Even though he earned $700,000 per episode in the final season of House, Hugh Laurie has said he still feels like a fraud. He reflected that he played a “fake” doctor on screen instead of becoming a real one, as his father had hoped, and believes his father would have disapproved of the path he chose.
Laurie, born in 1959, grew up with expectations to follow his father into medicine and even trained with plans that included rowing and possibly attending medical school. However, his interest shifted after joining a drama group at Cambridge, where he met key figures who led him into comedy and acting.
He went on to build a successful acting career with projects like Blackadder, Sense and Sensibility, and House, where he became internationally famous as Dr. Gregory House. Despite his success, Laurie has spoken openly about struggling with regret and guilt over not pursuing medicine, describing himself as a “fake version” of a doctor and a “cop out” for taking a different path than his father envisioned.
