Hugh Laurie of Fox’s “House” didn’t win a best actor Emmy last week. But last month America’s adolescents picked him over Matthew Fox, Wentworth Miller, Milo Ventimiglia and Jared Padalecki as their favorite male TV star on the Teen Choice Awards.
“Given that the ages of all the other nominees probably don’t add up to mine, I felt that was a real triumph,” the 48-year-old Laurie said. “It’s a huge thrill for me and I can’t deny it.”
Winning the Teen Choice surfboard, which Laurie says he will use “to iron my shirts or something,” is actually not as much of an anomaly as it might seem.
“House” ranked as the top-rated scripted show among 12- to 17-year-olds last season. More important, the medical mystery drama also pushed past surgical soap “Grey’s Anatomy” to garner the season’s highest number of advertiser-coveted 18- to 49-year-old viewers for all scripted shows.
Now “House” producers have concocted a story line to keep that momentum going and, coincidentally, force art to imitate life.
Beginning at 8 p.m. Tuesday, the cantankerous Dr. House is forced to hire new recruits to take the place of the three who, in last season’s finale, left their jobs working with House. After Foreman (Omar Epps) tendered his two-week notice, House fired Chase (Jesse Spencer), which, in turn, prompted Cameron (Jennifer Morrison) to quit too.
Just as the 40 fictional fellowship candidates are competing for jobs with House, guest actors are vying for roles on the Fox drama. The writers still are mulling over which two or three will stay.
“It really is rather a cruel environment,” Laurie said. “But what’s really delightful is that the actors involved, instead of eyeing each other jealously and competing and trying to stab each other in the back, they are a sort of happy band of brothers. They almost — almost — sing songs around the campfire.”
