Translation of Hugh Laurie's interview for Madame Figaro - Oct, 8th
Hugh Laurie: “reasonable is not the adjective that describes me best.”
Actor, singer, musician, scriptwriter, novelist… The most watched man on TV also creates the buzz as the new male signature for L’Oréal. Clearly, nothing resists the priceless Dr. House. But what motivates this incurable dabbler? Attempt at a diagnostic…
In a rococo suite of The Savoy, in London, the enigmatic Hugh Laurie, his telescopic legs jeans-clad, annexes a sofa. He shows us his shirt’s label, signed J. Clew, and the brand of his laced boots, Crockett&Jones, a way to indicate that he’s a “no logo,” quite useless fashion-wise. On the opposite side, facing him, we melt. Worried, a bit inclined to paranoia, he knows instinctively that the interviewer compares his probable mimicry to the illustrious Dr. House. Seven years that the actor has been living with a four-star misanthrope, Einstein of the diagnosis, a sadistic and sexy boor, saddened with an attractive limping and an icy-blue gaze. Except the deep blue eyes, Laurie the introvert has nothing in common with the extravagant Dr. House. And he makes it clear that he’s not his avatar, hammering the slogan “I’m who I am, he’s who he is.” dear to every running candidate in politics. If he seems high, it’s because he’s jet-lagged, not because he popped too many Vicodins. House banters, Laurie is serious. When he shoots a joke, it’s stamped ‘Monty Python’, printed with this schoolboy humor he used to revel in on the Cambridge campus where, quite early, he met Stephen Fry and Emma Thompson. The same Emma, “Austeenian young lady,” retains fond memories of her first love with him: “Hugh” she said, “is one of those rare people who manages to be lugubriously sexy, like a well-hung eel.” on YouTube, one can watch his delirious antics, a very special interpretation of “Hey Jude” with a rattle voice, or his lousy tennis match against an infographic Monica Seles; a whole culture of fun he got rid of as maturity and notoriety hit him. the British eel had to wait until he was forty to become famous. in Los Angeles, he works six days a week and never goes out for a walk on Venice Beach: “I’d love to but people immediately take pictures of me and I hate that.” He only loosens up when he rehearses with the Band From TV, a rock band he started with some of his fellows actor. The frustrated Californian rather blooms by the river Thames. He’s left his four loves there; his wife, Jo, and his three children. When you’re paid $700,000 an episode, you’d better stay focused and in top form, even in exile. In the making-of of the l’Oréal ad, which brand he now represents, his deadpan humor however takes over. A girl manicures his nails as he says: “In here, inside, I’m a model. I’m a model of the spirit.” Erudite, isolated, locked, Laurie is a well-adjusted schizophrenic.
Madame Figaro: Would you accept, doctor, to submit yourself to a quick medical exam?
Hugh Laurie: Yes, sure.
How do you feel right now?
Excellent form, but completely jet-lagged. I’ve just arrived from L.A. I don’t do well with jet-lag.
How is your BP, and the heart rate?
Everything’s fine. I have a personal doctor to take care of me. I’m still doing music and I see my friends, as much as my working schedule (he’s now filming the last season of House) allows me.
No food excess, insomnia, tachycardia?
I think I’m as lean as a heron and I sleep like a baby.
What about alcohol and cigarettes? Are you reasonable here?
Reasonable is not really the adjective that describes me best. I smoke and I drink Martinis. On the rocks!
Let’s move on to the psychological exam, how do you usually fight stress?
By practicing sports. In by-gone days, I used to row. Now, I play tennis. I’m also practicing Aikido. but to get rid of my anxiety, I go to a boxing gym every week-end and I punch a leather bag violently.
Anxious then?
I’m not always serene. I see a shrink. Nowadays, if you don’t have one, everyone in Los Angeles think you’re a complete nutjob. When I lived in London, I didn’t have one. I like to be in my home country. I loosen up there. I release the pressure. When you confide your problems to your friends, they tend to underestimate them right away, whereas a shrink is paid to value them.
Have you ever consulted a clairvoyant?
No. I’m way too much rational for that. Descartes and Freud: they’re my cup of tea.
Are you as cruel and cynical as your character, Dr. House?
No, and I’m not as clever either. People fantasize me as a brilliant man but I’m a lamebrain. The bad guy, the cynical man, it’s him… and probably David Shore, the creator of the series. I’m not usually ferocious in day to day life. However, I share a kind of chronic impatience with House.
You studied anthropology in Cambridge, did you dream about becoming a doctor?
Yes, early in life, when I was about 17. My father, who was a doctor, took me with him one day to White Chapel Hospital. I even attended his conferences. When I think how much I’m being paid to play a fake doctor, whereas he, a real one, was making so little money, I’m a bit ashamed.
Are you as elitist as House is?
No I don’t think I am. I hope so! Why, you think I am?
House is, since he selects people according to their intellectual abilities…
Not exactly. Morons irritate him, but it’s because of his exaggerated impatience. I’m too anxious, nervous, worried to come into conflict with everybody all the time like House does.
Is House going to go to the end of his love story with Lisa Cuddy?
We’re filming the new season now, but I’m sad to have to reveal that Lisa has left the show and no, House is not going to marry her!
What kind of advice would you give to a broken heart?
Travel, even in the same country. Run, walk, change of space and time.
Are you the kind of man that pays attention to his physical appearance?
Sadly no. I take the first shirt off of the pile. I never go out shopping, otherwise pics of me in embarrassing situations end up online on Facebook. I apply L’Oréal moisturizer, because it moistens the skin and it’s good for the spirit. I like sneakers. The fact that House wears them all the time while he’s handicapped was my idea. It shows how much this guy wants to appear physically active and powerful.
In “the Oranges” a Julian Farino’s movie, you play a man who falls in love with a young woman half his age. Was it your intention to shock?
it’s a refreshing comedy about a man that lives an unhappy marriage. it may shock the Amricans, but probably not the French. I like this movie. The relationship with the girl is authentic and she’s not Lolita. Adrian Lyne auditioned me to play the role of Humbert Humbert in his version of “Lolita.” He told me that thousands of unknown 13 year-olds had applied for the role, or more precisely that thousands of moms had sent a picture of their 13 year-old daughters. That’s what I personally find shocking!
House is currently filming its last season, what do you have to say when you take stock of those eight years you spent playing this misanthropic genius?
it was a tremendous challenge, an incredible chance, an opportunity to practice my art in many different ways. A fabulous mix of tragedy, comedy and adrenalin. House didn’t make me a cleverer man but I can deeply relate to his blue mood. he must probably influence me a little, but I don’t influence him.