Gregory House

For other uses, see Gregory House (disambiguation).
"Doctor House" redirects here. Not to be confused with House doctor (disambiguation).

Gregory House, M.D.
House character
First appearance"Pilot" (1.01)
Last appearance"Everybody Dies" (8.22)
Created byDavid Shore
Portrayed byHugh Laurie
In-universe information
NicknameHouse
GenderMale
OccupationHead of Diagnostic Medicine
Significant otherStacy Warner (ex-girlfriend)
Lisa Cuddy (ex-girlfriend)
Dominika Petrova (wife, separated)

Gregory House is a fictional character and the titular protagonist of the American medical drama series House. Created by David Shore and portrayed by English actor Hugh Laurie, he leads a team of diagnosticians and is the Head of Diagnostic Medicine at the fictional Princeton-Plainsboro Teaching Hospital in Princeton, New Jersey.[1] House's character has been described as a misanthrope, cynic, narcissist, and curmudgeon, the last of which terms was named one of the top television words of 2005 in honor of the character.[2]

In the series, the character's unorthodox diagnostic approaches, radical therapeutic motives, and stalwart rationality have resulted in much conflict between him and his colleagues.[3] House is also often portrayed as lacking sympathy for his patients, a practice that allows him time to solve pathological enigmas. The character is partly based on Sherlock Holmes.[4][5] A portion of the show's plot centers on House's habitual use of Vicodin to manage pain stemming from leg infarction involving his quadriceps muscle some years earlier, an injury that forces him to walk with a cane. This dependency is also one of the many parallels to Holmes, who is portrayed as being a habitual user of cocaine and other drugs.[6]

The character received generally positive reviews and was included in several "best of" lists.[7][8] Tom Shales of The Washington Post called House "the most electrifying character to hit television in years".[9] For his portrayal, Laurie won various awards, including two Golden Globe Awards for Best Actor in a Television Series – Drama, two Screen Actors Guild Awards for Best Actor from Drama Series, two Satellite Awards for Best Actor in a Television Series – Drama, two TCA Awards for Individual Achievement in Drama, and has received a total of six Primetime Emmy Award nominations for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series.

  1. ^ "House, M.D." Tioti.com. Archived from the original on October 12, 2007.
  2. ^ "'Refugee' Tops 'Desperation' and 'Camp Cupcake' as Top Television Buzzword of the 2005". The Global Language Monitor. June 18, 2008. Archived from the original on May 15, 2013. Retrieved March 17, 2013.
  3. ^ Kristine, Diane (April 23, 2007). "Ending Season Three With a Bang? An Interview with House Writer Lawrence Kaplow". Blog Critics. Archived from the original on November 23, 2015. Retrieved February 20, 2016.
  4. ^ O'Hare, Kate (January 5, 2005). "Builder keeps adding on to "House" for Fox". Seattletimes. Archived from the original on March 7, 2016. Retrieved February 20, 2016.
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference House-Holmes was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ Jericho, Arachne (May 31, 2008). "A House, MD and Sherlock Holmes Special: Predicting House Season Five Based On the Sherlock Holmes Canon". Holmesian Derivations, A 21st century look at Sherlock Holmes. Archived from the original on September 13, 2008. Retrieved September 27, 2008.
  7. ^ Davies, Hugh (November 20, 2004). "Dr. Laurie has viewers of US TV in stitches". The Daily Telegraph. p. N9.
  8. ^ Bianco, Robert (November 16, 2004). "There's a doctor worth watching in 'House'". USA Today. p. D1. Archived from the original on February 10, 2009. Retrieved December 30, 2006.
  9. ^ Shales, Tom (November 16, 2004). "'House': Watching Is the Best Medicine". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on November 6, 2012. Retrieved December 30, 2006.