Stephen Fry has recalled his chat with JK Rowling before her Harry Potter books became the best-selling book series of all time.
The showbiz legend is famed for starring in countless TV shows like Blackadder and QI, and mega movies like The Hobbit trilogy.
However, book-lovers might know him best as the narrator of the beloved Harry Potter audiobooks, which sees him tell the tales of JK Rowling’s famous wizarding world.
In the audio series, Stephen can be heard voicing all of the main characters including Harry, Hermione and Lord Voldermort himself in a bid to bring the magic to life for his listeners.
(Image: PA)
JK Rowling’s Harry Potter books have broken literary records, having sold more than 500 million copies worldwide and won tons of awards.
Chatting to Daily Star at Daily Mirror’s Pride of Britain awards, Stephen said he didn’t know that JK Rowling’s books would turn into the global franchise that it is today.
He only knew her as a “nice girl called Jo”.
(Image: AFP via Getty Images)
He said: “I grew into it when I read the first book there was only one book.
“So no-one knew it was going to be the biggest literary phenomenon in the history of publishing.”
Rowling’s first book, Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, came out in June 1997.
Stephen said that he spoke to Rowling to praise her for writing a “jolly nice book”, and she later revealed to him that she’d written a second one.
(Image: PA)
He went on: “It was just this nice girl called Jo who had written this book about a wizard, and I read the book and said ‘good for you, jolly nice book!’.
“And she said ‘I’ve written a second one’ and I said ‘well even better!’”
He then explained how he watched the Harry Potter phenomenon grow with the release of each book.
Stephen said: “And then suddenly I became aware as each book came out and it became more and more of an astonishing [thing].
Brainbox Fry later revealed how “wonderful” it feels to be a part of the Harry Potter franchise, which has since spawned blockbuster movies starring Daniel Radcliffe.
He added: “It’s wonderful, it’s wonderful to be a part of [it]. It’s great”
The Daily Mirror Pride of Britain Awards, in partnership with TSB, will broadcast on ITV on 4th November at 8pm.
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Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
