'That was concealed': Hugh Laurie admits he had no idea his father was Olympic gold medalist
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: ‘House’ star Hugh Laurie had no idea that his father was an Olympic gold medalist while growing up. A doctor by profession, Hugh's father, William George Ranald Mundell "Ran" Laurie competed in the 1936 Berlin Olympic and got his Olympic Gold in the 1948 London Olympics in the coxless pairs (rowing). However, while growing up, Hugh, who also became an international rower later, did not know that fact. He said in an interview, “That was concealed from me – very much so.”
In LBC’s 'Full Disclosure' podcast he revealed, “I remember my parents laughing a lot because we were in a boat, we’d gone fishing, and my dad took the oars. I said to my mother, ‘Does he know how to row?’” The reaction the youngster got was surprising for him as he continued, “And they laughed. And I said, ‘What are you laughing at?’ And they didn’t tell me.” The ‘The Night Manager’ star bemoaned, “They didn’t tell me until years later that he had actually won an Olympic medal for that... not in a fishing boat.”
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Hugh Laurie's relationship with his father
In a 2006 interview with WebMD, the reel life doctor of ‘House’ revealed what his father would have thought about him playing the moody doctor on screen. Hugh said, "I think he would enjoy elements of it and would be appalled, in some ways, by House's boorish behavior.” He further added, “My father was a gentle, well-mannered, and considerate man and would have gone to great lengths to make patients feel at ease and content. At the same time, he would admire Dr. House's ruthless pursuit of the correct diagnosis."
In a 2016 interview with The New York Times, Hugh revealed since his father was a doctor, it was befitting of him to become a “fake” version of the same. “My father was actually a doctor. And if it’s true that most men are sort of seeking to become versions of their father — and failing, by the way — it seemed appropriate that I wound up being a fake version of a doctor,” said the ‘Chance’ star.
'Dad would have hated that'
Earlier, Hugh also revealed his father did not like taking shortcuts. In an interview to Britain’s Daily Express, the ‘Veep’ star said, “I would have liked to have become a doctor myself and I still have doctor fantasies,” as reported by Contact Music. He further added, “We live in a world of shortcuts don’t we? And I took them. Dad would have hated that.”
In the candid chat, the man who played doctor on-screen twice shared that he indeed tried becoming a doctor once to make his father proud, but later found out it was not his calling. “My father had high hopes for me following him into medicine. I wanted to and was going to choose the right subjects at school, but in the end I copped out. Medicine is awfully hard work and you have to be rather clever to pass the exams. Seriously, this is a source of great guilt to me,” said Laurie.
‘I don't miss their company’
In a 2000 interview with The Guardian, talking about his parents, Laurie shared “Do I miss them? Yes. Except the funny thing is that I don't miss their company, since I was so separate from them for such a long time. I went to boarding school at an early age, and once you leave home like that, things are never the same again. No, what I miss is the knowledge that they are there.”
Talking about his estranged relationship with his father, Laurie said, “My father, a lovely man, died a few years ago when I was in the States. I knew he was unwell, and before I went I made a deliberate decision not to resolve things, not to have that final conversation. I didn't say goodbye and have the big talk. Because,” he continued, 'I didn't want to give him my permission to leave. I wanted him to have unfinished business, as if resolving things would somehow be unlucky. I guess I was scared to let him clear the in-tray. I regret that now, but probably I would do the same again.”