Hugh Laurie played the eponymous Dr. Gregory House in the medical drama House M.D., appearing in all 176 episodes across the show’s eight seasons, from its pilot in 2004 until its season finale in 2012. House, M.D. follows a case-of-the-week format, as House, a medical Sherlock Holmes, and his team investigate rare illnesses, guided by the principle that "everybody lies."
An Oxford-born actor, Laurie got his start in sketch comedy and amateur drama. During his time at Cambridge, he was president of drama club Footlights, presenting an award-winning performance at Edinburgh Fringe Festival alongside actress Emma Thompson and renaissance man Stephen Fry. Laurie got his first televised break through Alfresco, a sketch comedy show he co-created with Fry that ran in 1983. His debut film in 1985’s Plenty eventually scored Laurie a consistent part in the long-running comedy show Blackadder. Aside from a minor role in Stuart Little, Laurie wasn't popularly known by American audiences until House M.D. made him a household name.
During his eight years as House, Laurie took on a handful of roles, many of which involved voice acting, including his roles as Gutsy in 2005 animated film Valiant, Dr. Cockroach in Monsters Vs. Aliens, Roger in The Simpsons, E.B.’s dad in Hop, Steve in Arthur Christmas, and the voice of Mr. Little in the video game Stuart Little 3: Call of the Wild. In terms of live-action acting, he played Captain James Biggs in 2008 crime drama Street Kings and David in rom-com The Oranges.
Immediately after House, M.D. ended, Hugh Laurie reprised his role as Dr. Cockroach for video short Shrek’s Thrilling Tales. It is not the only voice acting he engaged in post-House; in 2014 he lent his voice to Newton, a character in video game LittleBigPlanet 3. For the most part, however, Laurie stuck to live-action acting.
The year House, M.D. aired its final season, Laurie appeared as Mr. Watts, the leading role in war drama Mr. Pip. He has further acting credits in feature films through the parts of Nix in children’s feature Tomorrowland and Mr. Dick in 2019’s The Personal History of David Copperfield. He also made a minor appearance as Mycroft Holmes in 2018 comedy flop Holmes & Watson.
Laurie’s television career continued strong after House M.D. ended. His first major role in a series following the success of the medical drama was as Richard Roper in 2016’s The Night Manager. This British crime thriller met reasonable success, with Laurie’s performance earning him a Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actor. That same year, Laurie acted as titular character Eldon Chance in mystery series Chance, which did well enough to get renewed for a second season in 2017. In 2019, he played Major de Coverley in a mini-series adaptation of Joseph Heller’s Catch-22 on Hulu, and he had a recurring role as Tom James on the political satire Veep.
Most recently, Laurie plays space captain Ryan Clark in the 2020 space comedy Avenue 5 on HBO. Laurie, also an executive producer on the show, once again dons an American accent for a comedy that explored the ins and outs of space tourism while providing a sharp satirical lens over contemporary politics. The show is set to be renewed for second season in 2021, with Laurie reprising his role. Also in pre-production is an animated adaptation of Oscar Wilde’s The Canterville Ghost, in which Laurie is set to lend his voice to the Grim Reaper, alongside a talented cast including Stephen Fry and Imelda Staunton. However, it is worth noting that this particular film has been in a pre-production phase since 2012, the same year House M.D. aired its final episode.
