‘House’ Star Hugh Laurie’s Father ‘Would Have Hated’ He Became a ‘Fake Doctor’ Instead of a Real One Like Him

Feb 17, 2026 by apost team

Hugh Laurie is most well known for his role as the eccentric Dr. Gregory House on the medical drama series “House.” But despite being in the spotlight for a few decades now, the British actor leads a relatively normal personal life that's been kept private.

He's been married to his wife, Jo Green, for over thirty years, and the couple has three children: Charlie, Bill, and Rebecca. Laurie was born on June 11, 1959, in Oxford, England, to parents of Scottish descent. Interestingly, his first encounter with the medical profession wasn't on his TV show; it was with his father, who was a doctor.

Not only was he a doctor, but he was also an Olympic rowing champion and gold medallist. Laurie called his father "the sweetest man in the whole world," but his relationship with his mother was strained. Laurie began to follow in his father's footsteps as he went through school, but instead of following him into the medical profession, he developed his rowing skills.

By university, Laurie was training to become an Olympic standard rower as he studied archeology and anthropology at the prestigious Cambridge University. However, after getting sick with glandular fever, his Olympic ambitions were put to an end.

After his rowing career was cut short, Laurie turned to acting and joined the university's theater club. He met Emma Thompson there, and the two began a romantic relationship. She introduced him to Stephen Fry, who would later become his comedy partner. 

As the years passed, Laurie pursued acting and never looked back on the medical field professionally. Fate took over, and Laurie’s interest in medicine and his father’s dream for him intertwined, at least in front of the screens. 

By the late 1990s and 2000s, Laurie was taking on more serious roles, appearing in ”Sense & Sensibility,” “101 Dalmatians,” “Stuart Little,” and the show “Fortysomething.” Not long after, he landed his star turn as Dr. Gregory House in 2004. For eight years, he played the iconic role, which earned him multiple wins, including two Golden Globe Awards and two Screen Actors Guild Awards. Since his time on “House,” Laurie has played recurring roles on the shows “Veep” and “The Night Manager,” as well as appearing in movies including “Tomorrowland,” “The Personal History of David Copperfield,” and more.

Laurie and Green got married on June 16, 1989, and his best man at the wedding was none other than his close friend and comedy partner, Fry. They have three children together: Charlie, who was born in 1988; Bill, who was born in 1991; and Rebecca, who was born in 1992. While his marriage has stood the test of time for over three decades, the actor has admitted it hasn't always been smooth sailing.

While he moved to Los Angeles to work on “House,” his wife and kids stayed behind in London to avoid disrupting the children's schooling. When asked what it was like to spend more time on set and away from his family, The Daily Mail reported him saying:

"I wouldn't say that doing the series has made my marriage easier. Better? I don't know about that either. Doing weekly TV is like joining the Navy and going on the other side of the world for ten months of the year. But the truth is that whatever challenging situation you're in, somebody somewhere has got a much more extreme version. So I think one ought to shut up and not moan about it."

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At another point, he even admitted to having had an extramarital affair with a director he'd worked with, but his marriage still managed to make it through. Despite the pitfalls, the couple still managed to make their relationship work. Once “House” finished filming, Laurie and Green reunited in a romantic escapade in Buenos Aires. They clearly understand that difficulties are a natural part of marriage, but they've worked to ensure they stay happy and together as a family.

The couple's three children were raised by their mother, a theater administrator, in London while their father filmed for nine months of the year in Los Angeles. Once again, Laurie's frequent collaborator and friend Fry plays a pivotal role in his life—he's his children's godfather. While none of Laurie's three kids appear to have caught the acting bug, they have all dipped their toes into the pond. Charlie, the eldest of his children, had a role while he was still an infant, appearing in “A Bit of Fry and Laurie” as baby William. Meanwhile, his second son, Bill, appeared in his father's sitcom “Fortysomething.” Lastly, Rebecca, the youngest, played the role of five-year-old Vivian Bearing in the movie “Wit.”

In addition to his incredible acting and writing, and his commitment to rowing in his early years, Laurie is also a talented musician. Having learned the piano at age six, Laurie is a multi-instrumentalist who plays the guitar, drums, harmonica, and saxophone and is a singer. He's even released some jazz albums and played live with his jazz band. Despite his innate talent and wit, Laurie seemed to have a pang of regret for not pursuing what his father initially wanted him to be – a doctor.

Laurie is one of the few actors in Hollywood whom audiences would associate with as a doctor in real life. Aside from Ellen Pompeo, who played Dr. Meredith Grey in “Grey’s Anatomy” and George Clooney as Dr. Douglass Ross in “ER,” Laurie is one of the most iconic doctors on television. 

In fact, Laurie seemed to have a reputation as a doctor on television, as he played various roles in the same profession across multiple series and even movies. He appeared in “Randall & Hopkirk,” “Chance,” “Why Didn't They Ask Evans?,” “Family Guy,” and “Monsters vs. Aliens,” among many others. In a conversation with the New York Daily News, Laurie talked about choosing other roles in television aside from being a doctor:

“As a gambler, my instinct is to walk away from the table after even a modest win…Yet I find myself coming back, drawn by a wonderful project that was simply irresistible.”

He even compared his characters in “Chance” and “House,” saying that Dr. Gregory House and Dr. Eldon Chance’s characters are “massively different.” Speaking to The New York Times, Laurie said he believes his becoming one of the most famous TV doctors is something his father would not have wanted for him.  Laurie said: 

“My father was actually a doctor. And if it’s true that most men are sort of seeking to become versions of their father, and failing, by the way, it seemed appropriate that I wound up being a fake version of a doctor.”

Laurie also told Express UK that his dad “would have hated” him becoming a doctor on a “shortcut":

“My father had high hopes for me following him into medicine. I wanted to and was going to choose the right subjects at school but in the end I copped out."

Are you a fan of Hugh Laurie? What can you say about his decision to become a “fake doctor” instead of becoming a real doctor? Let us know, and pass this on to your family, friends, and other loved ones out there!