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______An interview with Britain's _____________new Renaissance man, Stephen Fry. BY CYNTHIA JOYCE | When the current dissection of Oscar Wilde is complete -- and the fact that there are presently two plays, a film and a soon-to-be-erected statue in central London celebrating his life and work suggests that it very nearly is -- it's likely that Brian Gilbert's film "Wilde" will be remembered not so much for its generous depiction of Wilde's life but for the poetic justice of having cast Stephen Fry in the starring role. Comparisons between Wilde and Fry are as predictable as they are irresistible: real-life Renaissance men, celebrated for their wit and charm; both equally committed to the classics as to contemporary culture; and both equally incapable of living up to their own celebrated image. Three years ago, Fry disappeared after walking out on the not-so-well-received West End production of the play "Cell Mates," in which he had the starring role. His friends feared suicide, with good reason; when he turned up a few weeks later, Fry admitted that he had attempted to take his own life. If Fry bears any scars from the experience, he hides them well. Waiting to accept an award at the San Francisco International Film Festival for his role in "Wilde," Fry seemed upbeat and affable -- and even more charming than he is reputed to be. He spoke to Salon about that role; his new novel, "Making History"; and what it means to be a "well-adjusting" artist. It's interesting that despite the fact that almost an entire century has passed since his death, Oscar Wilde is still portrayed as a very contemporary figure. Absolutely. And I think that is part of our fascination with him, because he seems to be the first modern man, the first modern artist, the first one to emerge from that world of the whiskered Tennysons and Longfellows. He's also connected with our sense of the running out of control of celebrity worship, and our sense of guilt about how much we contribute to the making or breaking of people we admire -- people whom we think we know, but in fact we don't -- whether it's something like the Diana cult or more embarrassing things that have happened lately with Paul McCartney or George Michael. As we come to the end of this century, if we're young or if we want to stay young, we have that impulse to be always students. That is, we're not going to allow ourselves to be dominated by our employers, by our family, our status. We're always going to investigate ourselves. Wilde stood for that self-realization, that great Greek ideal: Know thyself. As we look back at this century, we look back at it as if it were a sort of diminishing corridor, filled with the smoke, the mushroom clouds, the rubble of the Berlin Wall -- and all the figures who seemed so powerful and great when they were close to us have lost their coherence. Used to be, when we were young, you had Che Guevara on the wall, and it said something to you. You had some faith that politics could change the world, that such a thing as rebels could rebel. But now James Dean and Marlon Brando -- they've become kitsch star statements, and nothing more. Wilde is much more than a T-shirt, he's a real-life icon. That's why students in particular find Wilde fascinating, now more than they used to -- because art has suddenly become more powerful than politics, a more powerful way to change the world. Wilde often has been portrayed as someone who, in addition to possessing a brilliant wit, was also very arrogant. But you portray him as a much more innocent person, someone who was almost a victim of his own generosity. Is that who you think he was? It's certainly my feeling about who he was. I've long felt -- and I was very much vindicated by Richard Ellman's biography [upon which "Wilde" was based] -- that Oscar was about extreme kindness. He was very sweet-natured, had a great generosity of presence and spirit. This view of him -- this vision, this legend, almost -- as this sort of posturing, brittle, camp peacock of a man is something that was built up after the trial. And there is just very little evidence for that. Even the least complimentary of his contemporaries -- people like George Bernard Shaw -- called him a giant of a man. Bernard Shaw would have never thought that if he'd been a sort of "Oh DEAR, how utterly UTTER" sort of person, who was just constantly dripping with epigrams. I think Bernard Shaw would have vomited. By some accounts, domesticity was the cause of Wilde's demise. Do you think that the idea of the well-adjusted artist is an oxymoron? Yes. I think anything in the past tense must be untrue about an artist. Perhaps there's such a thing as a well-adjusting artist, someone who is constantly adjusting himself. But there is no perfect tense to an artist -- they are not finished. An artist who is perfectly finished is probably done. Similarly, Wilde was not, for example, a homosexual -- he was not a badged thing. An artist is always in the process of changing. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - N E X T+P A G E+| So why didn't Oscar have a Web site?

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