Hugh Laurie

Hugh Laurie

Laurie in 2012 during a tour for his album, Didn't It Rain
Born
James Hugh Calum Laurie

(1959-06-11) 11 June 1959 (age 64)
EducationSelwyn College, Cambridge (BA)
Occupations
  • Actor
  • author
  • comedian
  • director
  • musician
  • singer
  • producer
Years active1981–present
WorksFull list
Spouse
Jo Green
(m. 1989)
Children3
Parent
Musical career
GenresBlues
Instrument(s)
  • Vocals
  • piano
  • guitar
  • harmonica
  • drums
  • saxophone
LabelsWarner Records
Websitehughlaurieblues.com

James Hugh Calum Laurie CBE (/ˈlɒri/; born 11 June 1959) is an English actor, comedian, writer, and musician. He first gained recognition for his work as one half of the comedy double act Fry and Laurie with Stephen Fry. The two 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 he appeared in three series of the period comedy Blackadder, first as a guest star in the last two episodes of Blackadder II, before joining the main cast in Blackadder the Third, and going on to appear in Blackadder Goes Forth and many specials.

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 the role. 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, earning $409,000 (£250,000) per episode.[1][2] By the end of the series, he was earning $700,000 an episode.[3] His other television credits include appearing in the London-based Friends episode, "The One with Ross's Wedding" (1998), starring as arms dealer Richard Onslow Roper in the miniseries The Night Manager (2016), for which he won his third Golden Globe and playing Senator Tom James in the HBO sitcom Veep (2012–2019), for which he received his 10th Emmy Award nomination.

Laurie has appeared in films, Peter's Friends (1992), Sense and Sensibility (1995), 101 Dalmatians (1996), The Borrowers (1997), The Man in the Iron Mask (1998), Stuart Little (1999), Life with Judy Garland: Me and My Shadows (2001), Flight of the Phoenix (2004), Arthur Christmas (2011) in which he voiced Steven Claus, and The Personal History of David Copperfield (2020).[4]

Outside of acting, Laurie released the blues albums Let Them Talk (2011) and Didn't It Rain (2013), both to favourable reviews. He wrote the novel The Gun Seller (1996). He was appointed OBE in the 2007 New Year Honours and CBE in the 2018 New Year Honours, both for services to drama.[5]

  1. ^ "Guinness Book of Records: Hugh Laurie is most watched man on television". The Daily Telegraph. 15 September 2011. Retrieved 8 June 2023.
  2. ^ Kaplan, Don. "Ashton Kutcher tops Forbes' highest-paid TV actor list, followed by Hugh Laurie and Ray Romano". Daily News. New York. Archived from the original on 30 January 2013. Retrieved 13 June 2013.
  3. ^ "Hugh Laurie bids farewell to 'House' (and $700K salary) in April". TheStar.com. 9 February 2012.
  4. ^ "Hugh Laurie | Biography, TV Shows, Movies, & Facts". Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved 14 September 2018.
  5. ^ Entertainment & Arts team (29 December 2017). "In pictures: Entertainment stars recognised in New Year Honours". bbc.co.uk. BBC News, British Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 30 December 2017.