes Fever DVD, reporting on England's victory over Australia in the 2005 Ashes series. Regarding football, he is a supporter of Norwich City, and is a regular visitor to Carrow Road. He has been described as "deeply dippy for all things digital", claims to have bought the third Macintosh computer sold in the UK (his friend Douglas Adams bought the first two) and jokes that he has never encountered a smartphone that he has not bought.[144] He counts Wikipedia among his favourite websites "because I like to find out that I died, and that I'm currently in a ballet in China, and all the other very accurate and important things that Wikipedia brings us all."[145]

text: Fry has a long-standing interest in Internet production, including having his own website since 1997. His current site, The New Adventures of Mr Stephen Fry, has existed since 2002 and has attracted many visitors following his first blog in September 2007, which comprised a 6,500-word "blessay" on smartphones. In February 2008, Fry launched his private podcast series, Stephen Fry's Podgrams (now discontinued), and a forum, including discussions on depression and activities in which Fry is involved. The website content is created by Fry and produced by Andrew Sampson. Fry's weekly gadget column Dork Talk appeared in The Guardian from November 2007 to October 2008.[144] Fry is also a supporter of GNU and the Free Software Foundation.[146] For the 25th anniversary of the GNU operating system, Fry appeared in a video explaining some of the philosophy behind GNU by likening it to the sharing found in science.[147] When in London, he drives a dark green TX4 London cab.[148] This vehicle has been featured in Fry's production Stephen Fry in America.[149]

text: Sexuality[edit]

text: Fry struggled to keep his homosexuality secret during his teenage years at public school, and by his own account did not engage in sexual activity for 16 years from 1979 until 1995.[150] When asked when he first acknowledged his sexuality, Fry quipped: "I suppose it all began when I came out of the womb. I looked back up at my mother and thought to myself, 'That's the last time I'm going up one of those'."[151] Fry was in a 15-year relationship with Daniel Cohen, which ended in 2010.[152] In 2016, Fry was listed number 2 on the World Pride Power list.[153]

text: On 6 January 2015, The Sun reported that Fry would marry his partner, comedian Elliott Spencer. Fry wrote on Twitter: "It looks as though a certain cat is out of a certain bag. I'm very very happy of course but had hoped for a private wedding. Fat chance!"[154] Fry married Spencer on 17 January 2015 in the town of Dereham in Norfolk.[155]

text: Politics[edit]

text: Fry was an active supporter of the Labour Party for many years and appeared in a party political broadcast on its behalf with Hugh Laurie and Michelle Collins in November 1993. He did not vote in the 2005 General Election because of the stance of both the Labour and Conservative parties with regard to the Iraq War. Despite his praise of the Blair/Brown government's work on social reform, Fry has been critical of the Labour Party's "Third Way" concept. Fry appeared in literature to support changing the British electoral system from first-past-the-post to alternative vote for electing members of parliament to the House of Commons in the Alternative Vote referendum of 2011.[156]

text: On 30 April 2008, Fry signed an open letter, published in The Guardian newspaper by some well-known Jewish personalities, stating their opposition to celebrating the 60th anniversary of the founding of the state of Israel.[157] Furthermore, he is a signatory member of the British Jews for Justice for Palestinians organisation, which campaigns for Palestinian rights.[158] Fry was among over 100 signatories to a statement published by Sense About Science on 4 June 2009, condemning British libel laws and their use to "severely curtail the right to free speech on a matter of public interest".[159]

text: In August 2013, Fry published an "Open Letter to David Cameron and the IOC"[160] calling for a boycott of the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, due to concerns over the state-sanctioned persecution of LGBT persons in Russia. Cameron however stated on Twitter he believed "we can better challenge prejudice as we attend, rather than boycotting the Winter Olympics".[161][162] Adrian Hilton, writing in the Daily Mail, criticised Fry for not calling for a boycott of all Russian performing arts.[163][164] Fry responded by accusing the Daily Mail of being "against progress, the liberalising of attitudes, modern art and strangers (whether by race, gender or sexuality)".[164][165] Fry said in 2015 that the Daily Mail editor Paul Dacre "has done more to damage the Britain I love than any single person".[166]

text: In March 2014, Fry publicly backed "Hacked Off" and its campaign towards press self-regulation by "safeguarding the press from political interference while also giving vital protection to the vulnerable."[167]

text: Poland controversy[edit]

text: On 6 October 2009, Fry was interviewed by Jon Snow on Channel 4 News[168] as a signatory of a letter to British Conservative Party leader David Cameron expressing concern about the party forming a political alliance with the right-wing Polish Law and Justice party in the European Parliament.[169] During the interview, he stated:

text: There has been a history, let's face it, in Poland of a right-wing Catholicism which has been deeply disturbing for those of us who know a little history, and remember which side of the border Auschwitz was on and know the stories, and know much of the anti-semitic, and homophobic and nationalistic elements in countries like Poland.

text: The remark prompted a complaint from the Polish Embassy in London, an editorial in The Economist and criticism from British Jewish historian David Cesarani.[170][171][172][173] Fry has since posted an apology in a six-page post on his personal blog, in which he stated:

text: I offer no excuse. I seemed to imply that the Polish people had been responsible for the most infamous of all the death factories of the Third Reich. I didn't even really at the time notice the import of what I had said, so gave myself no opportunity instantly to retract the statement. It was a rubbishy, cheap and offensive remark that I have been regretting ever since. I take this opportunity to apologise now. I said a stupid, thoughtless and fatuous thing. It detracted from and devalued my argument, such as it was, and it outraged and offended a large group of people for no very good reason. I am sorry in all directions, and all the more sorry because it is no one's fault but my own, which always makes it so much worse.[174]

text: Health[edit]

text: Fry has bipolar disorder.[175] His first diagnosis was cyclothymia, which he refers to as "bipolar lite".[176][177] Fry has spoken publicly about his experience with bipolar disorder, which was depicted in the documentary Stephen Fry: The Secret Life of the Manic Depressive.[178] In the programme, he interviewed other sufferers of the illness including Robbie Williams, Carrie Fisher, Richard Dreyfuss and Tony Slattery. He is involved with the mental health charity Stand to Reason[179] and is president of Mind.[2] In 2013 he revealed that, in the previous year, he had started taking medication for the first time, in an attempt to control his condition.[18]

text: In 1995, while appearing in the West End Cell Mates, Fry suffered an acute episode of mental illness and walked out of the production, causing its early closure and incurring the displeasure of co-star Rik Mayall and playwright Simon Gray.[180] Fry went missing for several days and contemplated suicide. He later said that he would have killed himself if he had not had "the option of disappearing".[180] He abandoned the idea and left the United Kingdom by ferry, eventually resurfacing in Belgium.[181] Fry has attempted suicide on a number of occasions, most recently in 2012.[182] In an interview with Richard Herring in 2013, Fry revealed that he had attempted suicide the previous year while filming abroad. He said that he took a "huge number of pills and a huge [amount] of vodka" and had to be brought back to the UK to be "looked after".[183]

text: In January 2008, Fry broke his arm while filming Last Chance to See in Brazil.[184] While climbing aboard a boat, he slipped between it and the dock, and, stopping himself from falling into the water, his body weight snapped his right humerus. The resulting vulnerability to his radial nerve – which affects use of the arm – was not diagnosed until he saw a consultant in the UK.[185]

text: Appearing on the BBC's Top Gear in 2009, Fry had lost a significant amount of weight, and explained that he had shed a total of 6 stone (84 lb; 38 kg), attributing the weight loss to doing a lot of walking while listening to downloaded audiobooks.[186] Fry is between 6 feet 4 inches (1.93 m) and 6 feet 5 inches (1.96 m) in height.[187][188] Fry has stated that he is allergic to champagne[189] and bumble bee stings.[190] Fry has prosopagnosia.[191][192]

text: Views on religion[edit]

text: Fry has repeatedly expressed opposition to organised religion, and has identified himself as an atheist and humanist, while declaring some sympathy for the ancient Greek belief in capricious gods. In his first autobiography he described how he once considered ordination to the Anglican priesthood, but came to the conclusion that he "couldn't believe in God, because [he] was fundamentally Hellenic in [his] outlook."[193] He has stated that religion can have positive effects: "Sometimes belief means credulity, sometimes an expression of faith and hope which even the most sceptical atheist such as myself cannot but find inspiring."[194]

text: In 2009, The Guardian published a letter from Fry addressing his younger self, explaining how his future is soon to unfold, reflecting on the positive progression towards gay acceptance and openness around him, and yet not everywhere, while warning on how "the cruel, hypocritical and loveless hand of religion and absolutism has fallen on the world once more."[195] Later that year, he and Christopher Hitchens participated in an "Intelligence Squared" debate in which they argued against Ann Widdecombe and Archbishop John Onaiyekan, who supported the view that the Catholic Church was a force for good. Fry and Hitchens argued that the church did more harm than good. Fry attacked the Catholic Church's teachings on sexuality and denounced its wealth.[196]

text: In 2010 Fry was made a Distinguished Supporter of the British Humanist Association, stating: "it is essential to nail one’s colours to the mast as a humanist."[197] Later that year, Fry joined 54 other public figures in signing an open letter published in The Guardian stating their opposition to Pope Benedict XVI's visit to the United Kingdom being a state visit.[198] On 22 February 2011, Fry was presented with the Lifetime Achievement Award in Cultural Humanism by the Humanist Chaplaincy at Harvard University.[199][200]

text: When interviewed in 2015 by veteran Irish broadcaster Gay Byrne, Fry was asked what he would say if he came face-to-face with God. Fry said: "Bone cancer in children, what’s that about? How dare you? How dare you create a world where there is such misery that’s not our fault? It’s utterly, utterly evil. Why should I respect a capricious, mean-minded, stupid God who creates a world which is so full of injustice and pain?"[201] Within days, the video was viewed over five million times.[202] Fry later stated he did not refer to any specific religion, and said: "I said quite a few things that were angry at this supposed God. I was merely saying things that Bertrand Russell and many finer heads of the mind have said for many thousands of years, going all the way back to the Greeks."[203] Because the God who created this universe, if it was created by God, is quite clearly a maniac, utter maniac.'[204] In May 2017 it was announced that Fry, along with broadcaster RTÉ, were under criminal investigation for blasphemy under the 2009 Defamation Act, following a complaint from a member of the public about the broadcast: the case was dropped after the police confirmed that they had not been able to locate a sufficient number of offended people.[205]

text: Business[edit]

text: In 2008, Fry formed SamFry Ltd, with long-term collaborator Andrew Sampson to produce and fund new material and manage his official website.[206] Fry is the co-owner, with Gina Carter and Sandi Toksvig, of Sprout Pictures, an independent film and television company.[207]

text: Computing and software freedom[edit]

text: In 2008 he appeared in a film made by the Free Software Foundation to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the GNU Project to create a completely free operating system.[208] In the film Fry explains the principles of software freedom central to the development of the Linux and GNU software projects.[209]

text: Bibliography[edit]

text: As author[edit]

text:
Fry, Stephen; Laurie, Hugh (1990). A Bit of Fry and Laurie. Mandarin. ISBN 978-0-7493-0705-9.
Fry, Stephen (1991). The Liar. Soho. ISBN 978-0-939149-82-7.
Fry, Stephen (1994). The Hippopotamus. Soho Press. ISBN 978-1-56947-054-1.
Fry, Stephen (1997). Making History. Arrow. ISBN 978-0-09-946481-5.
Fry, Stephen (1997). Moab Is My Washpot: An Autobiography. Soho Press. ISBN 978-1-56947-202-6.
Fry, Stephen (2000). The Stars' Tennis Balls. Hutchinson. ISBN 978-0-09-180151-9.
Fry, Stephen (2003). Revenge: A Novel (reprint ed.). Random House. ISBN 978-0-8129-6819-4.
Fry, Stephen (2005). The Ode Less Travelled: Unlocking the Poet Within. Hutchinson. ISBN 978-0-09-179661-7.
Fry, Stephen (2010). The Fry Chronicles: An Autobiography. Michael Joseph. ISBN 0-7181-5483-5.
Fry, Stephen (2014). More Fool Me: A Memoir. Michael Joseph. ISBN 978-0718179786.
Fry, Stephen (2017). Mythos: A Retelling of the Myths of Ancient Greece. Michael Joseph. ISBN 978-0718188726.

text: As contributor[edit]

text:
Lloyd, John; Fry, Stephen; Mitchinson, John (2006). John Mitchinson, ed. The Book of General Ignorance. Faber and Faber. ISBN 978-0-571-23368-7.
Carwardine, Mark; Fry, Stephen (2009). Last Chance to See. HarperCollins Publishers Limited. ISBN 978-0-00-729072-7.

text: Forewords[edit]

text: Højer, Torsten, ed. (2016). Speak My Language, and Other Stories: An Anthology of Gay Fiction. Constable & Robinson. ISBN 978-1472119971.


document_title: Epistle to the Romans

question_text: when was the book of romans written in the bible

text: Epistle to the Romans

text: General presentation[edit]

text: In the opinion of Jesuit scholar Joseph Fitzmyer, the book "overwhelms the reader by the density and sublimity of the topic with which it deals, the gospel of the justification and salvation of Jew and Greek alike by the grace of God through faith in Jesus Christ, revealing the uprightness and love of God the Father."[2]

text: N. T. Wright notes that Romans is

text: ...neither a systematic theology nor a summary of Paul's lifework, but it is by common consent his masterpiece. It dwarfs most of his other writings, an Alpine peak towering over hills and villages. Not all onlookers have viewed it in the same light or from the same angle, and their snapshots and paintings of it are sometimes remarkably unalike. Not all climbers have taken the same route up its sheer sides, and there is frequent disagreement on the best approach. What nobody doubts is that we are here dealing with a work of massive substance, presenting a formidable intellectual challenge while offering a breathtaking theological and spiritual vision.[3]

text: Authorship[edit]

text: The scholarly consensus is that Paul authored the Epistle to the Romans.[additional citation needed]

text: C. E. B. Cranfield, in the introduction to his commentary on Romans, says:

text: The denial of Paul's authorship of Romans by such critics ... is now rightly relegated to a place among the curiosities of NT scholarship. Today no responsible criticism disputes its Pauline origin. The evidence of its use in the Apostolic Fathers is clear, and before the end of the second century it is listed and cited as Paul's. Every extant early list of NT books includes it among his letters. The external evidence of authenticity could indeed hardly be stronger; and it is altogether borne out by the internal evidence, linguistic, stylistic, literary, historical and theological.[4]

text: Dating[edit]

text: The letter was most probably written while Paul was in Corinth, probably while he was staying in the house of Gaius, and transcribed by Tertius his amanuensis.[5] There are a number of reasons why Corinth is considered most plausible. Paul was about to travel to Jerusalem on writing the letter, which matches Acts[Acts 20:3] where it is reported that Paul stayed for three months in Greece. This probably implies Corinth as it was the location of Paul’s greatest missionary success in Greece.[6] Additionally Phoebe was a deacon of the church in Cenchreae, a port to the east of Corinth, and would have been able to convey the letter to Rome after passing through Corinth and taking a ship from Corinth’s west port.[6] Erastus, mentioned in Romans 16:23, also lived in Corinth, being the city's commissioner for public works and city treasurer at various times, again indicating that the letter was written in Corinth.[7]

text: The precise time at which it was written is not mentioned in the epistle, but it was obviously written when the collection for Jerusalem had been assembled and Paul was about to "go unto Jerusalem to minister unto the saints", that is, at the close of his second visit to Greece, during the winter preceding his last visit to that city.[8] The majority of scholars writing on Romans propose the letter was written in late 55/early 56 or late 56/early 57.[9] Early 55 and early 58 both have some support, while German New Testament scholar Gerd Lüdemann argues for a date as early as 51/52 (or 54/55), following on from Knox, who proposed 53/54. Lüdemann is the only serious challenge to the consensus of mid to late 50s.[10]

text: Subscriptions[edit]

text: Some manuscripts have a subscription at the end of the Epistle:

text:
προς Ρωμαιους ("to the Romans") is found in these manuscripts: Codex Sinaiticus, Codex Alexandrinus, Codex Vaticanus, Codex Ephraemi Rescriptus, Codex Claromontanus;
προς Ρωμαιους εγραφη απο Κορινθου ("to the Romans it was written from Corinth"): B2, D2 (P);
προς Ρωμαιους εγραφη απο Κορινθου δια Φοιβης της διακονου ("to the Romans it was written from Corinth by Phoebus the deacon"): 42, 90, 216, 339, 462, 466*, 642;
εγραφη η προς Ρωμαιους επιστολη δια Τερτιου επεμφτη δε δια Φοιβης απο Κορινθιων της εν Κεγχρεαις εκκλησιας ("the epistle to the Romans was written by Tertius and was sent by Phoebus from the Corinthians of the church in Cenchreae"): only in 337;
προς Ρωμαιους εγραφη απο Κορινθου δια Φοιβης της διακονου της εν Κεγχρεαις εκκλησιας ("to the Romans it was written from Corinth by Phoebus the deacon of the church in Cenchreae"): 101, 241, 460, 466, 469, 602, 603, 605, 618, 1923, 1924, 1927, 1932, followed by Textus Receptus.[11]

text: Paul's life in relation to his epistle[edit]

text: For ten years before writing the letter (approx. 47–57), Paul had traveled around the territories bordering the Aegean Sea evangelizing. Churches had been planted in the Roman provinces of Galatia, Macedonia, Achaia and Asia. Paul, considering his task complete, wanted to preach the gospel in Spain, where he would not "build upon another man’s foundation".[Rom 15:20][12] This allowed him to visit Rome on the way, a long-time ambition of his. The letter to the Romans, in part, prepares them and gives reasons for his visit.[12]

text: In addition to Paul’s geographic location, his religious views are important. First, Paul was a Hellenistic Jew with a Pharisaic background (see Gamaliel), integral to his identity: see Paul the Apostle and Judaism for details. His concern for his people is one part of the dialogue and runs throughout the letter. Second, the other side of the dialogue is Paul’s conversion and calling to follow Christ in the early 30s.

text: The churches in Rome[edit]

text: The most probable ancient account of the beginning of Christianity in Rome is given by a 4th-century writer known as Ambrosiaster:[13]

text: It is established that there were Jews living in Rome in the times of the Apostles, and that those Jews who had believed [in Christ] passed on to the Romans the tradition that they ought to profess Christ but keep the law [Torah] ... One ought not to condemn the Romans, but to praise their faith, because without seeing any signs or miracles and without seeing any of the apostles, they nevertheless accepted faith in Christ, although according to a Jewish rite.[14]

text: From Adam Clarke:

text: The occasion of writing the epistle: ... Paul had made acquaintance with all circumstances of the Christians at Rome ... and finding that it was ... partly of heathens converted to Christianity, and partly of Jews, who had, with many remaining prejudices, believed in Jesus as the true Messiah, and that many contentions arose from the claims of the Gentiles to equal privileges with the Jews, and from absolute refusal of the Jews to admit these claims, unless the Gentile converts become circumcised; he wrote this epistle to adjust and settle these differences.[15]

text: At this time, the Jews made up a substantial number in Rome, and their synagogues, frequented by many, enabled the Gentiles to become acquainted with the story of Jesus of Nazareth. Consequently, churches composed of both Jews and Gentiles were formed at Rome. According to Irenaeus, a 2nd-century Church Father, the church at Rome was founded directly by the apostles Peter and Paul.[16] However, many modern scholars disagree with Irenaeus, holding that while little is known of the circumstances of the church's founding, it was not founded by Paul:[17]

text: Many of the brethren went out to meet Paul on his approach to Rome. There is evidence that Christians were then in Rome in considerable numbers and probably had more than one place of meeting.

text: Note the large number of names in Romans 16:3–15 of those then in Rome, and verses 5, 15 and 16 indicate there was more than one church assembly or company of believers in Rome. Verse 5 mentions a church that met in the house of Aquila and Priscilla. Verses 14 and 15 each mention groupings of believers and saints.[19]

text: Jews were expelled from Rome because of disturbances around AD 49 by the edict of Claudius.[20] Fitzmyer claims that both Jews and Jewish Christians were expelled as a result of their infighting.[21] Claudius died around the year AD 54, and his successor, Emperor Nero, allowed the Jews back into Rome, but then, after the Great Fire of Rome of 64, Christians were persecuted. Fitzmyer argues that with the return of the Jews to Rome in 54 new conflict arose between the Gentile Christians and the Jewish Christians who had formerly been expelled.[22] Keck thinks Gentile Christians may have developed a dislike of or looked down on Jews (see also Antisemitism and Responsibility for the death of Jesus), because they theologically rationalized that Jews were no longer God's people.[23]

text: Style[edit]

text: Scholars often have difficulty assessing whether Romans is a letter or an epistle, a relevant distinction in form-critical analysis:

text: A letter is something non-literary, a means of communication between persons who are separated from each other. Confidential and personal in nature, it is intended only for the person or persons to whom it is addressed, and not at all for the public or any kind of publicity...An Epistle is an artistic literary form, just like the dialogue, the oration, or the drama. It has nothing in common with the letter except its form: apart from that one might venture the paradox that the epistle is the opposite of a real letter. The contents of the epistle are intended for publicity—they aim at interesting "the public."[24]

text: Joseph Fitzmyer argues, from evidence put forth by Stirewalt, that the style of Romans is an "essay-letter."[25] Philip Melanchthon, a writer during the Reformation, suggested that Romans was caput et summa universae doctrinae christianae ("a summary of all Christian doctrine").[26] While some scholars attempt to suggest, like Melanchthon, that it is a type of theological treatise, this view largely ignores chapters 14 and 15 of Romans. There are also many "noteworthy elements" missing from Romans that are included in other areas of the Pauline corpus.[27] The breakdown of Romans as a treatise began with F.C. Baur in 1836 when he suggested "this letter had to be interpreted according to the historical circumstances in which Paul wrote it."[26]

text: Paul sometimes uses a style of writing common in his time called a "diatribe". He appears to be responding to a "heckler" (probably an imaginary one based on Paul's encounters with real objections in his previous preaching), and the letter is structured as a series of arguments. In the flow of the letter, Paul shifts his arguments, sometimes addressing the Jewish members of the church, sometimes the Gentile membership and sometimes the church as a whole.[citation needed]

text: Purposes of writing[edit]

text: To review the current scholarly viewpoints on the purpose of Romans, along with a bibliography, see Dictionary of Paul and His Letters.[28] For a 16th-century "Lollard" reformer view, see the work of William Tyndale. In his prologue to his translation of the book of Romans, which was largely taken from the prologue of German Reformer Martin Luther, Tyndale writes that:

text: ... this epistle is the principal and most excellent part of the new testament, and most pure evangelion, that is to say glad tidings and what we call the gospel, and also a light and a way in unto the whole scripture ... The sum and whole cause of the writings of this epistle, is, to prove that a man is justified by faith only: which proposition whoso denieth, to him is not only this epistle and all that Paul writeth, but also the whole scripture, so locked up that he shall never understand it to his soul's health. And to bring a man to the understanding and feeling that faith only justifieth, Paul proveth that the whole nature of man is so poisoned and so corrupt, yea and so dead concerning godly living or godly thinking, that it is impossible for her to keep the law in the sight of God.[29]

text: Contents[edit]

text: This essay-letter composed by Paul was written to a specific audience at a specific time; to understand it, the situations of both Paul and the recipients must be understood.

text: Prologue (1:1–15)[edit]

text: Greeting (1:1–7)[edit]

text: The introduction[Rom 1:1–16] provides some general notes about Paul. He introduces his apostleship here and introductory notes about the gospel he wishes to preach to the church at Rome. Jesus' human line stems from David.[1:3] Paul, however, does not limit his ministry to Jews. Paul's goal is that the Gentiles would also hear the gospel.[1:5]

text: Prayer of Thanksgiving (1:8–15)[edit]

text: He commends the Romans for their faith.[1:8] Paul also speaks of the past obstacles that have blocked his coming to Rome earlier.[1:11–13]

text: Salvation in the Christ (1:16 –8:39)[edit]

text: Righteousness of God (1:16–17)[edit]

text: Paul's announcement that he is not "ashamed" (epaiscúnomai) of his gospel because it holds power (dúnamis). These two verses form a backdrop for the rest of the book. First, we note that Paul is unashamed of his love for this gospel that he preaches about Jesus Christ. He also notes that he is speaking to the "Jew first."[1:16] There is significance to this, but much of it is scholarly conjecture as the relationship of Paul the Apostle and Judaism is still debated. We are hard-pressed to find an answer to such a question without knowing more about the audience in question. Wayne Brindle argues, based on Paul's former writings against the Judaizers in Galatians and 2 Corinthians, that rumors had probably spread about Paul totally negating the Jewish existence in a Christian world (see also Antinomianism in the New Testament and Supersessionism). Paul may have used the "Jew first" approach to counter such a view.[30]

text: Condemnation: The Universal corruption of Gentiles and Jews (1:18 –3:20)[edit]

text: The judgment of God (1:18–32)[edit]

text: Paul now begins into the main thrust of his letter. He begins by suggesting that humans have taken up ungodliness and wickedness for which there will be wrath from God.[1:18] People have taken God's invisible image and made him into an idol. Paul draws heavily here from the Wisdom of Solomon.[31] He condemns unnatural sexual behavior and warns that such behavior will result in a depraved body and mind[1:26–27] and says that people who do such things (including murder and wickedness [1:29]) are worthy of death.[1:32] Paul stands firmly against the idol worship system which was common in Rome. Several scholars believe the passage is a non-Pauline interpolation.[32]

text: Paul's warning of hypocrites (2:1–4)[edit]

text: On the traditional Protestant interpretation, Paul here calls out Jews who are condemning others for not following the law when they themselves are also not following the law. Stanley Stowers, however, has argued on rhetorical grounds that Paul is in these verses not addressing a Jew at all but rather an easily recognizable caricature of the typical boastful person (ὁ ἀλαζων). Stowers writes, "There is absolutely no justification for reading 2:1–5 as Paul's attack on 'the hypocrisy of the Jew.' No one in the first century would have identified ho alazon with Judaism. That popular interpretation depends upon anachronistically reading later Christian characterizations of Jews as 'hypocritical Pharisees'".[33] See also Anti-Judaism.

text: Justification: The Gift of Grace and Forgiveness through Faith (3:21 –5:11)[edit]

text: Paul says that a righteousness from God has made itself known apart from the law, to which the law and prophets testify, and this righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus to all who believe.[3:21–22] He describes justification – legally clearing the believer of the guilt and penalty of sin – as a gift of God,[3:24] and not the work of man (lest he might boast), but by faith.[3:28]

text: Assurance of salvation (5 –11)[edit]

text: In chapters five through eight, Paul argues that believers can be assured of their hope in salvation, having been freed from the bondage of sin. Paul teaches that through faith,[3:28] [4:3] the faithful have been joined with Jesus[5:1] and freed from sin.[6:1–2] [6:18] Believers should celebrate in the assurance of salvation.[12:12] This promise is open to everyone since everyone has sinned,[3:23] save the one who paid for all of them.[3:24]

text: In chapters 9–11 Paul addresses the faithfulness of God to the Israelites, where he says that God has been faithful to His promise. Paul hopes that all Israelites will come to realize the truth[9:1–5] since he himself was also an Israelite,[11:1] and had in the past been a persecutor of Early Christians. In Romans 9–11 Paul talks about how the nation of Israel has been cast away, and the conditions under which Israel will be God's chosen nation again: when Israel returns to its faith, sets aside its unbelief.[11:19–24]

text: In Romans 7:1, Paul says that humans are under the law while we live: "Know ye not...that the law hath dominion over a man as long as he liveth?" However, Jesus' death on the cross makes believers dead to the law (7:4, "Wherefore, my brethren, ye are also become dead to the law by the body of Christ"), according to an antinomistic interpretation.

text: Transformation of believers (12 –15:13)[edit]

text: From chapter 12 through the first part of chapter 15, Paul outlines how the Gospel transforms believers and the behaviour that results from such a transformation. This transformation is described as a "renewing of your mind" (12:2),[34] a transformation that Douglas J. Moo characterizes as “the heart of the matter.”[35] It is a transformation so radical that it amounts to a “a transfiguration of your brain,” a "metanoia", a “mental revolution.”[36]

text: Paul goes on to describe how believers should live. Christians are no longer under the law, that is, no longer bound by the law of Moses,[37] but under the grace of God, see Law and grace. We do not need to live under the law because to the extent our minds have been renewed, we will know "almost instinctively" what God wants of us. The law then provides an "objective standard" for judging progress in the "lifelong process" of our mind's renewal.[38]

text: To the extent they have been set free from sin by renewed minds (Romans 6:18),[39] believers are no longer bound to sin. Believers are free to live in obedience to God and love everybody. As Paul says in Romans 13:10, "love (ἀγάπη) worketh no ill to his neighbor: therefore love is the fulfilling of law".[40]

text: Obedience to earthly powers (13:1–7)[edit]

text: The fragment in Romans 13:1–7 dealing with obedience to earthly powers is considered by some, for example James Kallas,[41] to be an interpolation.[42] (See also the Great Commandment and Christianity and politics). Paul Tillich accepts the historical authenticity of Romans 13:1–7, but claims it has been misinterpreted by churches with an anti-revolutionary bias:

text: One of the many politico-theological abuses of biblical statements is the understanding of Paul’s words [Romans 13:1–7] as justifying the anti-revolutionary bias of some churches, particularly the Lutheran. But neither these words nor any other New Testament statement deals with the methods of gaining political power. In Romans, Paul is addressing eschatological enthusiasts, not a revolutionary political movement.[43]

text: Epilogue (15:1 –16:23)[edit]

text:
Admonition (15:1–7)
Summary of the Epistle (15:8)

text: Paul's ministry and travel plans (16:14–27)[edit]

text: The concluding verses contain a description of his travel plans, personal greetings and salutations. One-third of the twenty-one Christians identified in the greetings are women, some of whom played an important role in the early church at Rome. Additionally, none of these Christians answer to the name Peter, although according to the Catholic storyline, he had been ruling as Pope in Rome for about 25 years. Possibly related was the Incident at Antioch between Paul and Cephas.

text:
Personal greetings (16:1–23 [24])
Closing doxology (16:25–27)

text: Hermeneutics[edit]

text: Catholic interpretation[edit]

text: Catholics accept the necessity of faith for salvation but point to Romans 2:5–11 for the necessity of living a virtuous life as well:[44]

text: But by your hard and impenitent heart you are storing up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath when God's righteous judgment will be revealed. For he will render to every man according to his works: to those who by patience in well-doing seek for glory and honor and immortality, he will give eternal life; but for those who are factious and do not obey the truth, but obey wickedness, there will be wrath and fury. There will be tribulation and distress for every human being who does evil, the Jew first and also the Greek, but glory and honor and peace for every one who does good, the Jew first and also the Greek. For God shows no partiality.

text: Throughout his writings, St. Augustine strongly affirms the Catholic understanding of this and other such Scriptural admonitions. In his sermons to his Catholic congregations, he is especially careful to warn them against an inordinate desire for a complete assurance of salvation. In his Exposition of Psalm 147 for example, he states:[45]

text: The gospel warned us, "Be on the watch for the last day, the day when the Son of Man will come," because it will spell disaster for those it finds secure as they are now – secure for the wrong reasons, I mean, secure in the pleasures of this world, when they ought to be secure only when they have dominated this world's lusts. The apostle certainly prepares us for that future life in words of which I also reminded you on that occasion.

text: Again, in his Exposition of Psalm 85, Augustine is perhaps even more specific:[46]

text: Let us not expect security while we are on pilgrimage. When we do find ourselves wanting it, what we are looking for is bodily sluggishness rather than personal security.

text: Protestant interpretation[edit]

text: In the Protestant interpretation, the New Testament epistles (including Romans), describes salvation as coming from faith and not from righteous actions. For example, Romans 4:2–5 (underlining added):

text: They also point out that in Romans chapter 2:9, Paul says that God will reward those who follow the law and then goes on to say that no one follows the law perfectly (see also Sermon on the Mount: Interpretation) Romans 2:21–25:

text: Martin Luther described Paul's letter to the Romans as "the most important piece in the New Testament. It is purest Gospel. It is well worth a Christian's while not only to memorize it word for word but also to occupy himself with it daily, as though it were the daily bread of the soul".[47]

text: Luther controversially added the word "alone" (allein in German) to Romans 3:28 so that it read: "thus, we hold, then, that man is justified without doing the works of the law, alone through faith".[48] The word "alone" does not appear in the original Greek text,[49] but Luther defended his translation by maintaining that the adverb "alone" was required both by idiomatic German and Paul's intended meaning. This is a "literalist view" rather than an literal view of the Bible.[50]

text: Apologist James Swan lists numerous Catholic sources that also translated Romans 3:28 with the word "alone," or testified to others doing so before Luther.[51] A Bible commentary published in 1864 reports that:

text: Catholic translators before the time of Luther had given the same translation. So in the Nuremberg Bible, 1483, "Nur durch den glauben." And the Italian Bibles of Geneva, 1476, and of Venice, 1538, per sola fede. The Fathers also often use the expression, "man is justified by faith alone;" [52]

text: The Romans Road refers to a set of scriptures from Romans that Christian evangelists use to present a clear and simple case for personal salvation to each person. They are: Romans 3:23, 3:10, 6:23, 5:8, 5:11, 10:13, 10:9 and 10:17.[53]

text: Romans has been at the forefront of several major movements in Protestantism. Martin Luther's lectures on Romans in 1515–1516 probably coincided with the development of his criticism of Roman Catholicism which led to the 95 Theses of 1517. In 1738, while hearing Luther's Preface to the Epistle to the Romans read at St. Botolph Church on Aldersgate Street in London, John Wesley famously felt his heart "strangely warmed", a conversion experience which is often seen as the beginning of Methodism. In 1919 Karl Barth's commentary on Romans, The Epistle to the Romans, was the publication which is widely seen as the beginning of neo-orthodoxy.[citation needed]