Hugh Laurie Biography
Summary
"James Hugh Calum Laurie", OBE (born June 11, 1959) is an English actor, comedian, writer, and musician. He is known professionally as "Hugh Laurie".
Early life and education
Laurie was born in Oxford, England. His father, William 'Ran' Laurie, was a doctor who also won an Olympic gold medal in the coxless pairs at the 1948 London Games. His mother, Patricia Laidlaw, died when Laurie was 29. Laurie was raised in the Presbyterian church. He was brought up in Oxford and attended the Dragon School, a prestigious preparatory school. He later went on to Eton and then to Selwyn College, Cambridge, where he achieved a Third-Class Honours degree in archaeology & anthropology.
Like his father, Laurie was an oarsman at school and university; in 1977, he was half of the junior coxed pair that won the English national title before representing England's Youth Team at the 1977 World Championships. Later, he also achieved a Blue taking part in the 1980 Oxford and Cambridge Boat Race. Cambridge lost that year by five feet (1.5 m). Laurie is a member of the Leander Club, one of the oldest rowing clubs in the world. One of the boats at Selwyn, his old college at Cambridge, is named 'Laurie' in his honour.
Forced to abandon rowing during a bout of infectious mononucleosis, he joined the Cambridge Footlights, which has been the starting point for many successful British comedians. There he met Emma Thompson, with whom he had a romantic relationship and is still good friends. She introduced him to his future comedy partner, Stephen Fry. Laurie, Fry and Thompson later parodied themselves as the "University Challenge" representatives of 'Footlights College, Oxbridge' in 'Bambi', an episode of "The Young Ones", with the series' co-writer Ben Elton completing their team. In 1980-81, his final year at university, Laurie managed to find time outside his rowing to become president of the Footlights, with Thompson as vice-president. They took their annual revue, "The Cellar Tapes", written principally by Laurie and Fry, the cast also including Thompson, Tony Slattery, Paul Shearer and Penny Dwyer, to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and won the first Perrier Comedy Award.
Career
The Perrier Award led to a West End transfer for "The Cellar Tapes" and a television version of the revue, broadcast in May 1982. It also resulted in Laurie, Fry and Thompson being selected along with Ben Elton, Robbie Coltrane and Siobhan Redmond to write and appear in a new sketch comedy show for Granada Television, "Alfresco", which ran for two series.
Laurie and Fry went on to work together on various projects throughout the 1980s and 1990s. Among them were 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; their BBC sketch comedy series, "A Bit of Fry and Laurie"; and "Jeeves and Wooster". The latter was an adaptation of P. G. Wodehouse's stories, in which Laurie played Jeeves' employer, the amiable twit Bertie Wooster. It was a role for which Laurie was considered particularly well suited, displaying his talent as a pianist and singer, alongside his celebrated 'posh' voice. He and Fry also worked together at various charity stage events, such as "Hysteria! 1, 2 & 3" and Amnesty International's "The Secret Policeman's Third Ball", Comic Relief TV shows and the variety show "Fry and Laurie Host a Christmas Night with the Stars". They collaborated again on the film "Peter's Friends".
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"). He also appears as a scientist in the video for 'Experiment IV' by Kate Bush.
Laurie's later film appearances include "Sense and Sensibility" (1995), adapted by and starring Emma Thompson; the Disney live-action movie "101 Dalmatians" (1996), where he played Jasper, one of the bumbling criminals hired to kidnap the puppies; Elton's adaptation of his novel "Inconceivable", "Maybe Baby" (2000); "Girl From Rio"; the 2004 remake of "The Flight of the Phoenix"; and the three "Stuart Little" films.
In 1996 Laurie's first novel, "The Gun Seller", a spoof of the thriller genre, was published and became a best seller. He has since been working on the screenplay for a movie version and on a second novel, "The Paper Soldier".
In 1998, Laurie had a brief guest-starring role on "Friends" in the episode 'The One with Ross's Wedding, Part Two'. With the popularity of "House", his short scenes in the episode have become favourites of fans of both series, largely due to his comically disdainful use of the name 'Pheebs'.
Since 2002, Laurie has appeared 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" (in one episode of which Stephen Fry appears). In 2001, he also voiced the character of a bar patron in the "Family Guy" episode 'One If by Clam, Two If by Sea'. Laurie was the character of Mr. Wolf in the cartoon "Preston Pig". He was also a panellist on the first episode of "QI", alongside Fry as host. In 2004, Laurie guest-starred as a professor in charge of a space probe called "Beagle", on "The Lenny Henry Show".
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 acerbic attending physician Dr Gregory House in the popular FOX medical drama, "House". For his portrayal, Laurie assumes an American accent. As the story goes, Laurie was in Namibia filming "Flight of the Phoenix" and recorded the audition tape for the show in the bathroom of the hotel, the only place he could get enough light. His US accent was so convincing that the executive producer, Bryan Singer, who was unaware at the time that Laurie is English, pointed to him as an example of just the kind of compelling American actor he had been looking for. Laurie also adopts the voice between takes on the set of "House", as well as during script read-throughs.
Following Laurie's American success, Stephen Fry expressed a desire to make a cameo appearance in "House", but due to commitments in England, he is unable to do so for now.
In July 2005, Laurie was nominated for an Emmy Award for his role in "House". Although he did not win, he did receive a Golden Globe in both 2006 and 2007 for his work on the series (one of very few to have received the award in consecutive years) and the Screen Actors Guild award in 2007. Laurie has also been awarded a large increase in salary, from what was rumoured to be a mid-range five-figure sum to $350,000 per episode. His "House" contract was also extended for an additional year, allowing for at least a fifth season to be produced. Laurie was not nominated for the 2006 Emmys, apparently to the 'outrage' of Fox executives, but he still appeared in a scripted, pre-taped intro, where he parodied his "House" character by rapidly diagnosing host Conan O'Brien and then proceeded to grope him as the latter asked him for help to get to the Emmys on time. He would later go on to speak in French whilst presenting an award with Dame Helen Mirren on stage.
Laurie was cast as "Daily Planet" editor Perry White in the film "Superman Returns" but had to bow out of the project due to his involvement in "House" (incidentally, the series is produced by Bad Hat Harry Productions, which is owned by "Superman Returns" director Bryan Singer).
In July 2006, Laurie appeared on Bravo!'s "Inside the Actors Studio", where he also performed one of his own songs, 'Mystery', on the piano with vocal accompaniment.
Laurie hosted NBC's "Saturday Night Live" where he dressed in drag in a sketch about a man (Kenan Thompson) with a broken leg who accuses his doctor of being dishonest. Laurie played the man's wife.
In August 2007, Laurie appeared on BBC Four's documentary, "Stephen Fry: 50 Not Out", filmed in celebration of Fry's fiftieth birthday.
Personal life
Laurie married Jo Green, a theatre administrator, in June 1989. They live in north London with their daughter, Rebecca (born 1993), and two sons, Bill (born 1991) and Charlie (born 1988). Rebecca had a role in the film "Wit" as five-year-old Vivian Bearing. Laurie is close friends with actress Emma Thompson and his "House" co-star Robert Sean Leonard.
He stated on BBC Radio 2 in an interview with Steve Wright in January 2006 that he is currently living in an apartment in West Hollywood while he is in the United States working on "House". Laurie can play the piano, guitar, drums, harmonica and saxophone. He has displayed his musical talents in episodes of several series, most notably "A Bit of Fry and Laurie", "Jeeves and Wooster", "House" and when he hosted "Saturday Night Live" on October 28th, 2006. He is a vocalist and keyboard player for the Los Angeles charity rock group 'Band From TV.'
Laurie was awarded an OBE in the 2007 New Year Honours List for his services to drama. On May 23, 2007, he was given the honour by Queen Elizabeth II.
Laurie has periodically struggled with severe clinical depression, and continues to receive regular treatment from a psychotherapist. He stated in an interview that he first concluded he had a problem while driving in a charity demolition derby in 1996, and he realised that driving around explosive crashes caused him to be neither excited nor frightened (he said that he felt, in fact, bored). 'Boredom,' he commented in an interview on "Inside the Actors Studio", 'is not an appropriate response to exploding cars'. Laurie admitted in an interview with "Rolling Stone" and during a guest appearance on "The Tonight Show" that he once tried hydrocodone/APAP (Vicodin) as part of his preparation for the role of Dr. Gregory House.
Laurie was considered in 2006 the most versatile artist of all times by Life magazine.
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.
Awards
Emmy Awards
2005 - Nominated - Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series
2007 - Nominated - Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series
Golden Globe Awards
2006 - Winner - Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series - Drama
2007 - Winner - Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series - Drama
Satellite Awards
2005 - Winner - Outstanding Actor in a Series, Drama
2006 - Winner - Outstanding Actor in a Series, Drama
Screen Actors Guild Awards
2006 - Nominated - Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Drama Series
2007 - Winner - Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Drama Series
Television Critics Association
2005 - Winner - Individual Achievement in Drama
2006 - Winner - Individual Achievement in Drama
2007 - Nominated - Individual Achievement in Drama
Teen Choice Award
2007 - Winner - TV Actor: Drama
Filmography
"Cambridge Footlights Revue" (1982) - various characters
"Alfresco" (1983-1984) - writer/various characters
"The Crystal Cube" (1983) - Max Belhaven/various characters
"The Young Ones" (1984) - Lord Monty
"Plenty" (1985) - Michael
"Mrs. Capper's Birthday" (1985) - Bobby
"Happy Families" (1985) - Jim
"Blackadder II" (1986) - Simon Partridge (also known as Mr Ostrich & Farters Parters), Prince Ludwig the Indestructible
"Happy Families" (1985) - Jim
"Filthy Rich & Catflap" (1986) - N'Bend
"Blackadder the Third" (1987) - George, Prince of Wales, Prince Regent
"Blackadder's Christmas Carol" (1988) - Prince George and Lord Pigmot (future)
"A Bit of Fry and Laurie" (1989-1995) - writer/various characters
"Blackadder Goes Forth" (1989) - Lt the Honourable George Colhurst St Barleigh
"The New Statesman" (1989) - Waiter
"Jeeves and Wooster" (1990-1993) - Bertie Wooster
"Peter's Friends" (1992) - Roger Charleston
"Sense and Sensibility" (1995) - Mr Palmer
"Tracey Takes On..." (1996) - Timothy Bugge (Season 1)
"101 Dalmatians" (1996) - Jasper
"Spiceworld" (1997) - Poirot
"The Borrowers" (1997) - Police Officer Steady
"Friends" (1998) - The Gentleman on the Plane
"The Bill" (1998)
"The Man in the Iron Mask" (1998) - Pierre, The King's Advisor
"Cousin Bette" (1998) - Baron Hector Hulot
"Blackadder: Back & Forth" (1999) - Viscount George Bufton-Tufton/Georgius
"Stuart Little" (1999) - Mr Fredrick Little
"Maybe Baby" (2000) - Sam Bell
"Chica de Río" (2001) - Raymond
"Life with Judy Garland: Me and My Shadows" (2001) - Vincente Minnelli
"Stuart Little 2" (2002) - Mr. Frederick Little
"Spooks" (2002) - Jools Siviter
"Fortysomething - Paul Slippery
"Fire Engine Fred" (2004)
"Flight of the Phoenix" (2004) - Ian
"House" (2004-present) - Dr Gregory House
"Valiant" (2005) - Wing Commander Gutsy (voice)
"Stuart Little 3: Call of the Wild" (2006) - Mr. Frederick Little (voice)
"The Night Watchman" (2008) - Internal Affairs Officer
Books
"The Gun Seller" (1996) ISBN 0099-46939-1
"The Paper Soldier" (September 2009)
External links
(Hugh Laurie interview with the Guardian)
(Hugh Laurie interview with Time Out)
Credit
This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article about Hugh Laurie.
