Philip J. Fry
Encyclopedia
Philip J. Fry, known simply as Fry, is a fictional character
, the main protagonist
of the animated science fiction
sitcom Futurama
. He is voiced by Billy West
using a version of his own voice as he sounded when he was 25.
Fry is an average, thoroughly unremarkable loser
in his 20s, though the episode "The Luck of the Fryrish
" seems to imply he was 30 at the time of his freezing. He is a pizza delivery boy who, during the first few seconds of the year 2000, fell into a cryonic
tank while delivering a pizza to Applied Cryogenics. He remains frozen until the last day of the year 2999. He then meets the one-eyed career officer Leela, and a cigar-smoking, booze-fueled, kleptomaniac robot Bender
. Together, they are employed by Fry's distant nephew, the senile and demented old scientist Prof. Hubert J. Farnsworth
, as the crew of his delivery company Planet Express.
In the past Fry had an older brother, Yancy; a dog
, Seymour
; and a girlfriend, Michelle, who dumped him in the first episode "Space Pilot 3000
", just before he was frozen. Fry had a lifelong sibling rivalry
with his older brother Yancy, due to Fry's perception that Yancy steals everything from him and vice versa. After dropping out of Coney Island
Community College, he then got a job as a delivery boy at Panucci's Pizza.
Fry is his own grandfather through a series of events involving time travel and accidentally causing the death of his own grandfather. Depending on the theory of time travel accepted, this has either always been how history unfolded, or the laws of the universe have allowed Fry to be his own grandfather.
, though not entirely without hope. She does occasionally return his interest throughout the series, and in the movie Into the Wild Green Yonder she admits to loving him back. At the end of that film, they are seen sharing a kiss as they enter a wormhole, and subsequently begin dating. Despite his low intelligence, Fry is a very caring and kind-hearted person who often goes out of his way to help his friends, even if he is sometimes oblivious to their problems. He tolerates all of his friends' quirks and is notable as the only staff member to treat Doctor Zoidberg decently. Although at times lacking in self-awareness, Fry always tries to do the right thing and fix his mistakes. Fry has shown remarkable skill playing video games, (even mastering the 31st-century's version on the Internet), and in Bender Should Not Be Allowed on TV
is seen successfully playing a game despite not looking at the screen. This skill carries over to using Planet Express Ship's laser gun. Despite his laziness,Fry has also exhibited remarkable bravery and self-sacrifice on occasion and has even displayed flashes of stagnant intelligence.
In the episode "The Why of Fry
", Leela's seemingly oblivious pet Nibbler
reveals himself as the reason for Fry's freezing; because Fry lacks the Delta brainwave
, he can withstand the intellect-draining onslaught of the evil Brainspawn, is immune to the Dark One's mind reading in Into The Wild Green Yonder, and brainslugs starve to death when attached to him. Nibbler's race, the Nibblonians, dub him "The Mighty One". Through prediction (on the eve of 1999, as the Nibblonians lack the ability to travel through time), they guessed that Fry would be the one to save the world from the evil Brainspawn; since his natural lifespan would not extend to the right millennium, however, Nibbler is sent to make the aforementioned delivery call to push an unsuspecting Fry into the cryogenic tube, to re-emerge December 31, 2999.
"; "Love and Rocket
"). They are even married in an alternate universe ("The Farnsworth Parabox
").
Fry's feelings for Leela are openly displayed throughout the series. In "The Sting", Fry throws himself in front of a baby Queen Bee to protect Leela, resulting in the bee's stinger completely penetrating his torso. In "Love and Rocket", upon noticing that Leela's oxygen tank was running on 'critical', he attaches her oxygen tube to his tank, giving her his oxygen and almost asphyxiating himself. In "Parasites Lost
", Fry becomes infected with "helpful" parasites which enhance his muscles and intelligence, thus attracting Leela's romantic attention; however, fearing that Leela was attracted to him only for his "worms", he rids himself of those worms in a failed bid to begin a genuine relationship. In "Time Keeps On Slippin'
", Fry moved the stars to write a love note to Leela, but the message was removed by a quasar before she read it. In the final episode of the initial run, "The Devil's Hands are Idle Playthings
", Fry trades hands with the Robot Devil in order to compose an opera about Leela in which they fall in love; however, when Fry returned the Robot Devil's hands to prevent him from forcing Leela to marry him, thus resulting in a degradation of the quality of the opera and causing the audience to leave, Leela remains behind and asks Fry to complete the opera.
At the end of the film Futurama: Into the Wild Green Yonder
, Leela openly admits to loving Fry, and they commence an openly romantic relationship from the episode "Rebirth
" onwards. In "The Prisoner of Benda
" they have "sex", albeit in differing bodies. The on-again, off again nature of their relationship causes Leela to leave Planet Express and Fry in "Overclockwise
", however by the end of the episode, Leela returns to Planet Express and seemingly reunites with Fry. Bender reveals to both Fry and Leela their "ultimate fate" that he learned while he was overclocked. The audience is never shown the contents, but it is clear that while the journey for them may be bumpy, Fry and Leela will ultimately end up happy someday.
"), whom she later marries. They eventually split up, and she decides to freeze herself to try again in the distant future. She wakes up in 3002, meets Fry again, and restarts her relationship with him. However, she fails to fit into the 31st century life to which Fry has become so accustomed, and so asks him to freeze himself with her for another thousand years. This plan fails, as does the rekindled relationship, so Fry leaves her. She later is shown in a limousine with the recently unfrozen Pauly Shore
. In the episode "Proposition Infinity
," she is again shown with Pauly Shore, and the implication is that they are now married.
. Potential embarrassment was averted by catastrophic damage to the ship, and Amy won the battle of the bogus boyfriends.
In "Put Your Head on My Shoulder
", Fry and Amy are trapped together in a desert on Mercury and realize they have a lot in common. While being towed to the nearest gas station to refuel, they have sex in the car. They continue the relationship back home (with sexual relations implied), but Fry intends to end it the day before Valentine's Day
because he felt that they were spending too much time together. An accident ends with Fry's head being temporarily attached to Amy's body, causing much tension due to Fry's decision to break up and Amy's subsequent date, forcing Leela to step in and distract Amy's date to save Fry from an awkward situation. Despite their break-up, they remain good friends.
", a deal is made between Bender and Robot Devil to restore Bender's body on exchange for Fry's death. After discovering he can control electronics in an ethereal form, Bender uses this to attempt to scare Fry to death - this causes Fry to suffer a heart attack which he survives.
as a homage to the then-recently deceased Phil Hartman
, for whom the role of Zapp Brannigan
was created.
According to Groening, Fry's character developed over time while still keeping his qualities as a loser and the characteristics which writers hoped would make him appeal to the target young male audience. Fry's character is essentially a bungling, stubborn slob with a heart of gold that cannot get ahead in the world, yet he does have a slight glimmer of hope. Fry's clothing of a red windbreaker
jacket, white t-shirt
and blue jeans
is based on James Dean
's outfit from Rebel without a Cause
.
Fry is voiced by Billy West
, who also voices Doctor Zoidberg, Hubert J. Farnsworth
and various other characters in the show. Although West auditioned for the part it was originally given to Charlie Schlatter
; however, after a casting change he was offered the job. The voice West uses for Fry has been described as that of a "generic Saturday-morning good guy". West admits that he intentionally made Fry sound similar to his own real voice claiming that keeping the "cartoony" aspects out of it would make it harder for someone else to imitate the same voice. He notes that the voice is higher than his own and that he tried to duplicate the voice he had at age 25 which he describes as "this whiny, complaining voice — this plain vanilla voice". West also voices Lars Fillmore in Futurama: Bender's Big Score
, who is a time travel duplicate of Fry with an injured larynx
, and therefore, a slightly altered voice. The producers initially considered having a different voice actor do Lars' voice in order to keep viewers from guessing his true identity, but ultimately decided it would not make sense if anyone besides West did the voice.
Fictional character
A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...
, the main protagonist
Protagonist
A protagonist is the main character of a literary, theatrical, cinematic, or musical narrative, around whom the events of the narrative's plot revolve and with whom the audience is intended to most identify...
of the animated science fiction
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
sitcom Futurama
Futurama
Futurama is an American animated science fiction sitcom created by Matt Groening and developed by Groening and David X. Cohen for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series follows the adventures of a late 20th-century New York City pizza delivery boy, Philip J...
. He is voiced by Billy West
Billy West
William Richard "Billy" West is an American voice actor. Born in Detroit but raised in the Roslindale neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, Billy launched his career in the early 1980s performing daily comedic routines on Boston's WBCN. He left the radio station to work on the short-lived revival...
using a version of his own voice as he sounded when he was 25.
Character overview
Born in the twentieth century in New York CityNew York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
Fry is an average, thoroughly unremarkable loser
Everyman
In literature and drama, the term everyman has come to mean an ordinary individual, with whom the audience or reader is supposed to be able to identify easily, and who is often placed in extraordinary circumstances...
in his 20s, though the episode "The Luck of the Fryrish
The Luck of the Fryrish
"The Luck of the Fryrish" is the fourth episode in season three of Futurama. It originally aired in North America on March 11, 2001.-Plot:...
" seems to imply he was 30 at the time of his freezing. He is a pizza delivery boy who, during the first few seconds of the year 2000, fell into a cryonic
Cryonics
Cryonics is the low-temperature preservation of humans and animals who can no longer be sustained by contemporary medicine, with the hope that healing and resuscitation may be possible in the future. Cryopreservation of people or large animals is not reversible with current technology...
tank while delivering a pizza to Applied Cryogenics. He remains frozen until the last day of the year 2999. He then meets the one-eyed career officer Leela, and a cigar-smoking, booze-fueled, kleptomaniac robot Bender
Bender Bending Rodríguez
Bender Bending Rodríguez, designated Bending Unit 22, is a fictional robot character in the animated television series Futurama. He was created by series creators Matt Groening and David X. Cohen and is voiced by John DiMaggio. In the series, Bender plays the role of a comic anti-hero, and is...
. Together, they are employed by Fry's distant nephew, the senile and demented old scientist Prof. Hubert J. Farnsworth
Hubert J. Farnsworth
Professor Hubert J. Farnsworth, or simply The Professor, is a fictional character in the American animated television series Futurama. He is voiced by Billy West using a combination of impressions of Burgess Meredith and Frank Morgan. Farnsworth is the proprietor of the Planet Express delivery...
, as the crew of his delivery company Planet Express.
In the past Fry had an older brother, Yancy; a dog
Dog
The domestic dog is a domesticated form of the gray wolf, a member of the Canidae family of the order Carnivora. The term is used for both feral and pet varieties. The dog may have been the first animal to be domesticated, and has been the most widely kept working, hunting, and companion animal in...
, Seymour
Jurassic Bark
"Jurassic Bark" is the seventh episode of season four of the television series Futurama, airing November 17, 2002. It was nominated for an Emmy Award, but lost to The Simpsons episode "Three Gays of the Condo".-Plot:...
; and a girlfriend, Michelle, who dumped him in the first episode "Space Pilot 3000
Space Pilot 3000
"Space Pilot 3000" is the pilot episode of Futurama, which originally aired in North America on March 28, 1999 on Fox. The episode focuses on the cryogenic freezing of the series protagonist, Philip J. Fry, and the events when he awakens 1,000 years in the future...
", just before he was frozen. Fry had a lifelong sibling rivalry
Sibling rivalry
Sibling rivalry is a type of competition or animosity among children, blood-related or not.Siblings generally spend more time together during childhood than they do with parents. The sibling bond is often complicated and is influenced by factors such as parental treatment, birth order, personality,...
with his older brother Yancy, due to Fry's perception that Yancy steals everything from him and vice versa. After dropping out of Coney Island
Coney Island
Coney Island is a peninsula and beach on the Atlantic Ocean in southern Brooklyn, New York, United States. The site was formerly an outer barrier island, but became partially connected to the mainland by landfill....
Community College, he then got a job as a delivery boy at Panucci's Pizza.
Fry is his own grandfather through a series of events involving time travel and accidentally causing the death of his own grandfather. Depending on the theory of time travel accepted, this has either always been how history unfolded, or the laws of the universe have allowed Fry to be his own grandfather.
Personality and abilities
Characterized as simple, sweet, naïve and immature, Fry regards Bender as his closest friend. He also has strong feelings for Leela, although he lacks the intelligence required for articulating his emotions; thus, his love remains (sometimes coldly) unrequitedUnrequited love
Unrequited love is love that is not openly reciprocated or understood as such, even though reciprocation is usually deeply desired. The beloved may or may not be aware of the admirer's deep affections...
, though not entirely without hope. She does occasionally return his interest throughout the series, and in the movie Into the Wild Green Yonder she admits to loving him back. At the end of that film, they are seen sharing a kiss as they enter a wormhole, and subsequently begin dating. Despite his low intelligence, Fry is a very caring and kind-hearted person who often goes out of his way to help his friends, even if he is sometimes oblivious to their problems. He tolerates all of his friends' quirks and is notable as the only staff member to treat Doctor Zoidberg decently. Although at times lacking in self-awareness, Fry always tries to do the right thing and fix his mistakes. Fry has shown remarkable skill playing video games, (even mastering the 31st-century's version on the Internet), and in Bender Should Not Be Allowed on TV
Bender Should Not Be Allowed on TV
"Bender Should Not Be Allowed on TV" is the sixth episode of the fourth production season of Futurama...
is seen successfully playing a game despite not looking at the screen. This skill carries over to using Planet Express Ship's laser gun. Despite his laziness,Fry has also exhibited remarkable bravery and self-sacrifice on occasion and has even displayed flashes of stagnant intelligence.
In the episode "The Why of Fry
The Why of Fry
"The Why of Fry" is the tenth episode in the fourth season of the animated television series Futurama. It originally aired in North America on April 6, 2003. The episode was written by David X. Cohen and directed by Wes Archer...
", Leela's seemingly oblivious pet Nibbler
Nibbler (Futurama)
Lord Nibbler is a fictional character from the animated television series Futurama. He is voiced by Frank Welker, who provides not only his speaking lines but also the various noises he makes when not speaking English....
reveals himself as the reason for Fry's freezing; because Fry lacks the Delta brainwave
Delta wave
A delta wave is a high amplitude brain wave with a frequency of oscillation between 0–4 hertz. Delta waves, like other brain waves, are recorded with an electroencephalogram and are usually associated with the deepest stages of sleep , also known as slow-wave sleep , and aid in characterizing the...
, he can withstand the intellect-draining onslaught of the evil Brainspawn, is immune to the Dark One's mind reading in Into The Wild Green Yonder, and brainslugs starve to death when attached to him. Nibbler's race, the Nibblonians, dub him "The Mighty One". Through prediction (on the eve of 1999, as the Nibblonians lack the ability to travel through time), they guessed that Fry would be the one to save the world from the evil Brainspawn; since his natural lifespan would not extend to the right millennium, however, Nibbler is sent to make the aforementioned delivery call to push an unsuspecting Fry into the cryogenic tube, to re-emerge December 31, 2999.
Leela
Leela is Fry's main love interest, and his love for her provides a major plot line throughout the series. Fry first begins to show a serious interest in her from the second season onwards, although she constantly turns him down for other dates due to his immaturity, despite being quoted as saying that she loves his boyish charm. Leela initially sees Fry as a true friend and nothing more, but it appears as if she is hiding (and denying herself) deeper feelings for him, which are revealed, albeit temporarily, on the numerous occasions when he risks his life for hers ("The StingThe Sting (Futurama)
"The Sting" is episode twelve in season four of Futurama. It originally aired in North America on June 1, 2003. It is arguably one of the most popular episodes of the series.-Plot:...
"; "Love and Rocket
Love and Rocket
"Love and Rocket" is the third episode of Futuramas fourth season. It first aired on February 10, 2002.- Plot :A few days before Valentine's Day, the Planet Express crew heads off to the most romantic city on Earth, Milwaukee, to land a delivery contract from Romanticorp, makers of all things...
"). They are even married in an alternate universe ("The Farnsworth Parabox
The Farnsworth Parabox
"The Farnsworth Parabox" is the fifteenth episode of the fourth production season of Futurama. It first aired June 8, 2003, as the tenth episode in the fifth broadcast season. The episode was written by Bill Odenkirk and directed by Ron Hughart.- Plot :...
").
Fry's feelings for Leela are openly displayed throughout the series. In "The Sting", Fry throws himself in front of a baby Queen Bee to protect Leela, resulting in the bee's stinger completely penetrating his torso. In "Love and Rocket", upon noticing that Leela's oxygen tank was running on 'critical', he attaches her oxygen tube to his tank, giving her his oxygen and almost asphyxiating himself. In "Parasites Lost
Parasites Lost
"Parasites Lost" is the second episode in season three of Futurama. Although the title is a play on John Milton's epic poem Paradise Lost, the episode is a parody of the 1966 film Fantastic Voyage. The plot also borrows from the novel Flowers for Algernon...
", Fry becomes infected with "helpful" parasites which enhance his muscles and intelligence, thus attracting Leela's romantic attention; however, fearing that Leela was attracted to him only for his "worms", he rids himself of those worms in a failed bid to begin a genuine relationship. In "Time Keeps On Slippin'
Time Keeps on Slippin'
"Time Keeps On Slippin" is the 14th episode in season 3 of Futurama. It originally aired May 6, 2001. The title is from a lyric in Fly Like an Eagle by Steve Miller Band which was featured in the basketball film Space Jam...
", Fry moved the stars to write a love note to Leela, but the message was removed by a quasar before she read it. In the final episode of the initial run, "The Devil's Hands are Idle Playthings
The Devil's Hands are Idle Playthings
"The Devil's Hands Are Idle Playthings" is the eighteenth episode in the fourth production season of the animated television series Futurama, and was aired for the first time in the United States on August 10, 2003 as the sixteenth episode of the fifth broadcast season...
", Fry trades hands with the Robot Devil in order to compose an opera about Leela in which they fall in love; however, when Fry returned the Robot Devil's hands to prevent him from forcing Leela to marry him, thus resulting in a degradation of the quality of the opera and causing the audience to leave, Leela remains behind and asks Fry to complete the opera.
At the end of the film Futurama: Into the Wild Green Yonder
Futurama: Into the Wild Green Yonder
Futurama: Into the Wild Green Yonder is the last of a series of four straight-to-DVD Futurama movies. The movie was written by Ken Keeler, based on a story by Keeler and David X. Cohen, and directed by Peter Avanzino. Guest stars include Phil Hendrie, Penn Jillette , Snoop Dogg and Seth...
, Leela openly admits to loving Fry, and they commence an openly romantic relationship from the episode "Rebirth
Rebirth (Futurama)
"Rebirth" is the premiere of Futuramas sixth season, and the revival of the series. It originally aired in North America on June 24, 2010, on Comedy Central. The episode was written by David X...
" onwards. In "The Prisoner of Benda
The Prisoner of Benda
"The Prisoner of Benda" is the 10th episode of the sixth season of the animated sitcom, Futurama. It aired on Comedy Central on August 19, 2010. In the episode, Professor Farnsworth and Amy build a machine that allows them to switch minds so that they may each pursue their lifelong dreams. ...
" they have "sex", albeit in differing bodies. The on-again, off again nature of their relationship causes Leela to leave Planet Express and Fry in "Overclockwise
Overclockwise
"Overclockwise" is the twenty-fifth episode of the sixth season of the animated sitcom Futurama. It aired on Comedy Central in the United States on September 1, 2011...
", however by the end of the episode, Leela returns to Planet Express and seemingly reunites with Fry. Bender reveals to both Fry and Leela their "ultimate fate" that he learned while he was overclocked. The audience is never shown the contents, but it is clear that while the journey for them may be bumpy, Fry and Leela will ultimately end up happy someday.
Michelle
Michelle (voiced by Kath Soucie in the first appearance, Sarah Silverman in the second appearance) is Fry's on-and-off girlfriend from the 20th century. Shortly before Fry is frozen, she dumps him for a man named Constantine (called Charles in "The Cryonic WomanThe Cryonic Woman
"The Cryonic Woman" is the nineteenth and final episode of production season two of Futurama. It originally aired in North America on December 3, 2000, as the third episode of the third broadcast season with a plot incorporating a cryonics theme...
"), whom she later marries. They eventually split up, and she decides to freeze herself to try again in the distant future. She wakes up in 3002, meets Fry again, and restarts her relationship with him. However, she fails to fit into the 31st century life to which Fry has become so accustomed, and so asks him to freeze himself with her for another thousand years. This plan fails, as does the rekindled relationship, so Fry leaves her. She later is shown in a limousine with the recently unfrozen Pauly Shore
Pauly Shore
Paul Montgomery "Pauly" Shore is an American comedian and actor who starred in several comedy films in the 1990s and hosted a video show on MTV in the late 1980s and early 1990s...
. In the episode "Proposition Infinity
Proposition Infinity
"Proposition Infinity" is the fourth episode of the sixth season of the animated sitcom Futurama, and originally aired July 8, 2010 on Comedy Central. In the episode, Amy Wong and Bender fall in love and begin a culturally taboo "robosexual" relationship...
," she is again shown with Pauly Shore, and the implication is that they are now married.
Amy Wong
During a trip on the luxury starliner Titanic, Amy used Fry as her fake boyfriend to avoid being set up by her parents with an unattractive potential husband. Unfortunately, Leela was also using Fry as her fake fiancé to ward off the attentions of Zapp BranniganZapp Brannigan
Captain Zapp Brannigan is a fictional character in the animated sitcom Futurama. He is voiced by Billy West, but was originally intended to be voiced by Phil Hartman, with West taking over the role after Hartman's death. Brannigan is a 25-Star General in the Democratic Order of Planets, and captain...
. Potential embarrassment was averted by catastrophic damage to the ship, and Amy won the battle of the bogus boyfriends.
In "Put Your Head on My Shoulder
Put Your Head on My Shoulder
"Put Your Head on My Shoulder" is a song written by Canadian singer-songwriter Paul Anka. Anka's version, released as a single in 1959, became very successful, reaching number 2 on the Billboard Hot 100....
", Fry and Amy are trapped together in a desert on Mercury and realize they have a lot in common. While being towed to the nearest gas station to refuel, they have sex in the car. They continue the relationship back home (with sexual relations implied), but Fry intends to end it the day before Valentine's Day
Valentine's Day
Saint Valentine's Day, commonly shortened to Valentine's Day, is an annual commemoration held on February 14 celebrating love and affection between intimate companions. The day is named after one or more early Christian martyrs named Saint Valentine, and was established by Pope Gelasius I in 496...
because he felt that they were spending too much time together. An accident ends with Fry's head being temporarily attached to Amy's body, causing much tension due to Fry's decision to break up and Amy's subsequent date, forcing Leela to step in and distract Amy's date to save Fry from an awkward situation. Despite their break-up, they remain good friends.
Near-Death
In the episode "Ghost in the MachinesGhost in the Machines
"Ghost in the Machines" is the nineteenth episode of the sixth season of the animated sitcom Futurama, and originally aired June 30, 2011 on Comedy Central. It aired as the third episode of season 6-B, sixteenth in broadcast order for season 6 overall. The episode was written by Patric M. Verrone...
", a deal is made between Bender and Robot Devil to restore Bender's body on exchange for Fry's death. After discovering he can control electronics in an ethereal form, Bender uses this to attempt to scare Fry to death - this causes Fry to suffer a heart attack which he survives.
Production
The name "Philip" was given to Fry by Matt GroeningMatt Groening
Matthew Abram "Matt" Groening is an American cartoonist, screenwriter, and producer. He is the creator of the comic strip Life in Hell as well as two successful television series, The Simpsons and Futurama....
as a homage to the then-recently deceased Phil Hartman
Phil Hartman
Philip Edward "Phil" Hartman was a Canadian-American actor, comedian, screenwriter, and graphic artist. Born in Brantford, Ontario, Hartman and his family moved to the United States when he was 10...
, for whom the role of Zapp Brannigan
Zapp Brannigan
Captain Zapp Brannigan is a fictional character in the animated sitcom Futurama. He is voiced by Billy West, but was originally intended to be voiced by Phil Hartman, with West taking over the role after Hartman's death. Brannigan is a 25-Star General in the Democratic Order of Planets, and captain...
was created.
According to Groening, Fry's character developed over time while still keeping his qualities as a loser and the characteristics which writers hoped would make him appeal to the target young male audience. Fry's character is essentially a bungling, stubborn slob with a heart of gold that cannot get ahead in the world, yet he does have a slight glimmer of hope. Fry's clothing of a red windbreaker
Windbreaker
A windbreaker is a thin outer coat designed to resist wind chill and light rain . It is usually of light construction, characteristically made of some type of synthetic material and often incorporating an elastic waistband and zipper...
jacket, white t-shirt
T-shirt
A T-shirt is a style of shirt. A T-shirt is buttonless and collarless, with short sleeves and frequently a round neck line....
and blue jeans
Jeans
Jeans are trousers made from denim. Some of the earliest American blue jeans were made by Jacob Davis, Calvin Rogers, and Levi Strauss in 1873. Starting in the 1950s, jeans, originally designed for cowboys, became popular among teenagers. Historic brands include Levi's, Lee, and Wrangler...
is based on James Dean
James Dean
James Byron Dean was an American film actor. He is a cultural icon, best embodied in the title of his most celebrated film, Rebel Without a Cause , in which he starred as troubled Los Angeles teenager Jim Stark...
's outfit from Rebel without a Cause
Rebel Without a Cause
Rebel Without a Cause is a 1955 American drama film about emotionally confused suburban, middle-class teenagers. Directed by Nicholas Ray, it offered both social commentary and an alternative to previous films depicting delinquents in urban slum environments...
.
Fry is voiced by Billy West
Billy West
William Richard "Billy" West is an American voice actor. Born in Detroit but raised in the Roslindale neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, Billy launched his career in the early 1980s performing daily comedic routines on Boston's WBCN. He left the radio station to work on the short-lived revival...
, who also voices Doctor Zoidberg, Hubert J. Farnsworth
Hubert J. Farnsworth
Professor Hubert J. Farnsworth, or simply The Professor, is a fictional character in the American animated television series Futurama. He is voiced by Billy West using a combination of impressions of Burgess Meredith and Frank Morgan. Farnsworth is the proprietor of the Planet Express delivery...
and various other characters in the show. Although West auditioned for the part it was originally given to Charlie Schlatter
Charlie Schlatter
Charles Thomas "Charlie" Schlatter is an American actor. He has starred in numerous TV series and films, and is well-known for his role in the series Diagnosis: Murder as Dr. Jesse Travis with Dick Van Dyke, and for his role in the film 18 Again! with George Burns...
; however, after a casting change he was offered the job. The voice West uses for Fry has been described as that of a "generic Saturday-morning good guy". West admits that he intentionally made Fry sound similar to his own real voice claiming that keeping the "cartoony" aspects out of it would make it harder for someone else to imitate the same voice. He notes that the voice is higher than his own and that he tried to duplicate the voice he had at age 25 which he describes as "this whiny, complaining voice — this plain vanilla voice". West also voices Lars Fillmore in Futurama: Bender's Big Score
Futurama: Bender's Big Score
Futurama: Bender's Big Score is an Annie Award-winning direct-to-video film based on the animated series Futurama. It was released in the United States on November 27, 2007. Bender's Big Score, along with the three follow-up films, comprise season five of Futurama, with each film being separated...
, who is a time travel duplicate of Fry with an injured larynx
Larynx
The larynx , commonly called the voice box, is an organ in the neck of amphibians, reptiles and mammals involved in breathing, sound production, and protecting the trachea against food aspiration. It manipulates pitch and volume...
, and therefore, a slightly altered voice. The producers initially considered having a different voice actor do Lars' voice in order to keep viewers from guessing his true identity, but ultimately decided it would not make sense if anyone besides West did the voice.
External links
- Philip J. Fry at Futurama Wiki