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.'
A sensitive person receives fifty impressions where somebody else may only get seven. Sensitive people are so vulnerable; they're so easily brutalized and hurt just because they are sensitive. The more sensitive you are, the more certain you are to be brutalized, develop scabs.Analysis helps. It helped me. But still, the last eight, nine years I've been pretty messed up, a mess pretty much.
What cannot be talked about cannot be put to rest. And if it is not, the wounds will fester from generation to generation.
Prayer is translation. A man translates himself into a child asking for all there is in a language he has barely mastered.
Our anxiety does not come from thinking about the future, but from wanting to control it.
If a man loses his reverence for any part of life, he will lose his reverence for all of life.
It is essential that we realize once and for all that man is much more of a sex creature than a moral creature. The former is inherent, the other is grafted on.
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