Despite earning $700,000 per episode on House, Hugh Laurie admits he feels like a fraud. Playing a “fake doctor,” he regrets not pursuing real medicine like his father hoped. Laurie says his dad “would have hated” the shortcut he took into acting.
Born in 1959, Laurie once planned to row in the Olympics and then attend medical school, following his father—an Olympic gold medalist and respected physician. But joining the Cambridge Footlights comedy troupe changed his path, leading to a successful TV and film career alongside names like Stephen Fry and Emma Thompson.
His role as Dr. Gregory House made him a worldwide star, though the pressure took its toll. After House ended in 2012, Laurie continued acting, even playing doctors again.
Still, he carries guilt: “I ended up a fake version of a doctor… I took shortcuts. Dad would have hated that.”