Hugh Laurie interview - Radio Times, August 2005

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Hugh Laurie interview - Radio Times, August 2005

The diffident star of medical drama series House talks to Andrew Duncan about being reborn in the USA.

On earning the lead role in House

"I did a couple of scenes on tape, sent it off, with no expectations. A month later I'd forgotten about it and my agent said the producers wanted me to fly to Los Angeles to test 'for that medical show' - economy, by the way, which made me pretty sure I was an outsider. The producers thought I was American, or so they say. I don't think it ever occurred to anyone an Englishman could play Gregory House.

"A couple of things I'd done had been on television here - Blackadder, Jeeves and Wooster - but it's rare to meet anyone who's seen them. I had no ambition to do an American series. If it was being shot in north London by the BBC, that would have been fine."

"I suppose it's no surprise that in the entertainment business there are sudden turns in a short space of time. This happens to be my big change
of direction."

On the character of House

"I didn't realise House would be the central character, more the bitter comic relief appearing occasionally. I relish his wounded nature - the lameness, the scarred Byronic hero. I'd love to say I supplied a lot of these things, but they were all there, perfectly described by the writers. I merely stand there and read it out. I was thrilled to play an intelligent character as I've made a living for quite some years being fools."

His attitude to the success of the show

"I planned an enjoyable few weeks making a single show. I had no expectation of it lasting. So to be here a year and a half later is
most peculiar."

"Apparently I have an Emmy nomination. I still have to pinch myself to make sure I heard correctly."

"I don't watch the show, or read reviews, nor meet many people I'm not working with. I hear, vaguely, we're doing all right [16 million viewers in the US], but I don't know enough to be embarrassed, or proud. I get on with it. It's, umm, very exciting."

On the differences between US and UK TV

"Americans have become less insular in the past 20 years. Gradually they've become happy to embrace foreigners, for whatever reason. But there's a significant difference between British and American writers. Americans believe in the heroic, and try to write better, more optimistic, versions of themselves, but apart from James Bond, or perhaps Harry Potter, British writers don't."

What's next for him

"I'm massively late on producing a second novel, which is only about halfway there. I don't know what I'll do next. There's been no heightened interest in England - and I didn't expect it. They might think even less of me, if that's possible. I'm the bloke who minced around on American TV. I still have a yen to open a bar and play the piano. Perhaps in Lisbon. I've never been there, but I like the sound of it."

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Read our 2003 interview with Hugh Laurie - or take a look at our full House guide.