Hugh Laurie: a real Renaissance man

He's smart, attractive, and little bit mysterious, and now the star of House has won two Golden Globes. What's not to love?

Hugh Laurie
Full House: Hugh Laurie brandishes his Golden Globe. Photograph: Kevork Djansezian/AP

It's hard not to be delighted for Hugh Laurie, now in possession of two Golden Globes for playing grumpy doctor Gregory House in, er, House. Few would have thought at the start of the series that there could possibly be room for something as cliched as another grumpy consultant in medicine, but House's mixture of genius acuity, neat Jonathan Creek-style storylines and a walking stick have made Laurie a legend in the US, where most people have no idea that he's British (he's also Stuart Little's dad).

When you think of the British actors that march off to Hollywood, Nick Moran or Lenny Henry-style, only to return pronto with their tails between their legs, Laurie's rise has been more impressive (where, incidentally, is that other British Hugh these days? Has he finished that novel yet?)

Supersmart and unconventionally attractive (pleasingly, if you go to his number one fan website, you'll see that people who fancy this actor also fancy, apparently, Christopher Eccleston and Stephen Mangan - so there's something of a doctor theme), a Cambridge blue, Perrier award winner and extremely talented pianist, Hugh just seems to be one of those people with everything - even his novel, The Gun Seller, was rather good, particularly for the dodgy 'comedians writing novels' genre.

Weirdly, though, in his few interviews, among the sanguine air and self-deprecating wit you'd expect, he admits to regular and severe depression in his life. "Where is the struggle? There has been no struggle. Where's the passion of my life? Where is its purpose?" he has said. You wonder if he feels guilty about making so much money for playing a doctor on television when his father really is one. And there have always been rumours (and one confessed affair) about his marriage.

But all of this adds to the Hugh mystique; a nice touch of vulnerability. "I'm not the Renaissance man; he is," Stephen Fry has said. And isn't it nice to see that triumph in Hollywoodland?

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