# House from the neck down **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 17, 2009, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-from-the-neck-down/486326 "2009-02-17T22:33:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2009, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-from-the-neck-down/486326/1 "2009-02-17T22:33:38Z")
I didn’t want to hijack [this](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?p=10835321#post10835321) thread about \*House. \*But I am the first person to agree that Hugh Laurie is smokin’ hot. In fact it’s the primary reason why I watch the show. But he’s only hot from the neck up. In the rare glimpses we’ve had of the rest of him, it’s obvious he doesn’t have the lean, tight body his head deserves. He is soft. And this is why they don’t let us see very much of him. If he had the kind of body we imagine, he’d be shirtless (and more) in each episode. Not that I’m complaining much; his head is still worth watching, for it’s amazing hotness. And no, I will not provide a link to his soft body. I don’t want to see it, reminding me that we live in an imperfect universe. ---
**Author:** ![choie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/choie/32/7829_2.png) [@choie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/choie)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2009, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-from-the-neck-down/486326/2 "2009-02-17T23:57:04Z")
Personally I don’t think Hugh Laurie is “hot” because of his looks. Sure, he’s cute, at least he was as George in _Black Adder_ and as himself in the various sketches of _A Bit of Fry and Laurie_. And as House, he’s got a face that’s fallen into deep crevices of bitterness, which is attractive to some of us. Of course, no matter whom he portrays, he has those phenomenal blue eyes. But _hot_? I don’t think his looks really do it for that many. I think he’s hot as House because House is a blisteringly smart and funny guy who saves lives and plays the piano and numerous instruments, and perhaps most of all, because he pushes those “must fix the tragically flawed, self-loathing, bitter, wounded anti-hero” buttons for those of us who like that sorta thing. I suspect that Anglophiles are gonna find House dishy even though HL doesn’t use his accent – we know it’s lurking just beneath the surface. Like his better instincts, perhaps we hope we can be the ones to draw it out of him. 😃 This has little to do with his build or his handsomeness. It’s just … Hugh Laurie As House, and that’s enough. ---
**Author:** ![Kalhoun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3bc359/32.png) [@Kalhoun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalhoun)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2009, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-from-the-neck-down/486326/3 "2009-02-18T00:37:33Z")
I agree that he’s not the buff gym rat he is in my dreams, but that may be part of the attractiveness. He’s accessible to the all-American viewer. ---
**Author:** ![Beware\_of\_Doug](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/278dde/32.png) [@Beware\_of\_Doug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beware_of_Doug)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2009, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-from-the-neck-down/486326/4 "2009-02-18T00:40:00Z")
He’s a sonofabitch, and acts on it, and he believes in something, and acts on it. That equals woman-bait masculinity right there. ---
**Author:** ![levdrakon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@levdrakon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/levdrakon)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2009, 1:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-from-the-neck-down/486326/5 "2009-02-18T01:33:24Z")
Yeah, I’d do him based on the face. I’m a slut that way. The body, at times, is just a means to the person (face). If you’re going to let the body go, you better have the face going on. 🙂 A skinny body & great face is better than great body & dog-face. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2009, 4:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-from-the-neck-down/486326/6 "2009-02-18T04:10:02Z")
But there are those of us who consider Hugh Laurie hot, regardless of his role as House, or any other role he plays. The man is hot. But only from the neck up. ---
**Author:** ![Indygrrl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/58f4c7/32.png) [@Indygrrl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Indygrrl)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2009, 6:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-from-the-neck-down/486326/7 "2009-02-18T06:31:33Z")
When a man has it going on from the neck up, he can almost have any kind of body and still be sexy to me. Combine that with the whole House persona and I’m hooked. He’s a complex, bitter, genius who has a glimmer of a heart----I’m sold! In fact, if he was all buff I don’t think I’d like him at all. That doesn’t do it for me. ---
**Author:** ![Sigmagirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c89c15/32.png) [@Sigmagirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sigmagirl)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2009, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-from-the-neck-down/486326/8 "2009-02-18T14:09:43Z")
Check out the reactions on [televisionwithoutpity.com](http://televisionwithoutpity.com) every time House has a scene in which his sleeves are rolled up. Forearm porn. Laurie has some seriously good forearms. I’m not joking – the guy was an Olympic-level rower. And he boxes. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2009, 12:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-from-the-neck-down/486326/9 "2009-02-19T00:26:24Z")
Yes, I have to admit I like his forearms (Hey, I’ll take whatever I can get from that man). But by all rights he should have a very lean, tight body, without too much muscle mass. But what he does have is softness. ---
**Author:** ![pravnik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8edcca/32.png) [@pravnik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pravnik)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2009, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-from-the-neck-down/486326/10 "2009-02-19T00:32:53Z")
> [@choie](#): > > Personally I don’t think Hugh Laurie is “hot” because of his looks. Sure, he’s cute, at least he was as George in _Black Adder_… Oh my God. That _was_ him, wasn’t it? :eek: ---
**Author:** ![Scissorjack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c67d28/32.png) [@Scissorjack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scissorjack)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2009, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-from-the-neck-down/486326/11 "2009-02-19T01:42:45Z")
> [@pravnik](#): > > Oh my God. That _was_ him, wasn’t it? :eek: Yup. Before he made his name as an embittered but brilliant doctor in the US, he had a glittering career in England dating back to the early 80’s playing amiable halfwits, often opposite Stephen Fry: check out _Jeeves and Wooster_ or their brilliant sketch show _A Bit Of Fry And Laurie_ sometimes. Or _Stuart Little._ ---
**Author:** ![pravnik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8edcca/32.png) [@pravnik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pravnik)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2009, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-from-the-neck-down/486326/12 "2009-02-19T02:06:01Z")
Wow. It’s perfectly obvious now that y’all have pointed it out, but I never would have put it together if you hadn’t. I haven’t seen any Black Adder episodes in a few years, and the George character is nearly perfectly the anti-House. ---
**Author:** ![levdrakon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@levdrakon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/levdrakon)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2009, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-from-the-neck-down/486326/13 "2009-02-19T02:18:18Z")
I just googled “Hugh Laurie shirtless” and now I don’t know what the OP is on about. He looks pretty good shirtless. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2009, 1:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-from-the-neck-down/486326/14 "2009-02-19T13:43:38Z")
With the skill his hands have on piano and guitar, I image he is really good with foreplay. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Plastic\_Ninja](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f07891/32.png) [@Little\_Plastic\_Ninja](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Plastic_Ninja)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2009, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-from-the-neck-down/486326/15 "2009-02-19T16:35:06Z")
I have a picture of Hugh Laurie on my desktop at work – this one: [Warning: Huge](http://www.wallpaperez.net/wallpaper/movie/House-MD-Hugh-Laurie-Dr.-Gregory-House-1481.jpg) I have him up there for two reasons: one, because of the aforementioned interesting looks and startling blue eyes. But more for two: I remember him as Bertie Wooster and Prince George and his wackiness in A Bit of Fry and Laurie. Now he’s faking an American accent and stopped regularly shaving and women are swooning over him. It’s a reminder to never take myself too seriously. 😛