Even though Hugh Laurie made $700,000 per episode in the final season of the TV show “House,” he admits feeling like a fraud. He regrets playing a fictional doctor instead of becoming a real one, as his father had hoped.
Laurie’s father, Dr. William (Ran) Laurie, had high hopes for his son. Born in June 1959, Hugh Laurie was expected to follow in his father’s footsteps. Dr. Laurie was not only a respected physician but also a 1948 Olympic gold medalist in rowing and a Cambridge graduate.
Hugh attended the same college as his father and was even part of the rowing team, with plans to compete in the Olympics and then go to medical school. However, he discovered the drama club, Cambridge Footlights, where he met Emma Thompson and his future comedy partner, Stephen Fry.
This discovery changed his path. Through the 1980s and 1990s, Laurie appeared in various TV shows, including the BBC sitcom “Blackadder,” alongside Fry. He also starred in “Sense and Sensibility” with Thompson, Disney’s “101 Dalmatians,” and even an episode of “Friends.”
In 2004, Laurie was offered the role of Dr. Gregory House in the TV series “House,” a medical drama that ran for eight seasons. His performance as the brilliant but flawed doctor won him Golden Globe awards and worldwide fame. Despite this success, the pressures of celebrity life took a toll on him.
“I had some pretty bleak times, dark days when it seemed like there was no escape,” Laurie said in a 2013 interview with Radio Times. “I was determined never to be late, not to miss a single day’s filming. But there were times when I’d think, ‘If I were just to have an accident on the way to the studio and win a couple of days off to recover, how brilliant would that be?’”
The final season of “House” ended in 2012, and Laurie continued to act, appearing in shows like “Veep” and the film “Tomorrowland” with George Clooney.
In 2016, Laurie played another doctor, Dr. Eldon Chance, in the TV series “Chance.” He found the project irresistible despite his initial reluctance to take on another doctor role. “The characters are massively different. Their practices are different. Their attitude to life is different,” Laurie said, comparing Dr. House to Dr. Chance.
Despite his success, Laurie feels guilty for not becoming a real doctor. His father, who died of Parkinson’s disease in 1998, had high hopes for him. “My father was actually a doctor. And if it’s true that most men are sort of seeking to become versions of their father, and failing, by the way, it seemed appropriate that I wound up being a fake version of a doctor,” Laurie reflected. “I would have liked to have become a doctor myself and I still have doctor fantasies…We live in a world of shortcuts don’t we? And I took them. Dad would have hated that.”
Laurie calls himself a “cop out” and feels great guilt for not following his father’s path. What do you think of Hugh Laurie’s surprising admission? Share your thoughts in the comments below and share this story to see what others have to say!
