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Q: Before he starred in "House" didn't I see Hugh Laurie in the Leonardo DiCaprio film "The Man In The Iron Mask?" Or was it a different actor who look liked him?

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Author: 
Adam Thomlison / TV Media

That was indeed "House" star Hugh Laurie you saw, but you can be forgiven for thinking there might be two Hugh Lauries out there.

The actor has an incredibly diverse resume that covers both drama and comedy, as well as both historical and modern.

He appeared in the star-studded 1998 hit "The Man in the Iron Mask," sharing the screen with not just youthful heartthrob Leonardo DiCaprio, but also screen greats Jeremy Irons, John Malkovich, Gabriel Byrne and (the lone Frenchman in the France-set film) Gerard Depardieu.

But his role as the king's advisor in the film is just one example of Laurie's time travels.

The English-born Laurie traveled all over time on the classic British comedy series "Blackadder," starring in the latter two of the show's critically acclaimed four seasons. The third season was set in the late 1700s, while the fourth was set during the First World War.

He's also split his time pretty evenly between film and television. Before American audiences knew him as Dr. Gregory House, they knew him as Frederick Little from the "Stuart Little" films.

However before that, British audiences were already quite familiar with him thanks to his popular sketch-comedy show, "A Bit of Fry and Laurie," which aired from 1987 to 1995.

His comedic work, which is how he first found fame, has always tended toward a level of silliness and absurdity that would surprise fans of his dry, understated "House" character.

 

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