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Hugh Laurie




James Hugh Calum Laurie (born June 11 , 1959 ) is an English Actor and Writer . He is, perhaps, best known for his Television comedy work with Stephen Fry (including '' A Bit Of Fry And Laurie '', '' Blackadder '' and '' Jeeves And Wooster ''); however, it is his current role, starring as Dr. Gregory House in the television show '' House '', which has introduced him to American audiences. Laurie won the Golden Globe for Best Actor in a Drama for the series in 2006.


EDUCATION

in '' Blackadder The Third ''.]]
Laurie was born and raised in Oxford , where he attended the Dragon School , a renowned British "public" College Preparatory school located in Oxford, England (also attended by actress Emma Watson , tennis player Tim Henman , and actor Jack Davenport ). He later went on to Eton and then to Selwyn College , Cambridge , achieved a Third-Class Honours degree in Anthropology & Archaeology . His father had won an Olympic Gold Medal in rowing, and he himself was a rower in school and in his university, taking part in the Oxford And Cambridge Boat Race of 1980. Cambridge lost that year by five feet.

During his first year at university, joined the famous Cambridge Footlights , which has been the starting point for many successful British comedians. When Footlights brought their end-of-year revue to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in 1980, Laurie met Stephen Fry . In his final year, 1981, he was the president of the Footlights Club, while Emma Thompson was the vice-president. Laurie, Fry and Thompson later parodied themselves as the '' University Challenge '' representatives of "Footlights College, Oxbridge" (with the programme's writer, Ben Elton , making up the four) in " Bambi ", an episode of '' The Young Ones ''.


CAREER

Fry And Laurie formed a comedic double act in the BBC series '' A Bit Of Fry And Laurie '', and starred in the television series '' Jeeves And Wooster '', an adaptation of P. G. Wodehouse 's Jeeves stories. Laurie played Jeeves' employer, the amiable twit Bertie Wooster , a role for which his talent as a Pianist and singer came in handy alongside his celebrated 'posh' voice.


However, like Fry, Laurie has branched out into a career as an actor in both comic roles (such as in the '' Blackadder '' series, written by Ben Elton and Richard Curtis and starring Rowan Atkinson , with Laurie in various roles, but most notably Prince George and Lieutenant George ) and also more serious roles in such films as '' Peter's Friends '' (again starring with Fry). Other film appearances include Elton's '' Maybe Baby '', and '' Stuart Little '' in which perhaps he first surprised audiences with an American accent. In 1996, his book '' The Gun Seller '', a humorous Novel of suspense, was published and became a best seller. Laurie is currently working on a second novel, ''The Paper Soldier''. In 1996 he also played Jasper, one of the bumbling criminals hired to kidnap the puppies, in the Disney live-action movie '' 101 Dalmatians ''.

Since 2002, Laurie began appearing in a range of British television dramas, guest starring that year in two episodes of the first season of the spy thriller series '' Spooks '' on BBC One . In 2003, he starred in and also directed ITV 's comedy-drama series '' Fortysomething ''. He also voiced a character in the '' Family Guy '' episode " One If By Clam, Two If By Sea ."

Although Laurie has been a household name in Britain since the 1980s, he only really came to the attention of the American public in 2004, when he first starred as the cantankerous physician Dr. Gregory House in the popular FOX medical drama, '' House ''. Laurie's American accent in this role is convincing enough that director Bryan Singer , upon viewing Laurie's audition tape, pointed to him as an example of a compelling American actor.

In July 2005 , Laurie was nominated for an Emmy Award for his role in ''House''. Although he didn't win, he did win a Golden Globe in 2006 for his work on the same series.


PERSONAL LIFE

Hugh Laurie married Jo Green in June 1989. They live in north London with their daughter Rebecca and two sons, Bill and Charlie.


QUOTES

  • "I grew up with an impatience with the anti-scientific. So I'm a bit miffed with our current love affair with all things Eastern. If I sneeze on the set, 40 people hand me Echinacea . But I'd no sooner take that than eat a pencil. Maybe that's why I took up boxing. It's my response to men in white pajamas feeling each other's Chi ." {Link without Title}



TRIVIA

in '' House '']]
  • During a guest appearance on '' The Tonight Show '' on 16 November 2005 , Laurie revealed that he took the highly-addictive painkiller Vicodin in order to get into character for his role as Dr. House.

  • Laurie's nose is slightly out of joint because of the many fights he was in as a boy.

  • Laurie was badly burned by a petrol bomb that he made at the age of ten.

  • In 1996 he concluded he was Clinically Depressed , a diagnosis that was later confirmed in analysis and treated successfully. Laurie first recognized the extent of his depression when he realised the car race he was in neither excited nor scared him. {Link without Title}

  • His favourite motorcycle is the Triumph Bonneville.

  • During the first season of filming for '' House '' Hugh Laurie lived at the Chateau Marmont Hotel on the Sunset Strip in West Hollywood .

  • Laurie was cast as Daily Planet editor Perry White in the upcoming film Superman Returns by director Bryan Singer, but was unable to play the role due to his prior commitment to the second season of ''House''.

  • Laurie appeared in the Music Video for the 1992 single ''Walking on Broken Glass'' by Annie Lennox , in full Regency-period costume as in '' Blackadder The Third '' (and opposite John Malkovich , similarly reprising '' Dangerous Liaisons '').

  • Laurie admires the writings of P.G. Wodehouse ; he explained in a 27 May 1999 article in '' The Daily Telegraph '' how reading Wodehouse novels had saved his life. {Link without Title}



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