Hugh Laurie

Hugh Laurie
Birth name	James Hugh Calum Laurie
Born	June 11, 1959 in Oxford, England, UK
Notable Roles	Cast member in A Bit of Fry and Laurie Prince George in Blackadder Dr. Gregory House in 'House, M.D.
Notable Episodes	House, M.D.: 1x11 - Detox House, M.D.: 1x21 - Three Stories House, M.D.: 2x17 - All In
Awards	1 Golden Globe 1 Satellite Award, USA 1 TCA Award, USA 2 IVy Awards

Hugh Laurie is a British actor, writer and director best known for his work on the British sketch comedy A Bit of Fry and Laurie, the British series Blackadder and the American medical drama House, M.D..

Biography

James Hugh Calum Laurie was born in Oxford, England on June 11, 1959. He studied anthropology and archaeology at Cambridge University, where he joined the famous Cambridge Footlights, which had previously produced such British comedy luminaries as David Frost, Graham Chapman and Douglas Adams. At the Footlights, he joined up with two partners: Stephen Fry and Emma Thompson. Thompson, who dated Laurie briefly, would become an Oscar-winning actress and screenwriter internationally acclaimed for her work in such films as Howard's End, Sense and Sensibility and Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. Fry would later work with Laurie on their BBC sketch comedy, A Bit of Fry and Laurie, as well as Jeeves and Wooster and Blackadder. Laurie also appeared in and directed episodes of the miniseries Look at the State We're In!, featuring fellow Footlights alumnus John Cleese.

Through the 1990s, Laurie made appearances in TV series such as Friends and films such as Stuart Little. He was always a well-respected British character actor. However, in 2004, while filming a remake of the 1965 film Flight of the Phoenix, he auditioned for an American pilot from his hotel room. Exhausted and filthy from a long day's shoot, he apologized for his appearance in the test footage before giving his reading. His character was an American from New Jersey, and his accent was so impeccable that the executive producer of the series reportedly said, "See, this is what I want: An American guy."

The role was for the part of Dr. Gregory House in the series House, M.D.. Of course, he was given the role, and the five o'clock shadow he sported due to his long shoot became a trademark of the character. The role would earn him international acclaim and Emmy and Golden Globe nominations and wins.

Laurie lives in London with his wife and three children, Charlie, Bill and Rebecca. Due to the success of House, M.D., he is considering a more permanent move to Los Angeles.

Roles

Starring Roles

Series	Role	Year(s)	Season(s)
Alfresco	various characters	1983–1984	1	2
Blackadder	Prince George, et al.	1987–1989			3	4
A Bit of Fry and Laurie	various characters	1989–1995	1	2	3	4
Jeeves and Wooster	Bertie Wooster	1990–1993	1	2	3	4
Little Grey Rabbit	Hare	2000	1
Preston Pig	Mr. Wolf	2000	1
Fortysomething	Paul Slippery	2003	1
House, M.D.	Gregory House	2004–2012	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8
Chance	Eldon Chance	2016–2017	1	2
Avenue 5	Ryan Clark	2020–2022	1	2

Recurring Roles

Series	Role	Year(s)	Season(s)
Veep	Tom James	2015–2019

Guest Starring Roles

Series	Role	Episode	Airdate
The Young Ones	Lord Monty	2x01 - Bambi	May 8, 1984
Happy Families	Jim	1x01 - Edith	October 17, 1985
Happy Families	Jim	1x06 - Reunion	November 21, 1985
Girls on Top	Tom	2x02 - Big Snogs	November 6, 1986
Filthy Rich & Catflap	Alfons N'Bend	1x02 - Episode Two	January 14, 1987
The New Statesman	Waiter	2x04 - The Haltemprice Bunker	February 5, 1989
The Legends of Treasure Island	Squire Trelawney (voice)	1x01 - The Quest Begins	September 10, 1993
The Legends of Treasure Island	Squire Trelawney (voice)	1x03 - The Watch Tower	September 24, 1993
The World of Peter Rabbit and Friends	Johnny	1x09 - The Tale of the Two Bad Mice and Johnny Town-Mouse	1995
Tracey Takes On...	Timothy "Timmy" Bugge	1x04 - Royalty	February 14, 1996
Tracey Takes On...	Timothy "Timmy" Bugge	1x08 - Death	March 18, 1996
Murder Most Horrid	Jerry Bryce	3x04 - The Body Politic	May 31, 1996
The Bill	Harrap	14x27 - Good Faith (1)	March 6, 1998
Friends	The Gentleman on the Plane	4x24 - The One with Ross's Wedding (2)	May 7, 1998
Randall & Hopkirk (Deceased)	Dr. Lawyer	1x02 - Mental Apparition Disorder	March 25, 2000
Family Guy	Nigel Pinchley	3x04 - One if by Clam, Two if by Sea	August 1, 2001
Spooks	Jules Siviter	1x04 - Traitor's Gate	June 4, 2002
Spooks	Jules Siviter	1x05 - The Rose Bed Memoirs	June 10, 2002
Saturday Night Live	Himself/Host	32x04 - Hugh Laurie/Beck	October 28, 2006

Producer

Series Produced

Series	Year(s)	Credit	Season(s)
House, M.D.	2009 –2012	Executive Producer						6	7	8
Chance	2016 –2017	Executive Producer	1	2

Writer

• Alfresco
  • Episode Count: 13 (Season One)

• Saturday Live
  • Episode Count: Unknown (Season One)

• A Bit of Fry and Laurie
  • Episode Count: 25 (Seasons One through Four)

Director

• Look at the State We're In!
  • Episode Count: Unknown (Season One)

• Fortysomething
  • Episode Count: Unknown (Season One)

Memorable Moments

• House, M.D.
  • 1x01 - Pilot: Dr. Gregory House is treating a 20-something elementary school teacher named Rebecca Adler. Without examining or meeting her personally, he has made a couple wrong diagnoses, and Adler has been close to death as her situation has worsened. House at last has made what he is sure is the right diagnosis, a parasitic infection, but Adler refuses treatment. For the first time, House comes to speak with her. She says she wants "to die with a little dignity." In response, House says, "There's no such thing. Our bodies break down. Sometimes when we're 90, sometimes before we're even born, but it always happens, and there's never any dignity in it. I don't care if you can walk, see, wipe your own ass, it's always ugly. Always! We can live with dignity. We can't die with it."

• • 1x11 - Detox: House has made a bet with Cuddy that he is not addicted to Vicodin and can go a week without it. Days into his cold turkey experiment, he hides in his office, suffering from withdrawal. He bangs a large metal pestle on his desk. At last, he smashes it into his hand to break all the bones and distract himself from his greater pain.
  • 1x14 - Control: House has realized his patient, Carly Forlano, is bulimic, but he is willing to lie to the transplant committee about her condition, although he is risking the wrath of his new boss and losing his job. He asks Carly if she wants him to do this and how much her life is worth. "What do you want me to do?" she asks. "Cry?" He says, "Yes! I want you tell me that your life is important to you, because I don't know!" With a sigh, he continues, "Because that's what's on the table right now: Your life."

• • 1x20 - Love Hurts: Dr. Allison Cameron has asked House on a date, and he prepares for it with his friend Dr. James Wilson at his apartment, but he is so nervous, he cannot tie his tie. Wilson coaches House on what to talk about. House pulls a corsage he bought for Cameron out of the refrigerator. "This is pretty lame, right?" he says to Wilson. Wilson replies, "I think she likes lame."

• • 1x21 - Three Stories: Before his leg was crippled, House is in the hospital for leg pain, but he is kicked out for being a drug addict. He has authorized only minor surgery for his leg, although it has developed into a serious problem. He lies in his hospital bed after his surgery and looks over his own read-outs. He tells the nurse he needs another dose of a common drug used to flush toxins out of the body. The nurse hesitates, but House assures her it is not a narcotic and says he is about to have a heart attack and die. "You got about 20 seconds," he says. More quickly than that, he goes into cardiac arrest. Dying, House is mildly surprised as he says, "I was wrong."

• • 1x22 - Honeymoon: House has taken on as a patient his ex-girlfriend Stacy Warner's husband Mark. He has interrogated Mark, ostensibly for the purposes of a test, but Stacy confronts him on the roof. She accuses him of hiding "on the roof like you always do." "I haven't been up here in five years," he says. This renders Stacy speechless, and House says Mark's illness has stumped him. Near tears, she says, "It never occurred to me... that you couldn't figure out what's wrong." House hugs her and says, "I haven't given up. ... We wait ... [for] something to change. It's one of the great tragedies of life. ... Something always changes."

Awards and Accolades

IVy Awards

(4 Nominations, 2 Wins)

• Nominated: Best Lead Actor in a Drama Series (2005-06)

House, M.D.

• Nominated: Best Lead Actor in a Drama Series (2006-07)

House, M.D.

• Won: Readers' Choice Best Lead Actor in a Drama Series (2006-07)

House, M.D.

• Won: Readers' Choice Best Recurring or Single Performance in a Comedy, Talk, Variety or Sketch Series (2006-07)

Saturday Night Live: 32x04 - Hugh Laurie/Beck

Primetime Emmy Awards

(6 Nominations)

• Nominated: Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series (2005, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011)

House, M.D.

Golden Globe Awards

(3 Wins in 7 Nominations)

• Won: Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series - Drama (2006, 2007)

House, M.D.

• Won: Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Series, Limited Series or Motion Picture Made for Television (2017)

The Night Manager

Screen Actors Guild Awards

(6 Nominations, 2 Wins)

• Won: Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Drama Series (2007, 2009)

House, M.D.

Satellite Awards, USA

(1 Nomination, 1 Win)

• Won: Outstanding Actor in a Series, Drama (2004)

House, M.D.

Television Critics Association Awards, USA

(1 Nomination, 1 Win)

• Won: Individual Achievement in Drama (2004)

House, M.D.

Other Awards

• Young Artist Film Awards, USA
  • Nominated: Best Performance in a Feature Film - Young Ensemble - The Borrowers

Trivia

• In 1977, he won the National Junior Championship for coxed pair rowing. He claims to have attended Cambridge University largely for its rowing program. He was forced to quit the program when he contracted mononucleosis.

• Like Dr. Gregory House, he is an avid motorcyclist. Upon receiving the role, he bought a black Triumph Bonneville. Also like House, he is a talented pianist.

• He was Douglas Adams' first choice to play Arthur Dent in the film adaptation of Adams' classic novel The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. Adams died before the deal could be finished.

• Bryan Singer, executive producer of House, M.D., cast him to play Perry White in the 2006 film Superman Returns, which Singer was directing. Due to scheduling conflicts, Laurie had to bow out, and he was replaced with Frank Langella.

• He has written two thriller novels: The Gun Seller, published in 1998, and Paper Soldier, published in 2007.

• He is, along with Greg Grunberg, James Denton, Bob Guiney and other celebrities, a member of the band Band From TV. He is also a member of the band Poor White Thrash.