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+--- Thread: Hugh Laurie: When you audition without giving a flip (/thread-21150.html)
Hugh Laurie: When you audition without giving a flip - C C - Aug 21, 2026
Maybe the primary reason you'd be leery of a British actor is that even in the UK they often depart a series after only three years. (Or, as an alternative, they want the seasons spaced two or more years apart, like Martin Clunes in Doc Martin.) If they're not already a part-time expat in the US, then they get homesick before the max of their five or more years contract.
So that's the amazing thing about Hugh Laurie. He stuck around for all eight seasons, and those involved vastly more episodes per year than the eight that Andrew Lincoln did for The Walking Dead. Before the latter finally hit his "I just can't take it anymore" limit and bailed out within the first two episodes of the ninth season. (But Lincoln is still to be very much commended for a marathon run that surpassed three seasons.)
OTOH, Oceania actors (Australia, NZ, etc) -- seem to have a much greater endurance level for being divorced from their homelands. For whatever reason. Countless examples of them hanging around for the long haul and well beyond.
When you audition without giving a f__k ... https://youtu.be/crH2pS_CZto
RE: Hugh Laurie: When you audition without giving a flip - TheVat - Aug 22, 2026
Laurie always seemed like an improvisational sort. He's a pretty decent blues/jazz pianist - watching "House" I wished occasionally he'd be written a scene where he could tickle the ivories a little. (auto complete offered me "tickle the ovaries" which oddly sort of fit with the House role) Here he is playing St James Infirmary, a piece I play on the piano but with less skill.
https://youtu.be/AzEBH6DZJVk?si=q5gFiYUcfRUqK_fW
RE: Hugh Laurie: When you audition without giving a flip - C C - Aug 22, 2026
(Aug 22, 2026 02:23 AM)TheVat Wrote: [...] watching "House" I wished occasionally he'd be written a scene where he could tickle the ivories a little. (auto complete offered me "tickle the ovaries" which oddly sort of fit with the House role) Here he is playing St James Infirmary, a piece I play on the piano but with less skill.
https://youtu.be/AzEBH6DZJVk?si=q5gFiYUcfRUqK_fW
Yah, at times House seemed to have been caught playing the electric guitar more often. Even a harmonica once while playing "Georgia On My Mind" on piano.
After all these years I couldn't recall a specific incident about anything, other than him driving that car into Dr. Cuddy's house (in the 7th season?). And the woman he married to give her permanent resident status (though that's just the general storyline rather than a discrete scene). And his mulling over Kal Penn's character committing suicide.
RE: Hugh Laurie: When you audition without giving a flip - Syne - Aug 22, 2026
House had many music scenes, many on the piano:
RE: Hugh Laurie: When you audition without giving a flip - TheVat - Aug 22, 2026
(Aug 22, 2026 04:58 AM)Syne Wrote: House had many music scenes, many on the piano:
https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/phftog8zGrw
Thanks. Clearly I missed many episodes, and somewhat dimming memories of ones I did see. I might want to watch the episode where he plays kb with Dave Matthews!
RE: Hugh Laurie: When you audition without giving a flip - Syne - Aug 22, 2026
That Dave Matthews episode is especially memorable for me.