As a real person, he wouldn't last a minute, would he? But drama is about imperfection. And we've moved away from the aspirational hero. We got tired of it, it was dull. If I was House's friend, I would hate it. How he so resolutely refuses to be happy or take the kind-hearted road. But we don't always like morally good people, do we?
Interpretation
This quote reflects on the complexity of human character, particularly in the context of drama and storytelling.
Hugh Laurie suggests that real-life individuals are often imperfect and that audiences have grown weary of purely aspirational heroes. In drama, characters that wrestle with their flaws and moral ambiguities are more engaging, as they reflect the complexities of human nature. Laurie’s perspective raises questions about our preferences for characters who are not necessarily good, yet evoke fascination and relatability through their struggles.
In practice
In a discussion about character development in literature, this quote can highlight the importance of flaws in creating relatable protagonists.
L.A. runs on optimism, enthusiasm and flattery. I think you can go a little bit crazy. I've heard people say there's a limit to the number of years you can stay in this city without going slightly mad. It's just too damn sunny in every dimension - weather-wise, socially and professionally.
Acting is largely about putting on masks, and music is about removing them.
I know a lot of people think therapy is about sitting around staring at your own navel - but it's staring at your own navel with a goal. And the goal is to one day to see the world in a better way and treat your loved ones with more kindness and have more to give.
To tell you the truth, the older I get, the less I know. I keep meeting people, both older and younger, who seem to have accrued so much more knowledge or expertise or certainty about who they are and the jobs they do. I just marvel at it.
I have a reverence for medicine because I hero-worshiped my father [a former doctor], and because I admire doctors, I admire study, empiricism and rational thought. I don't study, empiricize or think rationally myself - but I admire it in others.
I think good-looking people seldom make good television. And American television studios almost concede before they start: 'Well, it won't be good, but at least it'll be good-looking. We'll have nice-looking girls in tight shirts with F.B.I. badges and fit-looking guys with lots of hair gel vaulting over things.'
I go on the principle that a public debt is a public curse and in a republican government more than in any other.
I am very defective in all duties... In prayer I wander and am formal... I soon tire; devotion languishes; and I do not walk with God.
Attention, if sudden and close, graduates into surprise; and this into astonishment; and this into stupefied amazement.
God doesn’t need to punish us. He just grants us a long enough life to punish ourselves.
The very good people didn't convince me; I felt they'd never been tempted. But you knew; you understood; you had felt the world outside tugging at one with all its golden hands — and yet you hated the things it asks of one; you hated happiness bought by disloyalty and cruelty and indifference.
People who have a sense of peace that their priorities are in the right place also have a sense of humility and a realistic view on life.
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