Even after earning $700,000 per episode in House’s final season, Hugh Laurie admits he feels haunted by guilt. The British actor, famous for playing Dr. Gregory House, confessed he feels like a “fraud” for portraying a doctor instead of becoming one, a path his late father had dreamed for him.

Born in 1959, Laurie grew up influenced by his father, Dr. William “Ran” Laurie — a Cambridge-educated physician, Olympic gold medalist, and war hero. Laurie initially planned to follow in his father’s footsteps, attending Cambridge and aiming for medicine. But after discovering the Cambridge Footlights comedy troupe alongside Emma Thompson and Stephen Fry, “medicine took a back seat,” and his career shifted to acting.

Laurie became a household name in British comedy through the 1980s and ’90s, starring in Blackadder and Sense and Sensibility. Hollywood roles followed, but House (2004–2012) made him globally famous. Despite accolades, including two Golden Globes, he admitted, “I had some pretty bleak times… If I just had a small accident on the way to the studio, maybe I’d get a couple of days off.”

In 2016, Laurie returned to medicine on screen with Chance, saying, “Their practices are different. Their attitude to life is different. But I was drawn back — the project was simply irresistible.” Yet guilt remained: “My father had high hopes for me following him into medicine… I took shortcuts — Dad would have hated that.”

At 64, Laurie is celebrated as one of Britain’s finest actors. Yet fame hasn’t silenced the voice of his father’s expectations. Calling himself a “cop out,” he admitted, “Seriously, this is a source of great guilt to me.”