Hugh Laurie
Template:Short description Template:Pp-move-indef Template:Use dmy dates Template:Use British English Template:Infobox person James Hugh Calum Laurie (Template:IPAc-en; born 11 June 1959), colloquially known as Hugh Laurie, is an English actor, comedian, and musician.
Laurie first gained professional recognition as a member of the English comedy double act Fry and Laurie with Stephen Fry. Fry and Laurie acted together in a number of projects during the 1980s and 1990s, including the BBC sketch comedy series A Bit of Fry & Laurie and the P. G. Wodehouse adaptation Jeeves and Wooster. From 1986 to 1989, Laurie appeared in three series of the period comedy Blackadder.
From 2004 to 2012, Laurie starred as Dr. Gregory House on the Fox medical drama series House. He received two Golden Globe Awards and many other accolades for his work on House. He was listed in the 2011 Guinness World Records as the most-watched leading man on television and was one of the highest-paid actors in a television drama at the time. After House, Laurie won a Golden Globe for his starring role as arms dealer Richard Onslow Roper, the main antagonist in the miniseries The Night Manager (2016). He received his 10th Emmy Award nomination for his portrayal of Senator Tom James in the HBO sitcom Veep (2015–2019).
Laurie released the blues albums Let Them Talk (2011) and Didn't It Rain (2013), both to favourable reviews. Laurie also wrote the novel The Gun Seller (1996). He was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2007 New Year Honours and CBE in the 2018 New Year Honours, both for services to drama.
Early life and education
Laurie was born on 11 June 1959, in the Blackbird Leys area of Oxford.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="actors">Template:Cite episode</ref> He is the youngest of four children of Patricia (née Laidlaw) and William George Ranald Mundell "Ran" Laurie, who was a physician and winner of an Olympic gold medal in the coxless pairs (rowing) at the 1948 London Games.<ref name="actors"/><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> He has an older brother, Charles Alexander Lyon Mundell Laurie,<ref name="actors" /> and two older sisters, Susan and Janet.<ref>Template:Cite webTemplate:Dead link</ref><ref name="GQ">Template:Cite journal</ref> Laurie had a strained relationship with his mother,<ref name="actors" /><ref name="bbc1">Template:Cite news</ref> whom he described as "Presbyterian by character, by mood".<ref name="actors"/> He later said, "I was frustration to her. She didn't like me."<ref name="actors"/>
Laurie's parents, who were both of Scottish descent, attended St Columba's Presbyterian Church (now United Reformed Church)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> in Oxford.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> He notes that "belief in God didn't play a large role" in his home, but "a certain attitude to life and the living of it did".<ref name="actors"/> He followed this by stating, "Pleasure was something that was treated with great suspicion, pleasure was something that... I was going to say it had to be earned but even the earning of it didn't really work. It was something to this day, I mean, I carry that with me. I find pleasure a difficult thing; I don't know what you do with it, I don't know where to put it."<ref name="actors"/> He later stated, "I don't believe in God, but I have this idea that if there were a God, or destiny of some kind looking down on us, that if he saw you taking anything for granted, he'd take it away."<ref>Man about the House, The Daily Telegraph, 28 October 2007.</ref>
Laurie was brought up in Oxford and attended the Dragon School from seven to 13, later stating, "I was, in truth, a horrible child. Not much given to things of a 'bookey' nature, I spent a large part of my youth smoking Number Six and cheating in French vocabulary tests."<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> He went on to Eton College, which he described as "the most private of private schools".<ref name="actors" />
Laurie arrived at Selwyn College, Cambridge, in 1978,<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> which he says he attended "as a result of family tradition" since his father went there.<ref name="actors"/> Like his father, Laurie rowed at school and university. He has noted that his father was a successful rower at Cambridge and that he was "trying to follow in [his] father's footsteps".<ref name="actors"/> In 1977, he was a member of the junior coxed pair that won the British national title before representing Britain's Youth Team at the 1977 Junior World Rowing Championships. In 1980, Laurie and his rowing partner, J.S. Palmer, were runners-up in the Silver Goblets<ref>"Henley Royal Regatta Results of Final Races – 1946–2003 (1980). Template:Webarchive" RowingHistory.net.</ref> coxless pairs for Eton Vikings rowing club. He also achieved a Blue while taking part in the 1980 Oxford and Cambridge Boat Race.<ref name="LaurLondTimes">Template:Cite news</ref> Cambridge lost that year by five feet.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> During this time, Laurie was training for up to eight hours a day and was on course to become an Olympic-standard rower.<ref>Hugh Laurie – the Super Fit Athlete and Actor, MotleyHealth, 18 December 2011.</ref> He is a member of the Leander Club, one of the oldest rowing clubs in the world, and was a member of the Hermes Club and Hawks' Club.<ref name="actors"/> Laurie studied archaeology and anthropology at Cambridge, specialising in social anthropology.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> He graduated with third-class honours in 1981.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
Career
Comedy and acting
Forced to abandon rowing during a bout of glandular fever, Laurie joined the Cambridge Footlights,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> a university dramatic club that has produced many well-known actors and comedians including members of the popular British surreal comedy group, Monty Python. There he met Emma Thompson, with whom he had a romantic relationship; the two remain good friends.<ref name="actors"/> She introduced him to his future comedy partner, Stephen Fry. Laurie, Fry and Thompson later parodied themselves in the sitcom The Young Ones. In the episode "Bambi", they and the series' co-writer Ben Elton appear on University Challenge as representatives of "Footlights College, Oxbridge".<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
In 1980–81, his final year at university, besides rowing Laurie was president of the Footlights, with Thompson as vice-president. They took their annual revue, The Cellar Tapes, to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival and won the first Perrier Comedy Award which was presented to them by Rowan Atkinson. The revue was written principally by Laurie and Fry, and the cast also included Thompson, Tony Slattery, Paul Shearer and Penny Dwyer. 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 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.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Fry and Laurie worked together on various projects throughout the 1980s and 1990s. Among them was the sitcom Blackadder, written by Ben Elton and Richard Curtis and starring Rowan Atkinson. Laurie first appeared in the last two episodes of the second series, Blackadder II, debuting as Blackadder's drunken friend Simon Partridge in the episode "Beer", and then as the villainous Prince Ludwig the Indestructible in the episode "Chains". Laurie joined the main cast for the third series, Blackadder the Third, where he played Prince George, followed by the fourth and final series, Blackadder Goes Forth, where he played Lieutenant George.<ref name="actors"/> Other collaborations with Fry included their BBC sketch comedy series A Bit of Fry & Laurie, as well as Jeeves and Wooster,<ref name="actors"/> a television adaptation of P. G. Wodehouse's stories, in which Laurie played Jeeves's employer, the amiable twit Bertie Wooster. He and Fry also participated in charity stage events, such as Hysteria! 1, 2 & 3, Amnesty International's The Secret Policeman's Third Ball, the 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 (1992) and came together for a retrospective show in 2010 titled Fry and Laurie Reunited.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Laurie starred in the Thames Television film Letters from a Bomber Pilot (1985) directed by David Hodgson. This was a serious acting role, the film being dramatised from the letters home of Pilot Officer J.R.A. "Bob" Hodgson, a pilot in RAF Bomber Command, who was killed in action in 1943.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Laurie appeared in the music videos for the 1986 single "Experiment IV" by Kate Bush, and the 1992 Annie Lennox single "Walking on Broken Glass" in British Regency period costume alongside John Malkovich.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Laurie appeared in the Spice Girls' film Spice World (1997) and had a brief guest-starring role on Friends in "The One with Ross's Wedding" (1998).<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Laurie's later film appearances include Sense and Sensibility (1995), adapted by and starring Emma Thompson; the Disney live-action film 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 adaptation of The Flight of the Phoenix, and Stuart Little.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
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 voiced the character of a bar patron in the Family Guy episode "One If by Clam, Two If by Sea". Laurie voiced the character of Mr. Wolf in the cartoon Preston Pig. He was 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.Template:Cn
Between 2004 and 2012, Laurie starred as an acerbic physician specialising in diagnostic medicine, Dr. Gregory House, in the Fox medical drama House. For his portrayal, he assumed an American accent.<ref name="actors"/> He was in Namibia filming Flight of the Phoenix and recorded his audition tape for the show in the bathroom of the hotel, as it was the only place he could get enough light.<ref name="usatoday">Template:Cite news</ref> Jacob Vargas operated the camera for the audition tape. Laurie's American accent was so convincing that executive producer Bryan Singer, who was unaware at the time that Laurie was British, pointed to him as an example of just the kind of "compelling American actor" he had been looking for.<ref name="usatoday"/> Laurie also adopted the accent between takes on the set of House,<ref name=nytimes>Template:Cite news</ref> as well as during script read-throughs, although he used his native accent when directing the episode "Lockdown".<ref name=nytimes/> He also served as director for the episode "The C-Word".<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Laurie was nominated for an Emmy Award for his role in House in 2005.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Although he did not win, he did receive a Golden Globe in both 2006 and 2007 for his work on the series and the Screen Actors Guild award in 2007 and 2009. Laurie was also awarded a large increase in salary, from what was rumoured to be a mid-range five-figure sum to $350,000 per episode. Laurie was not nominated for the 2006 Emmys, apparently to the outrage of Fox executives,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> 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 proceeding 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 while presenting an Emmy with Dame Helen Mirren, and was since nominated in 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, and 2011.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Laurie was initially cast as Perry White, the editor of the Daily Planet, in Singer's film Superman Returns but had to bow out of the project because of his commitment to House.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In 2006, Laurie appeared on Inside the Actors Studio, where he also performed one of his own comic songs, "Mystery", accompanying himself on the piano.<ref name="actors"/> He hosted NBC's Saturday Night Live, in which he appeared 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.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
In 2007, Laurie appeared on BBC Four's documentary Stephen Fry: 50 Not Out, filmed in celebration of Fry's 50th birthday. In 2008, he took part in Blackadder Rides Again which saw him reuniting with former Blackadder producer, John Lloyd who had travelled to the set of House MD in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California to interview Laurie who recalled his time working on the Blackadder series. Laurie also appeared as Captain James Biggs in Street Kings, opposite Keanu Reeves and Forest Whitaker, and then in 2009 as the eccentric Dr. Herbert Cockroach, PhD in DreamWorks' Monsters vs. Aliens. He also hosted Saturday Night Live for the second time on the Christmas show in which he sang a medley of three-second Christmas songs to close his monologue. In 2009, Laurie returned to guest star in another Family Guy episode, "Business Guy", parodying Gregory House. In 2010, Laurie guest starred in The Simpsons episode "Treehouse of Horror XXI" as Roger, a castaway who is planning a murder scheme on a ship during Homer and Marge's second honeymoon.<ref>Template:Cite webTemplate:Cbignore</ref>
Laurie was listed in the 2011 Guinness World Records as the most-watched leading man on television and was one of the highest-paid actors in a television drama at the time.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
House ended in 2012 after an eight-season run. That same year, the media announced that Laurie was in negotiations to play the villain in RoboCop, a remake of the original RoboCop film.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> These negotiations ultimately fell through and Laurie passed on the project.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In 2012, Laurie starred in an independent feature called The Oranges that had a limited release. The Star-Ledger of Newark, New Jersey thought that he was "particularly good".<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> After the end of House, Laurie took a three-year hiatus from film and TV work.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
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Laurie was in negotiations to be cast in the role of Blackbeard for the 2014 series Crossbones. However, the role went to John Malkovich.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In 2015 he returned to TV work with a recurring role on Veep as Tom James, a role written specifically for him after showrunner Armando Iannucci heard he was a fan of the show.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Laurie continued to recur on the show until the final season in 2019.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> For his work on Veep, he received his 10th Emmy nomination in 2017.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Laurie played the villain David Nix in Brad Bird's 2015 film Tomorrowland.<ref name="tomorrow">Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Laurie played arms dealer Richard Onslow Roper in the BBC One miniseries The Night Manager. The series started filming in spring 2015 and aired first on the BBC.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> He was nominated for two Emmys for his work on the miniseries and won the Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor – Series, Miniseries or Television Film. In addition to being an executive producer on the show alongside Tom Hiddleston, it was also Laurie's first role on British TV in thirteen years.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Laurie starred as Dr Eldon Chance, a San Francisco-based forensic neuropsychiatrist in the Hulu thriller series Chance which lasted for two seasons from 2016 to 2017.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In 2018, Laurie had a small role in the critically panned film Holmes & Watson.<ref>Template:Cite AV media</ref>
In 2019, Laurie appeared in Veep creator Armando Iannucci's film The Personal History of David Copperfield, an adaptation of the novel David Copperfield by Charles Dickens. That same year it was announced he would also work with Iannucci on the upcoming space comedy Avenue 5 for HBO.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Season 2 of Avenue 5 was released on 10 October 2022, with Laurie reprising his role as Captain Ryan.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Laurie starred as Eric Peterson in the third season of Tehran in 2024.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Laurie is scheduled to headline a thriller drama called The Wanted Man for Apple TV+, portraying crime lord Felix Carmichael.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Laurie was announced as the voice of Albus Dumbledore in Harry Potter: The Full-Cast Audio Editions from Audible and Pottermore Publishing, with the first audiobook set to be released on 4 November 2025.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Music
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Laurie is an accomplished pianist who began taking piano lessons at the age of six.<ref name=river/> He sings and plays the piano, guitar, drums, harmonica, and saxophone. He has displayed his musical talents throughout his acting career, such as on A Bit of Fry & Laurie, Jeeves and Wooster, House, and his appearance as host of Saturday Night Live in October 2006. He is a vocalist and keyboard player for the Los Angeles charity rock group Band From TV.
Following Meat Loaf's appearance in the House episode "Simple Explanation", Laurie played piano as a special guest on the song "If I Can't Have You" from Meat Loaf's 2010 album Hang Cool Teddy Bear. Laurie co-wrote and performed the humorous blues song, "Sperm Test in the Morning", in the film Maybe Baby.<ref name="ya">Template:Cite web</ref>
On House Laurie played several classic rock 'n roll instruments including Gibson Flying V and Les Paul guitars, as well as piano and Hammond B-3 organ.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
On 26 July 2010 it was announced that Laurie would be releasing a blues album after signing a contract with Warner Bros. Records.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> The album, called Let Them Talk, was released in France on 18 April 2011 and in Germany on 29 April. The album features collaborations from well-known artists such as Tom Jones, Irma Thomas and Dr. John.
On 1 May 2011 Laurie and a jazz quintet closed the 2011 Cheltenham Jazz Festival to great acclaim.<ref>Hugh Laurie at Cheltenham Jazz Festival – Review, The Guardian, 3 May 2011</ref> He followed that up as the subject of the 15 May 2011 episode of ITV's series Perspectives, explaining his love for the music of New Orleans and playing music, from his album Let Them Talk, at studios and live venues in the city itself.<ref name=river>"Down by the River" in Perspectives, broadcast on UK's ITV 15 May 2011.</ref> He was the subject of PBS Great Performances Let them Talk, also about New Orleans jazz, first broadcast on 30 September 2011.<ref>Hugh Laurie: Let Them Talk, PBS Great Performances</ref>
His second album, Didn't It Rain, was released in the UK on 6 May 2013.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In the same year he played at the Template:RMS together with his band. This concert was filmed and later released as Live on the Queen Mary on DVD and Blu-ray.
Writing
In 1996 Laurie's first novel, The Gun Seller, an intricate thriller laced with Wodehouseian humour, was published and became a best-seller.<ref name="actors"/>
Personal life
Laurie married theatre administrator Jo Green on 16 June 1989 in the Camden area of London.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> They have three children.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Laurie's elder son played a small role as baby William in A Bit of Fry & Laurie, during a sketch titled "Special Squad". His daughter had a role in the film Wit as five-year-old Vivian Bearing. Stephen Fry, Laurie's best friend and long-time comedy partner, was the best man at his wedding and is the godfather of his children.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Laurie's mother died from motor neurone disease in 1989, at the age of 73. According to Laurie, she endured the disease for two years and suffered "painful, plodding paralysis" while being cared for by Laurie's father, whom he has called "the sweetest man in the whole world".<ref name="GQ"/>
While appearing on Inside the Actors Studio in 2006, Laurie discussed his struggles with severe clinical depression.<ref name="actors"/> He told host James Lipton that he first concluded he had a problem while driving in a charity demolition derby, during which he realised that seeing two cars collide and explode made him feel bored rather than excited or frightened; he quipped that "boredom is not an appropriate response to exploding cars".<ref name="actors"/><ref name="bbc1"/>
Laurie admires the writings of P. G. Wodehouse, explaining in a 1999 article in The Daily Telegraph that reading Wodehouse novels had "saved his life".<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In an interview also in The Daily Telegraph, he confirmed that he is an atheist.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> He is an avid motorcycle enthusiast and has two motorbikes, one at his London home and one at his Los Angeles home. His bike in the U.S. is a Triumph Bonneville, his self-proclaimed "feeble attempt to fly the British flag".<ref>The Late Late Show, 5 May 2008.</ref>
In 2013, Laurie was the guest on BBC Radio 4's Desert Island Discs, where he chose tracks from Joe Cocker, Sister Rosetta Tharpe, Randy Newman, Professor Longhair, Son House, Nina Simone, Lester Young–Buddy Rich Trio, and Van Morrison as his eight favourite discs.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> This was his second appearance on the show, having previously been on a 1996 episode, where he chose tracks by Muddy Waters, Max Bruch, the Rolling Stones, Frank Sinatra with Count Basie, Ian Dury and the Blockheads, Erich Wolfgang Korngold, Van Morrison and Dr. John.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Laurie is a supporter of Arsenal F.C.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Recognition
Laurie has won three Golden Globe Awards and two Screen Actors Guild Awards, and has been nominated for 10 Primetime Emmy Awards.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Laurie was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) for services to drama in the 2007 New Year Honours.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> He was promoted to Commander of the same Order (CBE) for his services to drama in the 2018 New Year Honours.<ref>Template:London Gazette</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
In 2012, Laurie was made an Honorary Fellow of his alma mater Selwyn College, Cambridge.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
In 2016, he was awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Filmography
| Template:Dagger | Denotes works that have not yet been released |
Live-action performances
Film
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1985 | Plenty | Michael | |
| 1989 | Strapless | Colin | |
| 1992 | Peter's Friends | Roger Charleston | |
| 1994 | Template:Sortname | Uncle | |
| 1995 | Sense and Sensibility | Mr. Palmer | |
| 1996 | 101 Dalmatians | Jasper Badun | |
| 1997 | Spice World | Hercule Poirot | |
| Template:Sortname | Police Officer Steady | ||
| Template:Sortname | Steve Harris | ||
| 1998 | Template:Sortname | Pierre | |
| Cousin Bette | Baron Hector Hulot | ||
| 1999 | Blackadder: Back & Forth | Viscount George Bufton-Tufton / Georgius | |
| Stuart Little | Mr. Frederick Little | ||
| 2000 | Maybe Baby | Sam Bell | |
| 2001 | Girl from Rio | Raymond Woods | |
| 2002 | Stuart Little 2 | Mr. Frederick Little | |
| 2003 | Template:Sortname | Lord Bernard Clark | |
| 2004 | Flight of the Phoenix | Ian | |
| 2005 | Template:Sortname | Doctor | |
| 2008 | Street Kings | Captain James Biggs | |
| 2011 | Template:Sortname | David Walling | |
| 2012 | Mr. Pip | Mr. Watts<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | |
| 2015 | Tomorrowland | David Nix | |
| 2018 | Holmes & Watson | Mycroft Holmes | |
| 2019 | The Personal History of David Copperfield | Mr. Dick |
Television
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1981 | Template:Sortname | Various characters | Writer |
| 1982 | Template:Sortname | ||
| 1983 | Alfresco | ||
| Template:Sortname | |||
| 1984 | Template:Sortname | Lord Monty | Episode: "Bambi" |
| 1985 | Letters from a Bomber Pilot | Pilot Officer Bob Hodgson | |
| Mrs. Capper's Birthday | Bobby | ||
| Happy Families | Jim | ||
| 1986 | Blackadder II | Simon Partridge | Episode: "Beer" |
| Prince Ludwig the Indestructible | Episode: "Chains" | ||
| 1987 | Filthy Rich & Catflap | N'Bend | |
| Up Line | Howard Caprice | 3 episodes | |
| Blackadder the Third | George, Prince of Wales, The Prince Regent | ||
| 1988 | Blackadder's Christmas Carol | Prince George | |
| 1989 | Blackadder Goes Forth | Lt. the Honourable George Colhurst St. Barleigh | |
| The New Statesman | Waiter | ||
| 1989–1995 | Template:Sortname | Various Characters | Writer |
| 1990–1993 | Jeeves and Wooster | Bertie Wooster | |
| 1993 | All or Nothing at All | Leo Hopkins | 3 episodes |
| 1996 | Tracey Takes On... | Timothy Bugge | 3 episodes |
| 1998 | Friends | Gentleman on the Plane | Episode: "The One with Ross's Wedding (Part 2)" |
| Template:Sortname | Defence Counsel | Episode: "Good Faith: Part 1" | |
| 1999 | The Nearly Complete and Utter History of Everything | French Ambassador | Sketch: Treaty of Westphalia |
| 2000 | Randall & Hopkirk | Dr. Lawyer | Episode: "Mental Apparition Disorder" |
| 2001 | Life with Judy Garland: Me and My Shadows | Vincente Minnelli | |
| 2002 | Template:Sortname | Various Characters | |
| Spooks | Jools Siviter | ||
| 2003 | Fortysomething | Paul Slippery | Also directed three episodes |
| 2004 | Fire Engine Fred | Narrator | |
| 2004–2012 | House | Dr. Gregory House | Lead role, also directed episodes "Lockdown" and "The C-Word" |
| 2006, 2008 | Saturday Night Live | Host | Episodes: "Hugh Laurie/Beck" and "Hugh Laurie/Kanye West" |
| 2011 | Later... with Jools Holland | Himself | Guest performance/interview |
| 2015–2019 | Veep<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | Sen. Tom James | 20 episodes |
| 2016 | The Night Manager | Richard Onslow Roper | Miniseries |
| 2016–2017 | Chance<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | Dr. Eldon Chance | 20 episodes |
| 2019 | Catch-22 | Major de Coverley | Miniseries; 6 episodes |
| 2020–2022 | Avenue 5 | Ryan Clark | Main cast |
| 2020 | Roadkill<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | Peter Laurence<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | Miniseries; 4 episodes |
| 2022 | Why Didn't They Ask Evans?<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | Dr. James Nicholson | Main cast, also writer and director |
| 2023 | All the Light We Cannot See | Etienne LeBlanc | Miniseries; 4 episodes |
| 2024 | Tehran | Eric Peterson | Main role (season 3) |
| TBA | Template:Pending film | Felix Carmichael | Filming<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> |
Voice performances
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1993–1995 | Template:Sortname | Squire Trelawney | |
| 1995 | The Snow Queen | Peeps | <ref name="btva2">Template:Cite web A green check mark indicates that a role has been confirmed using a screenshot (or collage of screenshots) of a title's list of voice actors and their respective characters found in its credits or other reliable sources of information.</ref> |
| The World of Peter Rabbit and Friends | Johnny Town-Mouse | Episode: "The Tale of Two Bad Mice and Johnny Town-Mouse"<ref name="btva2" /> | |
| 1996 | The Snow Queen's Revenge | Peeps | |
| 1997 | Template:Sortname | Tarquin | <ref name="btva2" /> |
| 2000 | Preston Pig | Mr. Wolf | |
| Carnivale | Cenzo | ||
| 2001 | Discovering the Real World of Harry Potter | Narrator | |
| Second Star to the Left | Archie | ||
| 2001, 2010 | Family Guy | Bar Patron, Dr. Gregory House, Himself | Episodes: "One If by Clam, Two If by Sea", "Business Guy" |
| 2003 | Stuart Little | Frederick Little | |
| 2005 | Valiant | Wing Commander Gutsy | <ref name="btva2" /> |
| 2006 | Stuart Little 3: Call of the Wild | Frederick Little | Direct-to-video<ref name="btva2" /> |
| 2009 | Monsters vs. Aliens<ref name="btva2" /> | Dr. Herbert Cockroach | Nominated – Annie Award for Voice Acting in a Feature Production |
| B.O.B's Big Break | Short film | ||
| Monsters vs. Aliens: Mutant Pumpkins from Outer Space<ref name="btva2" /> | |||
| 2010 | Template:Sortname | Roger | Episode: "Treehouse of Horror XXI" |
| 2011 | Hop | Mr. Bunny | <ref name="btva2" /> |
| Arthur Christmas | Steve | <ref name="btva2" /> | |
| 2022 | The Amazing Maurice | Maurice | |
| 2023 | The Canterville Ghost | The Grim Reaper | |
| People Who Knew Me | N/A | Audio drama<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | |
| 2025— | Template:Pending film | Albus Dumbledore | Audiobook series |
Documentaries
| Year | Title |
|---|---|
| 2010 | Fry and Laurie Reunited |
| 2011 | Down by the River |
| 2013 | Bayou Maharajah |
| Copper Bottom Blues |
Video games
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | House M.D.: The Official Game | Dr. Gregory House | <ref name="btva2" /><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> |
| 2014 | LittleBigPlanet 3 | Newton | <ref name="btva2" /><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> |
Discography
Albums
| Title | Album details | Peak chart positions | Certifications (sales thresholds) | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UK <ref name="OCC">Template:Cite web</ref> |
AUS <ref name="aus2">Template:Cite web</ref> |
AUT <ref name=aut>Template:Cite web</ref> |
FRA <ref name="fra">Template:Cite web</ref> |
GER <ref name=de>Template:Cite web</ref> |
IRE <ref name="ire">Template:Cite web</ref> |
NL <ref name="nl">Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> |
NZ <ref name="nz">Template:Cite web</ref> |
SWI <ref name="swi">Template:Cite web</ref> |
US <ref name="US" /> | |||
| Let Them Talk |
|
2 | 37 | 1 | 2 | 8 | 14 | 25 | 26 | 4 | 16 |
|
| Didn't It Rain |
|
3 | 35 | 10 | 3 | 41 | 21 | 32 | 22 | 3 | 21 |
|
Singles
| Title | Year | Peak chart positions |
Album | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UK <ref name="Chart Log UK: New Entries Update">Template:Cite web</ref> |
AUT <ref name=aut/> |
BEL (WA) <ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | |||
| "You Don't Know My Mind" | 2011 | 164 | 47 | 20 | Let Them Talk |
| "Winin' Boy Blues" | — | — | — | ||
| "Wild Honey"<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | 2013 | — | — | 36 | Didn't It Rain |
Featured singles
| Title | Year | Peak chart positions |
Album | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| UK <ref name="OCC"/> |
NL Top 40 <ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | |||
| "Stick It Out" (Right Said Fred and Friends)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | 1993 | 4 | 48 | Template:N/A |
| "If I Can't Have You" (Meat Loaf, featuring Kara DioGuardi & Hugh Laurie)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | 2010 | — | — | Hang Cool Teddy Bear |
Other charting songs
| Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Album | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CAN <ref>Template:Cite web</ref> |
FRA <ref name="fra" /> |
US <ref name="US">Template:Cite magazine</ref> | |||
| "St James' Infirmary" | 2011 | — | 92 | — | Let Them Talk |
| "Police Dog Blues" | 39 | — | 58 | ||
| "Guess I'm a Fool" | — | 67 | — | ||
| "Unchain My Heart" | 2013 | — | 86 | — | Didn't It Rain |
| "Louisiana Blues" | — | 96 | — | ||
| "The St. Louis Blues" | — | 133 | — | ||
Music videos
| Year | Artist | Song | Album |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1986 | Kate Bush | Video for "Experiment IV" | The Whole Story |
| 1992 | Annie Lennox | Video for "Walking on Broken Glass" | Diva |
DVDs/Blu-ray
| Year | DVD/Blu-ray | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 2013 | Live on the Queen Mary | Recorded live 2013 on the RMS Queen Mary together with band |
Awards and honours
Commonwealth honours
- Commonwealth honours
| Date | Appointment | Post-nominal letters |
|---|---|---|
| 2007–2018 | Officer of the Order of the British Empire | OBE |
| 2018–present | Commander of the Order of the British Empire | CBE |
Scholastic
- University degrees
| Date | School | Degree |
|---|---|---|
| 1982 | Selwyn College, Cambridge | Third Class Honours Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) in Archaeology and Anthropology |
- Chancellor, visitor, governor, rector and fellowships
| Date | School | Position |
|---|---|---|
| July 2018–present | Royal Academy of Music | Honorary Member<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> |
| 11 July 2020–present | Selwyn College, Cambridge | Honorary Fellow<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> |
References
External links
- Template:Commons category-inline
- Template:Facebook
- Template:IMDb name
- Template:Screenonline name
- Hugh Laurie | Culture The Guardian
- Hugh Laurie interview The Daily Telegraph
- 1959 births
- 20th-century English comedians
- 20th-century English male actors
- 20th-century English male writers
- 20th-century English novelists
- 21st-century English comedians
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