And the Award for Best Actor Author Goes To…

Steve Martin
Steve Martin is a wild and creative guy. Although best known for starring in a succession of hit comedies, Martin was once the subversive comedian of his generation, as well as an accomplished musician and, yes, a writer. More recently, his novels Shopgirl, The Pleasure of My Company, and An Object of Beauty have been well-received by critics and readers alike, with a witty, urbane style that at once feels at home with the Steve Martin we all know, yet reveals oceans of hidden depth.

Hugh Laurie
Best known in the U.S. as the irascible and brilliant doctor from House, Laurie is much more famous in the United Kingdom as both a comedian and a comic writer. His 1996 novel The Gun Seller is a tightly-paced, intricate thriller studded with humor and wonderful observational details, and sold very well both in the U.K. and here in the United States. His follow-up, The Paper Soldier, is slowly becoming the stuff of legend, as it was originally scheduled for 1999 and has yet to appear. There’s enough interest to keep the title in the news as people speculate on its eventual release date, which is all you need to know about Laurie’s writing skill.

Eric Bogosian
Bogosian is often still known for his play Talk Radio, his monologues, and his many film and television credits as an actor—his deep voice and sarcastic delivery have made him iconic. But Bogosian is full-on novelist too, and recently published his first work of non-fiction, Operation Nemesis, which explores the Armenian Genocide from his point of view as a man of Armenian descent, and which opens with a paragraph containing the killer line, “If you ever meet a Turk, kill him,” spoken by his grandfather. Bogosian may be an actor, but the man was born to write, and his plays, fiction, and non-fiction are well worth seeking out.

Carrie Fisher
As Carrie Fisher returns to her iconic role as Princess Leia in the upcoming Star Wars film, it’s a good time to remember that in-between the first trilogy and the modern day she had a rockin’ second career as an author, turning out several raucous, hilarious novels and memoirs, including Postcards from the Edge, which remains a stinging, sparkling novel of desperation and salvation (as well the basis for one of Meryl Streep’s best film roles). All of Fisher’s books bubble with a sharp energy and intelligence; she started publishing after she’d seen (and done) a lot, giving her a timeless understanding of people and the world around her.

Stephen Fry
Fry is one of those actors you see everywhere (the recent Hobbit and Sherlock Holmes films, the TV series 24), but he’s also proven himself to be a brilliant writer. His first novel, The Liar, was well-received, but his second, The Hippopotamus, has established him as a writer capable not just of tossing off razor-sharp witticisms, but also creating a compelling character and putting them through his paces. In aging, dissolute poet Ted Wallace, Fry has created a character for the ages, and the shabby detective story Fry weaves around him is both slightly unhinged and perfectly believable, thanks to Wallace’s personality and oddballs in orbit around him. Fry has the knack, and here’s hoping his busy filming schedule doesn’t keep him from writing more books.