Hugh Laurie Has Some Harsh Words About House Today

Hugh Laurie was already an esteemed British comedian when he started playing the acerbic and misanthropic Dr. Gregory House in 2004. By the time the show ended in 2012 after eight seasons, the public was far more likely to picture him snarking to his colleagues, patients, and poor underlings about lupus than as the charmingly goofy guy he had been in earlier, more comedic projects like "Blackadder" and "Jeeves and Wooster."

Dr. House remains Laurie's best-known role. It earned him two Golden Globe awards and marked his transition from playing upper-class twits and comic relief characters to a far wider variety of roles in projects like HBO's "Veep" and David Farr's Emmy-winning thriller series "The Night Manager." However, it seems that Laurie has quite conclusively left the role in his past — to the point that he doesn't even want to discuss it anymore. In an episode of the "Doctor Mike" podcast, host Dr. Mikhail Varshavski complimented accomplished medical drama actor Noah Wyle of "ER" and "The Pitt" fame about his enduring connection to his long-running "ER" character, Dr. John Carter, and took the opportunity to name-drop Laurie as someone who very much doesn't share this approach.

"Most that play a role like John Carter get tired of that association," Varshavski said. "In fact, we invited Hugh Laurie to our show. His staff was like, 'Oh, this is a good fit, we're going to reach out to him and see what he thinks.' I'm going to read you quote-unquote what he said: 'He is not interested in opportunities like this, frankly doesn't care about the audience or reliving the show.'" 

Hugh Laurie had not really been known to criticize "House" before the people behind "Doctor Mike" received his rather blunt message. When the show was still on the air, he might have occasionally discussed "House" going off the deep end, but that was more related to the plot twists and his character's increasingly unraveling life than actual discontent with the series. 

In fact, Laurie is on record making very complimentary comments about his famous medical drama. "I always felt I wasn't really sure whether I belonged, whether I was good enough," he said in a 2013 interview with The Guardian. "You know, I never went to drama school, I don't have any certificates saying: 'He's a qualified actor.' But I did think that 'House' was something I didn't have to apologise for. It was something I was really proud of and it was sort of ... whether you liked it or not, it was undeniable." 

In the same interview, he provided an early explanation as to why he might have been so quick to duck out of the "Doctor Mike" podcast appearance: He genuinely finds interviews uncomfortable. "I don't like the act of talking, it makes me slightly light-headed," he told The Guardian. "I get a bit ... is it hypertensive or hypotensive?" Perhaps it's not "House" itself he finds unpalatable, but rather discussing it and sharing his experiences at length.