Ajay Fry (born Ajay Jack Fry, 17 June 1983) is a Canadian comedian,

television personality Celebrity is a condition of fame and broad public recognition of a person or group as a result of the attention given to them by mass media. An individual may attain a celebrity status from having great wealth, their participation in sports ...

and producer who grew up in Ottawa,

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central C ...

, best known as host on the official

Orphan Black ''Orphan Black'' is a Canadian science-fiction thriller television series created by screenwriter Graeme Manson and director John Fawcett and starring Tatiana Maslany. The series focuses on Sarah Manning, one of several genetically identical ...

after show ''After the Black'' on

BBC America BBC America is an American basic cable network that is jointly owned by BBC Studios and AMC Networks. The channel primarily airs sci-fi and action series and films, as well as selected programs from the BBC (such as its nature documentary seri ...

, and the Canadian daily entertainment talk show ''

InnerSpace ''Innerspace'' is a 1987 American science fiction comedy film directed by Joe Dante and produced by Michael Finnell. Steven Spielberg served as executive producer. It was inspired by the 1966 science fiction film ''Fantastic Voyage''. It sta ...

'' on

Space Space is the boundless three-dimensional extent in which objects and events have relative position and direction. In classical physics, physical space is often conceived in three linear dimensions, although modern physicists usually cons ...

(2008–2018).

Early life

Fry was born in

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...

on June 17, 1983, to Pat Fry, a voiceover artist (best known for his role as the titular character's father on the Canadian children's TV series

Caillou ''Caillou'' () is a Canadian educational children's television series which aired on Teletoon (both English and French versions), with its first episode airing on the former channel on September 15, 1997; it later moved to Treehouse TV, with i ...

) and former

radio host A radio personality (American English) or radio presenter (British English) is a person who has an on-air position in radio broadcasting. A radio personality who hosts a radio show is also known as a radio host, and in India and Pakistan as a radi ...

, and Sharon Fry (née Hoff), a legal assistant. Fry grew up in Ottawa,

where he regularly performed at The Institution while attending

Colonel By Secondary School Colonel By Secondary School is an Ottawa-Carleton District School Board high school. It is located in the Beacon Hill neighbourhood of Gloucester in the city of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. It is a non-semestered school, and was the only English publi ...

Career

Early career

At age 7, Fry took his first job as a host on a local community travel series in Ottawa called Rainbow Merry-Go-Round. He went on to make appearances on Are You Afraid of the Dark? and Big Wolf on Campus, and has voiced characters on animated series such as

The Little Lulu Show ''The Little Lulu Show'' is an animated series based on Marjorie Henderson Buell's comic book character ''Little Lulu''. The series first aired in 1995 after the cartoonist's death in 1993. The series was produced by the CINAR Corporation, in a ...

and

Arthur Arthur is a common male given name of Brythonic origin. Its popularity derives from it being the name of the legendary hero King Arthur. The etymology is disputed. It may derive from the Celtic ''Artos'' meaning “Bear”. Another theory, more wi ...

, among others. At the age of 20, Fry moved to

to attend

Humber College The Humber College Institute of Technology & Advanced Learning, commonly known as Humber College, is a public College of Applied Arts and Technology in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Founded in 1967, Humber has two main campuses: the Humber North c ...

's Comedy: Writing and Performance program, where he was nominated for the Phil Hartman Award. After graduating he attended Second City Conservatory training and launched his first web series, The Not Yet Show.

Crunch

From September 2006 until August 2008, Fry hosted of Crunch, the Saturday morning block of cartoon programming on YTV. During this time he also appeared on-screen at the Rogers Centre to promote Jr.

Jays A jay is a member of a number of species of medium-sized, usually colorful and noisy, passerine birds in the Crow family, Corvidae. The evolutionary relationships between the jays and the magpies are rather complex. For example, the Eurasian m ...

weekend activities.

InnerSpace

In the summer of 2008, after two years on YTV, Fry was hired as the new host of The Circuit, a weekly entertainment news program on Space Channel. In 2009, the show was re-branded to

a nightly "after show" style program following Space's prime time programming. After 2 seasons, InnerSpace changed formats once again, becoming an entertainment news talk show with co-hosts

Teddy Wilson Theodore Shaw Wilson (November 24, 1912 – July 31, 1986) was an American jazz pianist. Described by critic Scott Yanow as "the definitive swing pianist", Wilson had a sophisticated, elegant style. His work was featured on the records of many ...

and Morgan Hoffman. During his tenure at InnerSpace, Fry has interviewed a wide array of celebrities and artists, including actors

Jeff Bridges Jeffrey Leon Bridges (born December 4, 1949) is an American actor. He has received various accolades throughout his career spanning over seven decades, including an Academy Award and two Golden Globe Awards. Bridges comes from a prominent ac ...

Hugh Jackman Hugh Michael Jackman (born 12 October 1968) is an Australian actor. Beginning in theatre and television, he landed his breakthrough role as James "Logan" Howlett / Wolverine in the 20th Century Fox ''X-Men'' film series (2000–2017), a role ...

, Jennifer Lawrence,

Jake Gyllenhaal Jacob Benjamin Gyllenhaal (; ; born December 19, 1980) is an American actor. Born into the Gyllenhaal family, he is the son of director Stephen Gyllenhaal and screenwriter Naomi Foner, and his older sister is actress Maggie Gyllenhaal. He ...

Mark Wahlberg Mark Robert Michael Wahlberg (born June 5, 1971), former stage name Marky Mark, is an American actor, businessman, and former rapper. He has received multiple accolades, including a BAFTA Award, and nominations for two Academy Awards, three ...

Sigourney Weaver Susan Alexandra "Sigourney" Weaver (; born October 8, 1949) is an American actress. A figure in science fiction and popular culture, she has received various accolades, including a British Academy Film Award, two Golden Globe Awards, and a Gramm ...

Jessica Alba Jessica Marie Alba ( ; born April 28, 1981) is an American actress and businesswoman. She began her television and movie appearances at age 13 in '' Camp Nowhere'' and '' The Secret World of Alex Mack'' (1994), and rose to prominence at age 19 ...

Kate Beckinsale Kathrin Romany Beckinsale (born 26 July 1973) is an English actress and model. After some minor television roles, her film debut was ''Much Ado About Nothing'' (1993) while a student at the University of Oxford. She appeared in British costume ...

, Jessica Chastain,

Bryan Cranston Bryan Lee Cranston (born March 7, 1956) is an American actor and director who is best known for portraying Walter White in the AMC crime drama series ''Breaking Bad'' (2008–2013) and Hal in the Fox sitcom ''Malcolm in the Middle'' (2000–20 ...

Mark Ruffalo Mark Alan Ruffalo (; born November 22, 1967) is an American actor and producer best known for playing Bruce Banner / Hulk since 2012 in the superhero franchise of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and in the television series '' She-Hulk: Attorne ...

Martin Sheen Ramón Antonio Gerardo Estévez (born August 3, 1940), known professionally as Martin Sheen, is an American actor. He first became known for his roles in the films ''The Subject Was Roses'' (1968) and ''Badlands'' (1973), and later achieved wid ...

Will Ferrell John William Ferrell (; born July 16, 1967) is an American actor, comedian, and producer. He first established himself in the mid-1990s as a cast member on the NBC sketch comedy show '' Saturday Night Live'', where he performed from 1995 to 2 ...

Dave Bautista David Michael Bautista Jr. (born January 18, 1969) is an American actor and retired professional wrestler. He had several stints in WWE between 2002 and 2019. In his acting career, he is most widely known for his portrayal of Drax the Dest ...

Nathan Fillion Nathan Fillion (; born March 27, 1971) is a Canadian-American actor. He played the leading roles of Captain Malcolm "Mal" Reynolds on '' Firefly'' and its film continuation '' Serenity'', and Richard Castle on '' Castle''. , he was starring as J ...

William Shatner William Shatner (born March 22, 1931) is a Canadian actor. In a career spanning seven decades, he is best known for his portrayal of James T. Kirk in the ''Star Trek'' franchise, from his 1965 debut as the captain of the starship ''Enterpris ...

and

Leonard Nimoy Leonard Simon Nimoy (; March 26, 1931 – February 27, 2015) was an American actor, famed for playing Spock in the '' Star Trek'' franchise for almost 50 years. This includes originating Spock in the original ''Star Trek'' series in 1966, th ...

; Directors Joss Whedon,

Zack Snyder Zachary Edward Snyder (born March 1, 1966) is an American film director, producer, screenwriter, and cinematographer. He made his feature film debut in 2004 with '' Dawn of the Dead'', a remake of the 1978 horror film of the same name. Since t ...

, Guillermo del Toro; authors, Neil Gaiman, Robert Munsh,

Robert J. Sawyer Robert James Sawyer (born April 29, 1960) is a Canadian science fiction writer. He has had 24 novels published and his short fiction has appeared in ''Analog Science Fiction and Fact'', ''Amazing Stories'', '' On Spec'', ''Nature'', and numerou ...

, Stan Lee; the casts of The Twilight Saga,

The Big Bang Theory ''The Big Bang Theory'' is an American television sitcom created by Chuck Lorre and Bill Prady, both of whom served as executive producers on the series, along with Steven Molaro, all of whom also served as head writers. It premiered on C ...

, Game of Thrones, Doctor Who, The Walking Dead,

, Star Trek: The Next Generation, and many others. Fry has conducted set visits, interviews and covered video game industry events, across North America,

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...

, and the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

, including a set visit for the Harry Potter film franchise, visits to

Skywalker Ranch Skywalker Ranch is a movie ranch and workplace of film director, writer and producer George Lucas located in a secluded area near Nicasio, California, in Marin County. The ranch is located on Lucas Valley Road, named for an early-20th-century l ...

, and has covered The Toronto International Film Festival, E3,

San Diego Comic-Con San Diego Comic-Con International is a comic book convention and nonprofit multi-genre entertainment event held annually in San Diego, California since 1970. The name, as given on its website, is Comic-Con International: San Diego; but it is ...

Fan Expo Canada Fan Expo Canada is an annual speculative fiction fan convention held in Toronto, Ontario. It was founded as the Canadian National Comic Book Expo in 1995Calgary Expo Calgary Expo, known in full as the Calgary Comic and Entertainment Expo, is an annual fan convention held at Stampede Park in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Originally taking place in the BMO Centre, the show began in 2005 as a comic book convent ...

, and numerous other national and international events. Fry's hosting duties also extend to a number of after shows and specials for some of Space Channel's more prominent series, including the

Day of the Doctor A day is the time period of a full rotation of the Earth with respect to the Sun. On average, this is 24 hours, 1440 minutes, or 86,400 seconds. In everyday life, the word "day" often refers to a solar day, which is the length between two s ...

, After Bite (following Bitten), and After the Black (following

). In 2011, Fry won 'Outstanding Contribution to Film or TV' at the Canadian Science Fiction Awards for his work on InnerSpace along with co-host,

After the Black

On Saturday, March 26, 2016 it was announced that After the Black, the

after show hosted by Fry and his co-hosts

and Morgan Hoffman had been picked up by

and would be broadcast following Orphan Black during the show's fourth season.

YouTube

In 2015, Fry became a Much creator and launched a

YouTube YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second mo ...

series called 5 on Fry (a weekly look at five different topics), as well as a personal vlog.

Other work

Fry has made a number of appearances in other media, including appearing as himself in the commercial for a 2014 Nintendo Canada contest celebrating the launch of

Donkey Kong is a video game franchise created by Shigeru Miyamoto and owned by Nintendo. It follows the adventures of a gorilla named Donkey Kong (character), Donkey Kong and his clan of other Ape, apes and monkeys. The franchise primarily consists of plat ...

: Tropical Freeze, and appearing in a supporting role as a fictionalized version of himself in the 2015 film

Pure Pwnage ''Pure Pwnage'' (pronounced "pure ownage")The word "pwnage" can be pronounced several different ways. The show's creators pronounce it "ownage". Jeremy justifies this pronunciation with the following statements: "When people say , they sound lik ...

: The Movie. He has also appeared in the Captain Canuck web series as himself. Fry has hosted numerous media and industry events, including etalk Live On The Red Carpet At The

Toronto International Film Festival The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF, often stylized as tiff) is one of the largest publicly attended film festivals in the world, attracting over 480,000 people annually. Since its founding in 1976, TIFF has grown to become a perman ...

(co-hosted with

Jessi Cruickshank Jessica Shaia "Jessi" Cruickshank (born July 17, 1983) is a Canadian television personality. She is the former co-host of MTV Canada's program ''The After Show'' and its various incarnations including ''The Hills: The After Show'' and ''The City: ...

), the

Joe Shuster Award The Joe Shuster Canadian Comic Book Creator Awards (or Joe Shuster Awards) are given out annually for outstanding achievements in the creation of comic books, graphic novels, webcomics, and comics retailers and publishers by Canadians. The awards, ...

s (Canada's Comic Book Awards), the Canadian Science Fiction Awards, and the Toronto Independent Music Awards. Fry has contributed written work to

Metro News Metro International is a Swedish global media company based in Luxembourg that publishes the ''Metro'' newspapers. Metro International's advertising sales have grown at a compound annual growth rate of 41 percent since launch of the first news ...

and has appeared in The

Toronto Star The ''Toronto Star'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper. The newspaper is the country's largest daily newspaper by circulation. It is owned by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary of Torstar Corporation and pa ...

. He makes regular appearances on

Canada AM ''Canada AM'' was a Canadian morning television news show that aired on CTV from 1972 to 2016. Its final hosts were Beverly Thomson and Marci Ien, with Jeff Hutcheson presenting the weather forecast and sports. The program aired on weekdays, an ...

, etalk,

CTV News CTV News is the news division of the CTV Television Network in Canada. The name ''CTV News'' is also applied as the title of local and regional newscasts on the network's owned-and-operated stations (O&Os), which are closely tied to the national ...

The Marilyn Denis Show ''The Marilyn Denis Show'' is a Canadian daytime television talk show which debuted on January 10, 2011, on CTV and CTV 2 (formerly A-Channel). Hosted by Marilyn Denis, the show airs weekdays at 10 a.m. on CTV and 11 a.m. ET on CTV 2 (timeslots v ...

CP24 CP24 is a Canadian English-language specialty news channel owned by Bell Media, a subsidiary of BCE Inc. and operated alongside the Bell-owned CTV Television Network's owned-and-operated television stations CFTO-DT (CTV Toronto) and CKVR-DT ( ...

, and

CHUM Radio Bell Media Radio, G.P. (formerly CHUM Radio), operating as iHeartRadio Canada, is the radio broadcasting and music events subsidiary of Canadian media conglomerate Bell Media. The company has its origins in CHUM Limited, which was acquired by ...

, and has appeared on

George Stroumboulopoulos Tonight ''George Stroumboulopoulos Tonight'' (originally known as ''The Hour'') is a Canadian television talk show hosted by George Stroumboulopoulos that aired on CBC Television from 2005 to 2014. As ''The Hour'', the show was so named, as it was a da ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Fry, Ajay 1983 births Living people Canadian comedy writers Canadian infotainers Canadian male child actors Canadian male comedians Canadian television hosts Canadian television talk show hosts Canadian television producers Canadian television writers Comedians from Toronto Humber College alumni Male actors from Toronto Canadian male television writers Writers from Toronto