Gregory House: Difference between revisions
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==Casting== |
==Casting== |
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When Hugh Laurie was auditioning for the role of Gregory House, he was filming ''[[Flight of the Phoenix (2004 film)|Flight of the Phoenix]]''. After watching |
When Hugh Laurie was auditioning for the role of Gregory House, he was filming ''[[Flight of the Phoenix (2004 film)|Flight of the Phoenix]]''. After watching casting tapes for the [[pilot episode]], [[Bryan Singer]] grew frustrated and refused to cast a British actor with a flawed American accent for the role of Gregory House.<ref name="badmood">[http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1101308,00.html Doctor Is in ... a Bad Mood]</ref> However, when he saw Hugh Laurie's audition tape, Singer was fooled by Laurie's American accent. He mistook him as an American and praised Laurie as an example of a true American actor.<ref>''[[Radio Times]]'' magazine, [[23 March]] [[2007]]</ref> Laurie initially believed that James Wilson would be the protagonist of the show after reading the brief description of the character and did not find out that House was the main character until he read the full script of the pilot episode.<ref name="Inside"> ''Inside the Actor's Studio'' Hugh Laurie Interview, BRAVO Network, [2006]</ref> Prior to the airing of the series, the producers were also concerned that Laurie lacked [[sex appeal]] to the viewers.<ref name="badmood" /> |
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==Concept and creation== |
==Concept and creation== |
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Revision as of 15:23, 10 October 2007
 | It has been suggested that this article be merged into List of House characters. (Discuss) Proposed since September 2007. |
| Dr. Gregory House | |
|---|---|
| File:House - Gregory House.jpg | |
| First appearance | "Pilot" |
| Portrayed by | Hugh Laurie |
| In-universe information | |
| Occupation | Head of the Department of Diagnostic Medicine |
| Family | John House Blythe House |
Dr. Gregory House, M.D., is a fictional character and protagonist of the Fox medical drama House. He is a maverick medical genius working at the fictional Princeton-Plainsboro Teaching Hospital. For his personality, House has been described as a "misanthrope" and a "curmudgeon", which was named one of the top television words of the year in honour of the character.[4][5]
The character is partly inspired by Sherlock Holmes.[6][7] For portraying Gregory House, Hugh Laurie has won Best Actor in a Television Drama Series from the Golden Globe in 2006 and 2007, and Best Actor from Drama Series from Screen Actors Guild Awards.[8]
Character overview
A medical genius, House heads a team of young diagnosticians at the fictional Princeton-Plainsboro Teaching Hospital. The fellows in his team are Allison Cameron, Robert Chase, and Eric Foreman, who has a rivalry with House. The rivalry begins in the first episode when House says he hired Foreman because of his criminal record.
Although Robert Chase has betrayed House for his job, which escalates the tension between the two, House says he believes that Chase "loves" him.[9] House doesn't show attachment on his part, but helps Chase keep his job after he makes a medical mistake that could have led to his dismissal in "The Mistake." When the team believes House is dying of inoperable brain cancer, Chase cries as he hugs House.[10]
A subplot of the first season dealt with Cameron's growing attraction to House. Although House has repeatedly rejected her, he has a sexual attraction to Cameron.[10] His hallucination showed Cameron as a "lab rat" so that his robotic surgeon could pop off the buttons of her blouse to reveal a lacy bra and cleavage.[1]
His crankiness is commonly attributed to the chronic pain in his leg (the result of an infarction in one or more of the quadriceps muscles in his right thigh. Ironically, House was unable to diagnose his own infarction before it damaged his leg), for which he requires the aid of a cane. According to Stacy Warner, his former girlfriend, he was "pretty much the same" before the infarction, and his boss Lisa Cuddy claimed that after the surgery he was "an egomaniacal, narcissistic pain in the ass - same as before." For his chronic leg pain, House takes Vicodin, but also uses them when he is dealing with a case that wastes his time or annoys him. He agrees that he has an addiction, but says that the addiction is not a problem because it does not interfere with his life.
House openly talks about and makes references to pornography. In one episode, he returns the flirtations of a female under age patient ("Lines in the Sand"), and is seen on at least two occasions engaging the services of a prostitute ("Distractions" being one of them).
Biography
Gregory House was born to John and Blythe House on June 11 1959.[1] His social security number was issued in Ohio.[1][11] House is a "military brat". His father served as a Marine Corps pilot, and transferred often to other bases during House's childhood.[12] House presumably picked up his affinity for languages during this period, and shows a level of understanding of Spanish, Portuguese, Mandarin, Japanese and Hindi. One place his father was stationed was in Egypt, where House developed a passing fascination with archaeology and treasure-hunting, an interest which led him to keep his treasure-hunting tools well into his adulthood.[13] Another station was Japan, where, at age 14, House discovered his ambition to become a doctor, after witnessing a buraku doctor solve a case no other doctor could handle.[14]
House loves his mother but hates his father, who he claims has an "insane moral compass." House avoids both his parents, and spends an entire episode dodging a night out with them. At one point, House tells a story of his parents leaving him with his grandmother whose punishments normally consisted of abuse, such as making him sleep on the lawn or taking an ice bath. He later confesses that it was his father that abused him.[15]
After receiving his undergraduate degree at Johns Hopkins University, House studied at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine until classmate Phillip Weber turned House in for copying exam answers from him.[16] Following his expulsion from Johns Hopkins, he applied and was accepted to the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor where he received his M.D. and met Lisa Cuddy, his future boss.[17] There is a degree of sexual tension between the two as they had a one-night stand in the past.[18] Cuddy tolerates most of House's many taunts and jokes often about her breasts or being pregnant, while having the wit to retort or laugh him off. Cuddy also allows House to take unconventional measures to solve a case.
About ten years before the series began, House embarked on a relationship with Stacy, a constitutional lawyer. They met at a "Doctors vs Lawyers" paintball event where she shot him. Five years later, he suffered an infarction in his right leg, which went undiagnosed for three days due to doctors' concerns that he was exhibiting drug seeking behavior. An aneurysm in his thigh had clotted, leading to an infarction and causing his quadriceps muscles to become necrotic. House had the dead muscle bypassed in order to restore circulation to the remainder of his leg, risking organ failure or cardiac arrest. He was willing to endure excruciating chronic pain as to retain the use of his leg. After House was put into a chemically-induced coma to sleep through the worst of the pain, Stacy decided to choose a safer surgical middle-ground between amputation and a bypass by removing just the dead muscle. This resulted in a partial loss of the use of his leg, and left House with a lesser, but still serious, level of pain for the rest of his life. House could not forgive Stacy for making the decision, so he left her.[19]
When Stacy makes her first appearance in the series, she is married to a high school guidance counselor named Mark Warner. Although House and Stacy grow closer together and reunite briefly during the second season, House tells Stacy to go back to her husband, which devastates her. She has not been seen in the show ever since.
Personality
He frequently shows his cunning and biting wit, and enjoys picking people apart and mocking their weaknesses.[20] House typically waits as long as possible before meeting his patients, as he usually finds himself annoyed by them. When he finally does encounter his patients, usually to do something his team cannot, House confounds patients with an eccentric bedside manner and often unorthodox treatments, but impresses them with rapid and accurate diagnoses after seemingly not paying attention, once diagnosing an entire waiting room full of patients on his way out of the hospital clinic. [21]
House frequently says "Everybody lies," but jokingly remarked that he was lying when he said that in the first season finale. House criticizes social etiquette for its uselessness and apparent lack of rational purpose. In one episode, he explains how he envies an autistic patient because society allows the patient to forgo the niceties that he must suffer through.
Like the character's inspiration, Sherlock Holmes (see below), House accurately deciphers people's motives and histories from aspects of their personality and appearance. Dr. James Wilson once states in the episode "DNR" that while "some doctors have the messiah complex — they need to save the world", House has "a Rubik's complex" — he needs "to solve the puzzle."
House possesses a strong non-conformist or anarchistic streak. Throughout the series, he displays sardonic contempt for authority figures, from senior doctors, politicians, and businessmen to nuns and God. House shows an almost constant disregard for his own appearance, dressing informally—often in jeans—and without the standard white lab coat, and possessing a permanent stubble.
House has little social life and his only friend is Dr. James Wilson. Wilson has known House before the infarction, and looked after House when House's relationship with Stacy ended.[22] Wilson moves into House's apartment after a failed relationship in "Sex Kills" to take emotional refuge in his friend.[23] Although they frequently analyze and criticize each other's motives, Wilson has risked his career to protect House. House has quietly admitted, at several instances, that he is grateful for Wilson's presence, including referring to Wilson as his best friend.
Casting
When Hugh Laurie was auditioning for the role of Gregory House, he was filming Flight of the Phoenix. After watching casting tapes for the pilot episode, Bryan Singer grew frustrated and refused to cast a British actor with a flawed American accent for the role of Gregory House.[24] However, when he saw Hugh Laurie's audition tape, Singer was fooled by Laurie's American accent. He mistook him as an American and praised Laurie as an example of a true American actor.[25] Laurie initially believed that James Wilson would be the protagonist of the show after reading the brief description of the character and did not find out that House was the main character until he read the full script of the pilot episode.[26] Prior to the airing of the series, the producers were also concerned that Laurie lacked sex appeal to the viewers.[24]
Concept and creation
Series creator David Shore has said that House's character is partly inspired by Sherlock Holmes.[6] The name "House" is a play on "Holmes" (with English pronunciation, a homophone for "homes").[27][28] Hugh Laurie describes House as a character "who didn't obey the usual pieties of modern life."[24] As a protagonist, many aspects of his personality are the antithesis of what might be expected from a doctor.[20] Actor Robert Sean Leonard has said that House and his character was originally intended to play the role of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson in the series although he believes that House's team has assumed the role.[29] Producer Katie Jacobs has said both characters avoid mature relationships, which brings the two closer together.[29] Dr. Wilson is one of the few who voluntarily maintains a relationship with House, and one of the few individuals who can make House laugh.[29]
References
- ^ a b c d "No Reason". House, M.D.. Season 2. Episode 24. 2006-05-23.
{{cite episode}}: Unknown parameter|episodelink=ignored (|episode-link=suggested) (help); Unknown parameter|serieslink=ignored (|series-link=suggested) (help) According to his listed social security number (295-13-7865) on the hospital identification bracelet - ^ It coincides with the birth date of Hugh Laurie. It has been previously given as December 21 or sometime during the late fall or early winter in The Socratic Method (House episode).
- ^ "Occam's Razor". House, M.D.. Season 1. Episode 3. 2004-11-30.
{{cite episode}}: Unknown parameter|episodelink=ignored (|episode-link=suggested) (help); Unknown parameter|serieslink=ignored (|series-link=suggested) (help) - ^ House: Who Will They Save Next?
- ^ http://www.languagemonitor.com/wst_page11.html
- ^ a b Zap2it ? TV news ? Building 'House' Is Hard Work
- ^ House and Holmes parallels - Radio Times, January 2006
- ^ Loose Lips Backstage at Golden Globes
- ^ "Finding Judas". House, M.D.. Season 3. Episode 9. 2006-11-28.
{{cite episode}}: Unknown parameter|episodelink=ignored (|episode-link=suggested) (help); Unknown parameter|serieslink=ignored (|series-link=suggested) (help) - ^ a b "Half-Wit". House, M.D.. Season 3. Episode 15. 2007-03-06.
{{cite episode}}: Unknown parameter|episodelink=ignored (|episode-link=suggested) (help); Unknown parameter|serieslink=ignored (|series-link=suggested) (help) - ^ This Social Security number is not valid, as the area 295 has not released SSNs with a group value of 13. Social Security High Values
- ^ "Daddy's Boy". House, M.D.. Season 2. Episode 5. 2005-11-08.
{{cite episode}}: Unknown parameter|episodelink=ignored (|episode-link=suggested) (help); Unknown parameter|serieslink=ignored (|series-link=suggested) (help) - ^ "Clueless". House, M.D.. Season 2. Episode 15. 2006-03-28.
{{cite episode}}: Unknown parameter|episodelink=ignored (|episode-link=suggested) (help); Unknown parameter|serieslink=ignored (|series-link=suggested) (help) - ^ "Son of Coma Guy". House, M.D.. Season 3. Episode 7. 2006-11-14.
{{cite episode}}: Unknown parameter|episodelink=ignored (|episode-link=suggested) (help); Unknown parameter|serieslink=ignored (|series-link=suggested) (help) - ^ "One Day, One Room". House, M.D.. Season 3. Episode 12. 2007-01-30.
{{cite episode}}: Unknown parameter|episodelink=ignored (|episode-link=suggested) (help); Unknown parameter|serieslink=ignored (|series-link=suggested) (help) - ^ "Distractions". House, M.D.. Season 2. Episode 12. 2006-02-14.
{{cite episode}}: Unknown parameter|episodelink=ignored (|episode-link=suggested) (help); Unknown parameter|serieslink=ignored (|series-link=suggested) (help) - ^ "Humpty Dumpty". House, M.D.. Season 2. Episode 3. 2005-09-27.
{{cite episode}}: Unknown parameter|episodelink=ignored (|episode-link=suggested) (help); Unknown parameter|serieslink=ignored (|series-link=suggested) (help) - ^ "Top Secret". House, M.D.. Season 3. Episode 16. 2007-03-27.
{{cite episode}}: Unknown parameter|episodelink=ignored (|episode-link=suggested) (help); Unknown parameter|serieslink=ignored (|series-link=suggested) (help)- House: Give me a break. You hired me ...
- Cuddy:... because you're a good doctor who couldn't get himself hired at a blood bank, so I got you cheap.
- House:You gave me everything I asked for because one night I gave you everything ...
- ^ "Three Stories". House, M.D.. Season 1. Episode 21. 2005-05-17.
{{cite episode}}: Unknown parameter|episodelink=ignored (|episode-link=suggested) (help); Unknown parameter|serieslink=ignored (|series-link=suggested) (help) - ^ a b Scorn Is the Best Medicine
- ^ "Sports Medicine". House, M.D.. Season 1. Episode 12. 2005-02-22.
{{cite episode}}: Unknown parameter|episodelink=ignored (|episode-link=suggested) (help); Unknown parameter|serieslink=ignored (|series-link=suggested) (help) - ^ "Need to Know". House, M.D.. Season 2. Episode 11. 2006-02-07.
{{cite episode}}: Unknown parameter|episodelink=ignored (|episode-link=suggested) (help); Unknown parameter|serieslink=ignored (|series-link=suggested) (help) - ^ 'House'-a-palooze, Part 3: Katie Jacobs
- ^ a b c Doctor Is in ... a Bad Mood
- ^ Radio Times magazine, 23 March 2007
- ^ Inside the Actor's Studio Hugh Laurie Interview, BRAVO Network, [2006]
- ^ http://msnbc.msn.com/id/7518037
- ^ http://8763wonderland.com/2006/01/16/hugh-laurie-wins/
- ^ a b c 'House'-a-palooza: On Omar Epps' Emmy bid, Wilson's messed-up life and stupid cane tricks
External links
| Characters | |
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| Episodes | |
| Related | |
