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. Laurieβs 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.'
The Tao has no place for pettiness, and nor has Virtue. Pettiness is dangerous to Virtue; pettiness is dangerous to the Tao. It is said, rectify yourself and be done.
Be at Peace with Everyone - No one is capable of making you upset without your consent, so if you begin practicing the intention to be authentic and peaceful with everyone, you connect to peace itself- and gain the power to change the energy of your relationships with family and friends.
Very well then; emancipation from usury and money, that is, from practical, real Judaism, would constitute the emancipation of our time.
It is only the poor who are forbidden to beg.
The living owe it to those who no longer can speak to tell their story for them.
We can judge the heart of a man by his treatment of animals.
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