# House, Hugh Laurie, Englishness, Accent **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 30, 2008, 3:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-hugh-laurie-englishness-accent/470208 "2008-10-30T03:54:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Princhester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Princhester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Princhester)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2008, 3:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-hugh-laurie-englishness-accent/470208/1 "2008-10-30T03:54:34Z")
I have never really watched House. It looks good and I understand it is but I don’t have much time for TV. I watched a bit the other day. It’s odd seeing an English guy acting in a US show where his Englishness isn’t a part of it. Normally, you only see English guys playing English characters. Is there some particular backstory to it besides just him being a good actor who got the part on his merit as such? Second question, to US ears how good is his US accent? We get a lot of US tv and movies so the accent is very familiar and I like to think that I can pick an obvious applied American accent. To me, Laurie’s rendition is perfect. I don’t think I could tell he wasn’t American born if I didn’t know. How is his accent to native ears? ---
**Author:** ![DanBlather](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/f4b2a3/32.png) [@DanBlather](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DanBlather)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2008, 3:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-hugh-laurie-englishness-accent/470208/2 "2008-10-30T03:59:04Z")
> [@Princhester](#): > > I have never really watched House. It looks good and I understand it is but I don’t have much time for TV. > > I watched a bit the other day. It’s odd seeing an English guy acting in a US show where his Englishness isn’t a part of it. Normally, you only see English guys playing English characters. Is there some particular backstory to it besides just him being a good actor who got the part on his merit as such? > > Second question, to US ears how good is his US accent? We get a lot of US tv and movies so the accent is very familiar and I like to think that I can pick an obvious applied American accent. To me, Laurie’s rendition is perfect. I don’t think I could tell he wasn’t American born if I didn’t know. How is his accent to native ears? I never think about it, so that means it’s good. It’s a shock to see him speak in his real accent. ---
**Author:** ![Invisible\_Chimp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/f05b48/32.png) [@Invisible\_Chimp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Invisible_Chimp)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2008, 4:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-hugh-laurie-englishness-accent/470208/3 "2008-10-30T04:02:34Z")
English actors doing fake Yank on TV has become very popular the last couple of years. To me, Laurie’s fake Yank ain’t great cause I knew his real voice from his earlier work. Other Brits who I’m less familiar with do it better, but that may be because I don’t know their real accents. I think Anna Faris is great on “Pushing Daisies,” for example. I actually think most Aussies do it better than most Brits. Yvonne Strahovski on “Chuck” does a great fake Yank. And House isn’t bad, but I haven’t watched it since the first season. ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2008, 4:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-hugh-laurie-englishness-accent/470208/4 "2008-10-30T04:04:12Z")
I am an American who was very very familiar with Hugh’s work in his native accent well before House came out. I think his American accent is fantastic. I have never heard a slip, and I hear all sorts of British-as-American actors fuck up all the time. ---
**Author:** ![KnitWit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/f0a364/32.png) [@KnitWit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KnitWit)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2008, 4:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-hugh-laurie-englishness-accent/470208/5 "2008-10-30T04:07:31Z")
I’m an American and I think Laurie does a terrific job. Occasionally I’ll hear small “slip” that indicates his accent coming through. But it’s rare and barely noticeable. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2008, 4:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-hugh-laurie-englishness-accent/470208/6 "2008-10-30T04:12:29Z")
As Dr. House, he doesn’t have an accent. He also didn’t have an accent as Stuart Little’s dad. That’s how good his American accent sounds to American ears. ---
**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:** [October 30, 2008, 4:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-hugh-laurie-englishness-accent/470208/7 "2008-10-30T04:12:43Z")
Iowan here. Laurie’s accent is bulletproof. ---
**Author:** ![kelly5078](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/6f9a4e/32.png) [@kelly5078](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kelly5078)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2008, 4:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-hugh-laurie-englishness-accent/470208/8 "2008-10-30T04:37:11Z")
His accent is flawless. If I weren’t familiar with his earlier work, it’d never cross my mind that he’s not American. The best thing about it as that he manages to sound completely American while still managing to have idiosyncratic phrasing that strengthens his character. Very few actors can pull something like that off. ---
**Author:** ![Annie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/858c86/32.png) [@Annie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2008, 4:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-hugh-laurie-englishness-accent/470208/9 "2008-10-30T04:41:05Z")
When I channel surfed past the premiere of House back when, I thought, shit, that guy sure looks like Hugh Laurie. I had to go look it up on IMDB because I wanted to know who his doppelganger was. ---
**Author:** ![Indistinguishable](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/90ced4/32.png) [@Indistinguishable](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Indistinguishable)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2008, 4:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-hugh-laurie-englishness-accent/470208/10 "2008-10-30T04:44:24Z")
It’s almost always flawless to my ears, but I do recall once hearing him slip up majorly on one line. I can’t remember what it was, exactly, but I think the word “diapers” was in there somewhere. It was like a half-sentence pile-up of Britishism coming out, so jarringly that I couldn’t believe they didn’t decide to reshoot. I wish I could remember what it was I’m referring to… ---
**Author:** ![constantine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/3bc359/32.png) [@constantine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/constantine)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2008, 5:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-hugh-laurie-englishness-accent/470208/11 "2008-10-30T05:04:40Z")
I’ll add my voice to the chorus of Americans saying that Laurie’s American accent is absolutely spot on. I was familiar with his work from Blackadder (which I used to watch obsessively) so, like a few others, I had a hard time wrapping my head around seeing him (1) speak with a perfect American accent, and (2) seeing him in a dramatic role. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2008, 5:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-hugh-laurie-englishness-accent/470208/12 "2008-10-30T05:18:38Z")
His accent is fantastically good. The unsung genius is whoever cast him in the role. Think about it. Somebody was sitting around and thought “we need someone to play our brilliant, sarcastic, limping, unshaven, pill-popping, New Jersey doctor; let’s get George from _Blackadder_!” Having seen the show, I know how good he is. But whever knew that _in advance_ is a freakin’ genius. ---
**Author:** ![ToeJam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/dfb087/32.png) [@ToeJam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ToeJam)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2008, 5:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-hugh-laurie-englishness-accent/470208/13 "2008-10-30T05:19:06Z")
Yeah, Hugh laurie is awesome with his 'merican accent. I was confused when I saw him on “A bit of Fry and Laurie” and at first I thought “why’s house making fun of the british with this terrible accent?” And then I realized it’s the other way around- the accent came first, and now he’s doing the American one. QUITE Impressive, that said- it ALWAYS amuses me now to watch ABOFAL for that reason- I’m SO used to him being all uptight and serious as House, that him on that show is just pure gold for me. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2008, 5:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-hugh-laurie-englishness-accent/470208/14 "2008-10-30T05:34:20Z")
That’s odd. I have always thought it was awful. But I’m not American. Maybe this means that, if I was to do a US accent, I wouldn’t be as convincing as I’d often thought I would. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2008, 5:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-hugh-laurie-englishness-accent/470208/15 "2008-10-30T05:35:09Z")
According to [Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/House_(TV_series)#Casting), Laurie reportedly fooled executive producer Bryan Singer, who, unaware of Laurie’s background, singled him out as “an example of a real American actor.” ---
**Author:** ![Princhester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Princhester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Princhester)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2008, 5:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-hugh-laurie-englishness-accent/470208/16 "2008-10-30T05:38:41Z")
Heh. So the answer to my first question is that they picked an English actor not knowing that is what they were doing. ---
**Author:** ![BrassyPhrase](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ea666f/32.png) [@BrassyPhrase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrassyPhrase)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2008, 5:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-hugh-laurie-englishness-accent/470208/17 "2008-10-30T05:40:03Z")
When _House_ first came on, I was talking to a coworker about it. We were both fans. Me: I can’t believe his American accent is so great! (I had seen him in _Blackadder Peter’s Friends A Bit of Fry and Laurie_ Her: What do you mean? He’s American. Me: Uh, no. He’s English. Her: Oh Brassyphrase, you are so full of it! Me: No seriously. He’s from the UK. He’s totally not American. Her: \ Whatever, you goof! Then she saw him on one of the late night talk shows–and came to me: Her: OMG, YOU WERE RIGHT!!! He’s all British or whatever!! I am silly, but I knew who Hugh Laurie was! Another story– The first movie I saw Gary Oldman in was a kinda crappy one where he did an American accent. (One with Kevin Bacon I think, I should imdb it.) Then I rented _Sid and Nancy_ And I thought “If I didn’t know he was from the US, I’d SWEAR he was British!” So dumb and so young. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Shroud](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/439d5e/32.png) [@The\_Shroud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Shroud)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2008, 5:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-hugh-laurie-englishness-accent/470208/18 "2008-10-30T05:42:15Z")
> [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > His accent is fantastically good. > > The unsung genius is whoever cast him in the role. Think about it. Somebody was sitting around and thought “we need someone to play our brilliant, sarcastic, limping, unshaven, pill-popping, New Jersey doctor; let’s get George from _Blackadder_!” Having seen the show, I know how good he is. But whever knew that _in advance_ is a freakin’ genius. His House [audition tape](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Iwqj9i4QDc) is worth checking out if you haven’t seen it. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Q](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/898d66/32.png) [@Johnny\_Q](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Q)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2008, 6:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-hugh-laurie-englishness-accent/470208/19 "2008-10-30T06:48:13Z")
[An early Hugh Laurie accent.](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nYixxt4VgCk) ---
**Author:** ![DMC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dmc/32/18049_2.png) [@DMC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DMC)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2008, 6:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-hugh-laurie-englishness-accent/470208/20 "2008-10-30T06:51:01Z")
> [@Princhester](#): > > Heh. So the answer to my first question is that they picked an English actor not knowing that is what they were doing. You’ll probably get a kick out of [this video clip](http://www.hulu.com/watch/21649/house-house---foreign-vs-american-actors#s-p3-st-i1). Some of the other clips are also enjoyable for House fans, but that one is directly on-topic. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-hugh-laurie-englishness-accent/470208.md?page=2)