Bet your House on Hugh Laurie as he's named the highest-paid actor in U.S. TV drama

By Ellie Genower
Updated:


TV star: The actor plays Gregory House in the popular medical drama House

TV star: The actor plays Gregory House in the popular medical drama House

It certainly pays to be the grumpiest doctor on TV.

And for Hugh Laurie - playing the cantankerous Dr Gregory House has made him the top earning dramatic actor on the small screen in the U.S., according to TV Guide magazine.

The 51-year-old Brit earns $400,000 (£255,000) per episode for his role in the medical whodunnit series which he began filming six years ago. 

But despite his high salary and success, the role has not been without its problems.

He famously moved  to the U.S alone back in 2004, leaving his wife Jo and  three children Charlie, 20, Bill, 19, and Rebecca, 16, in England to finish their education.

'I wouldn't say that doing the series has made my marriage easier. Better? I don't know about that either,’ he told Parade magazine earlier this year.

'Doing weekly TV is like joining the Navy and going on the other side of the world for ten months of the year.

'But the truth is that whatever challenging situation you're in, somebody somewhere has got a much more extreme version. So I think one ought to shut up and not moan about it.' 

But the actor, who starred alongside Rowan Atkinson in Blackadder and close friend Stephen Fry in Jeeves and Wooster, still enjoys playing the awkward Vicodin-addicted misfit. 

Old friends: Hugh Laurie spoke as pal Emma Thompson was awarded her Star on The Hollywood Walk of Fame last week

Old friends: Hugh Laurie spoke as pal Emma Thompson was awarded her Star on The Hollywood Walk of Fame last week

'House is a character I still am fascinated by,' he added.  'I think that's part of an actor's job, to love the character you play. I would be foolish not to go the distance playing him, however far that may be.' 

Laurie has won two Golden Globe awards for the role, and has also been five times nominated for a Best Actor Emmy.

But Laurie is not yet sure when he will end his run on the series, which has become the most watched drama series in the world.

Popular: Laurie has won awards including last year's Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Drama Series for his role in the show

Popular: Laurie has won awards including last year's Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Drama Series for his role in the show

'We don't talk about when we'll pack it in,' he said. 'But when the time comes, I think it would be good to have sort of a clean finish rather than just sort trailing off. I'd like to go out with a bang, not a whimper.'

Two and a Half Men star Charlie Sheen remains the highest paid actor on U.S. TV, earning $1.25 million an episode, with his comedy co-star Jon Cryer getting paid $550,000.

Whereas in reality TV, American Idol host Ryan Seacrest earns $15 million a year, while Piers Morgan comes in third with $2 million for America’s Got Talent.

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