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

comedian A comedian (feminine comedienne) or comic is a person who seeks to entertainment, entertain an audience by making them laughter, laugh. This might be through jokes or amusing situations, or acting foolishly (as in slapstick), or employing prop c ...

television personality Celebrity is a condition of fame and broad public recognition of a person or group due to the attention given to them by mass media. The word is also used to refer to famous individuals. A person may attain celebrity status by having great w ...

and producer who grew up in

Ottawa Ottawa is the capital city of Canada. It is located in the southern Ontario, southern portion of the province of Ontario, at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the cor ...

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

, best known as host on the official Orphan Black after show ''After the Black'' on

BBC America BBC America is an American basic cable network that is owned by 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 series). Unlike the BBC's ...

, and the Canadian daily entertainment talk show '' InnerSpace'' on

Space Space is a three-dimensional continuum containing positions and directions. In classical physics, physical space is often conceived in three linear dimensions. Modern physicists usually consider it, with time, to be part of a boundless ...

(2008–2018).

Early life

Fry was born in

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

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'' ( ; , stylized in lowercase) is an animated educational children's television series that aired on Teletoon (both English and French versions) with the first episode airing on the former channel on September 15, 1997 until the fou ...

) and former

radio host A radio personality 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 (North American English), radio presenter (British English) or radio jockey. Radio personali ...

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

where he regularly performed at The Institution while attending Colonel By Secondary School.

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 and

Arthur Arthur is a masculine given name of uncertain etymology. Its popularity derives from it being the name of the legendary hero King Arthur. A common spelling variant used in many Slavic, Romance, and Germanic languages is Artur. In Spanish and Ital ...

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

to attend Humber College'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 Rogers Centre (originally SkyDome) is a retractable roof stadium in downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada, situated at the base of the CN Tower near the northern shore of Lake Ontario. Opened in 1989 on the former Railway Lands, it is home to t ...

to promote Jr. Jays 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 InnerSpace a nightly "after show" style program following Space's

prime time Prime time, or peak time, is the block of broadcast programming taking place during the middle of the evening for television shows. It is mostly targeted towards adults (and sometimes families). It is used by the major television networks to ...

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 music, swing pianist", Wilson's piano style was gentle, elegant, and virtuosic. His style was high ...

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 is known for his Leading actor, leading man roles in film and television. In a career spanning over seven decades, he has received List of awards and nominations received by ...

, Hugh Jackman,

Jennifer Lawrence Jennifer Shrader Lawrence (born August 15, 1990) is an American actress and producer. She is known for starring in both action film franchises and independent dramas, and her films have grossed over $6 billion worldwide. The List of high ...

, Jake Gyllenhaal,

Mark Wahlberg Mark Robert Michael Wahlberg (born June 5, 1971), formerly known by his stage name Marky Mark, is an American actor, producer, and former rapper. Mark Wahlberg filmography, His work as a leading actor, leading man spans the Comedy film, come ...

Sigourney Weaver Susan Alexandra ( ; born October 8, 1949), better known by her stage name Sigourney Weaver, is an American actress. Prolific in film since the late 1970s, she is known for her pioneering portrayals of action heroines in Blockbuster (entertainme ...

Jessica Alba Jessica Marie Alba ( ; born April 28, 1981) is an American actress and businesswoman. She began her acting career at age 13 in ''Camp Nowhere'', followed up by ''The Secret World of Alex Mack'' (both 1994), and rose to prominence at age 19 as ...

, Kate Beckinsale,

Jessica Chastain Jessica Michelle Chastain (born March 24, 1977) is an American actress and producer. Known for primarily starring in projects with Feminism, feminist themes, she has received List of awards and nominations received by Jessica Chastain, various ...

Bryan Cranston Bryan Lee Cranston (born March 7, 1956) is an American actor. After taking minor roles in television, he established himself as a leading actor in both comedic and dramatic Bryan Cranston filmography, works on stage and screen. He has received ...

Mark Ruffalo Mark Alan Ruffalo (; born November 22, 1967) is an American actor. He began acting in the late 1980s and first gained recognition for his work in Kenneth Lonergan's play ''This Is Our Youth'' (1996) and drama film ''You Can Count on Me'' (2000) ...

Martin Sheen Ramón Gerard Antonio Estévez (born August 3, 1940), known professionally as Martin Sheen, is an American actor. His work spans over six decades of television and film, and his accolades include three Emmy Awards, a Golden Globe Award, and ...

, Will Ferrell, Dave Bautista, Nathan Fillion,

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 1966 debut as the captain of the starship USS Enterpri ...

and

Leonard Nimoy Leonard Simon Nimoy ( ; March 26, 1931 – February 27, 2015) was an American actor and director, famous for playing Spock in the ''Star Trek'' franchise for almost 50 years. This includes Development of Spock, originating Spock in Star Trek: T ...

; Directors

Joss Whedon Joseph Hill "Joss" Whedon ( ; born June 23, 1964) is an American screenwriter, director, producer, comic book writer, and composer. He is best known as the creator of several television series: the supernatural drama ''Buffy the Vampire Slayer' ...

Zack Snyder Zachary Edward Snyder (born March 1, 1966) is an American filmmaker. He made his feature film debut in 2004 with ''Dawn of the Dead (2004 film), Dawn of the Dead'', a remake of the 1978 horror film Dawn of the Dead (1978 film), of the same name ...

Guillermo del Toro Guillermo del Toro Gómez (; born 9 October 1964) is a Mexican filmmaker, author, and artist. His work has been characterized by a strong connection to fairy tales, Gothic fiction, gothicism and horror fiction, horror often blending the genres ...

; authors,

Neil Gaiman Neil Richard MacKinnon Gaiman (; born Neil Richard Gaiman; 10 November 1960) is an English author of short fiction, novels, comic books, audio theatre, and screenplays. His works include the comic series ''The Sandman (comic book), The Sandma ...

, Robert Munsh, Robert J. Sawyer,

Stan Lee Stan Lee (born Stanley Martin Lieber ; December 28, 1922 – November 12, 2018) was an American comic book author, writer, editor, publisher, and producer. He rose through the ranks of a family-run business called Timely Comics which later bec ...

; 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 for CBS. It aired from September 24, 2007, to May 16, 2019, running for 12 seasons and 279 episodes. The show originally centered on five charact ...

Game of Thrones ''Game of Thrones'' is an American Fantasy television, fantasy Drama (film and television), drama television series created by David Benioff and for HBO. It is an adaptation of ''A Song of Ice and Fire'', a series of high fantasy novels by ...

Doctor Who ''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series, created by Sydney Newman, C. E. Webber and Donald Wilson (writer and producer), Donald Wilson, depicts the adventures of an extraterre ...

, The Walking Dead, Orphan Black, Star Trek: The Next Generation, and many others. Fry has conducted set visits, interviews and covered video game industry events, across

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

, 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 Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

, including a set visit for the

Harry Potter ''Harry Potter'' is a series of seven Fantasy literature, fantasy novels written by British author J. K. Rowling. The novels chronicle the lives of a young Magician (fantasy), wizard, Harry Potter (character), Harry Potter, and his friends ...

film franchise, visits to Skywalker Ranch, and has covered The Toronto International Film Festival, E3,

San Diego Comic-Con San Diego Comic-Con is a comic book convention and multi-genre entertainment event held annually in San Diego, California, at the San Diego Convention Center. Founded in 1970, originally showcasing primarily comic books and science fiction/fant ...

, Fan Expo Canada, Calgary Expo, 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, After Bite (following Bitten), and After the Black (following Orphan Black). 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 Orphan Black 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 an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...

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 is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational video game company headquartered in Kyoto. It develops, publishes, and releases both video games and video game consoles. The history of Nintendo began when craftsman Fusajiro Yamauchi ...

Canada contest celebrating the launch of

Donkey Kong is a video game series and media franchise created by the Japanese game designer Shigeru Miyamoto for Nintendo. It follows the adventures of Donkey Kong (character), Donkey Kong, a large, powerful gorilla, and other members of the List of Don ...

: Tropical Freeze, and appearing in a supporting role as a fictionalized version of himself in the 2015 film Pure Pwnage: The Movie. He has also appeared in the

Captain Canuck Captain Canuck is a Canadian comics, Canadian comic book superhero. Created by cartoonist Ron Leishman and artist/writer Richard Comely, the original Captain Canuck first appeared in ''Captain Canuck'' #1 (July 1975). The series was the first suc ...

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 most prestigious and largest publicly attended film festivals in the world. Founded in 1976, the festival takes place every year in early September. The organi ...

(co-hosted with Jessi Cruickshank), the Joe Shuster Awards (Canada's Comic Book Awards), the Canadian Science Fiction Awards, and the Toronto Independent Music Awards. Fry has contributed written work to Metro News and has appeared in The

Toronto Star The ''Toronto Star'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper. It is owned by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary of Torstar Corporation and part of Torstar's Daily News Brands (Torstar), Daily News Brands division. ...

. He makes regular appearances on Canada AM, 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 nationa ...

, The Marilyn Denis Show, CP24, and CHUM Radio, and has appeared on George Stroumboulopoulos Tonight.

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 Comedians from Toronto Humber College alumni Male actors from Toronto Canadian male television writers Canadian television writers Screenwriters from Toronto