Stephen Fry

In A Bit of Fry & Laurie, Fry can make verbal authority itself ridiculous: an elaborate explanation becomes more revealing than the thing being explained. His exchanges with Hugh Laurie reward attention to phrasing and status rather than just the final punchline. For work beyond the partnership, try Wilde, where his command of a sentence serves a vulnerable dramatic character. The comparison shows how an imposing public manner can conceal uncertainty, with comedy and drama placing different pressure on the same expressive instrument.