Summary

• Hugh Laurie's comedic sensibilities shine through in his deadpan expressions and impeccable timing, making him a comedic powerhouse.
• Laurie's natural charisma allows him to play affable characters or charming rogues in dramatic roles, showcasing his versatility as an actor.
• Laurie's most impressive skill is his ability to completely transform himself, abandoning his famous traits and disappearing into unexpected roles.

Hugh Laurie first established himself as a comedy actor, but he has also shown that he is a powerhouse performer in dramatic movies and TV shows. Laurie first rose to prominence alongside Stephen Fry, the other half of his popular double act. The duo starred in TV shows and movies together before developing successful careers on their own. Fry has become an author and a TV presenter as well as an actor, while Laurie has added more dramatic roles to his repertoire. Laurie is mostly known for his TV shows, but he has made some brilliant movies as well.

Hugh Laurie has acute comedic sensibilities, especially when playing the straight man. His deadpan expressions and trademark comic incredulity are among his best assets. However, he is also articulate and intelligent enough to make unusually verbose punch lines land without missing a beat. Laurie uses his natural charisma in dramatic roles to play a number of affable characters or charming rogues. What's perhaps most impressive about Laurie's acting skills is that he can abandon all of his most famous traits and disappear into unexpected roles.

10 Peter's Friends (1992)

Roger Anderson

Peter's Friends is a somewhat forgotten comedy directed by Kenneth Branagh. Stephen Fry is the titular Peter, a man drifting through life who inherits a luxurious countryside manor and invites all of his old college friends back together for a New Year's Eve celebration. The old friends assemble from all over the globe, and their bright and shiny facades begin to crumble. Hugh Laurie plays Roger, a once-promising musician who sold out a long time ago to write advertising jingles. He's just one in a cast full of eccentrics, all of whom have a tenuous grip on reality.

9 All The Light We Cannot See (2023)

Etienne LeBlanc

Based on the novel by Anthony Doerr, All the Light We Cannot See follows the lives of two teenagers caught on opposite sides of the Second World War. Marie-Laure is a blind French who uses her radio to broadcast messages of hope and resistance, and Werner Pfennig is a German soldier sympathetic to her cause but tasked with tracking her down. Hugh Laurie shines as Marie-Laure's great-uncle, a man with PTSD from the First World War who fights to overcome his condition to protect his family. All the Light We Cannot See delivers a powerful, uplifting message.

8 Arthur Christmas (2011)

Steven Claus

Arthur Christmas is a festive adventure with a lot of heart and a lot of humor. Arthur is the son of Santa Claus, but he is forced to take on a delivery of his own after he discovers that one child didn't get their Christmas present. Hugh Laurie plays Steven, Arthur's business-minded older brother who wants to run Santa's workshop like a delivery warehouse or a military base. Arthur Christmas has all the charm usually associated with Aardman Animations, the studio most famous for claymation projects like Chicken Run and Wallace and Gromit.

7 Jeeves & Wooster (1990-1993)

Bertie Wooster

Stephen Fry and Hugh Laurie's TV adaptation crystallized two classic comic characters for an entire generation.

P.G. Wodehouse's "Jeeves" stories have been extremely popular in Britain for decades, and Stephen Fry and Hugh Laurie's TV adaptation crystallized two classic comic characters for an entire generation. Hugh Laurie plays Bertie Wooster, a wealthy young man who is affable and optimistic but somewhat thick. Stephen Fry plays Jeeves, his intelligent valet with a sardonic wit. As Bertie tangles himself up in problem after problem, it's often down to Jeeves to extricate him from his troubles as painlessly as possible. Jeeves aims a couple of barbs at his employer, but he makes sure they sail over Bertie's head.

6 The Night Manager (2016)

Richard Roper

The Night Manager pairs Hugh Laurie with Tom Hiddleston and Olivia Colman, and all three actors deliver brilliant performances. Laurie plays Richard Roper, an amoral, psychopathic arms dealer who is under investigation by the British Foreign Office. Hiddleston plays a hotelier in Cairo who is enlisted to infiltrate his inner circle. Based on the novel of the same name by John le Carré, The Night Manager is a suspenseful thrill ride with an ordinary man placed in extremely deadly situations. Hugh Laurie's performance as the villainous Roper is a great showcase for his talents as a dramatic actor.

5 A Bit Of Fry & Laurie (1989-1995)

Various characters

Hugh Laurie's first TV show alongside his comedy partner Stephen Fry was the BBC sketch show A Bit of Fry and Laurie. Their deadpan British wit combines with absurdist Pythonesque sketches where Laurie typically plays the sarcastic straight man. Fry and Laurie's sketches often poke fun at the rigidity of British society by introducing elements of the surreal, and they frequently use innuendo and puns to spin ordinary situations into farce. A Bit of Fry and Laurie also gave Hugh Laurie a platform to demonstrate his talents as a musician with plenty of comedy songs on guitar or piano.

4 Sense & Sensibility (1995)

Mr. Palmer

Sense and Sensibility is one of the best Jane Austen movie adaptations, starring and adapted by Emma Thompson. She plays Elinor Dashwood, one of three sisters who find themselves in dire financial straits and plot to find wealthy men to marry. Despite the jeopardy of this premise, Thompson's script captures Austen's dry wit and upbeat tone. Hugh Laurie plays a ing role as Mr. Palmer, a comfortable member of high society whose privilege allows him to freely dispense erudite one-liners without needing to fear the repercussions. Laurie helps revitalize Austen's humor for the modern era.

3 Veep (2012-2019)

Tom James

Laurie is one of very few actors in the show who can go toe-to-toe with Louis-Dreyfus in full comedic flow.

Julia Louis-Dreyfus is the star of Veep as the cynically ambitious career politician Selina Meyer, but she has an outstanding ing cast to back her up. Veep's best seasons come after the show takes some time to assemble its funniest characters. Hugh Laurie plays Tom James, the charismatic senator who sucks all the attention away from Selina on the campaign trial, even though he is brought in as her running mate. Laurie is one of very few actors in the show who can go toe-to-toe with Louis-Dreyfus in full comedic flow.

2 Blackadder (1983-1989)

Prince Ludwig the Indestructible, Prince George, Lt. The Hon. George Colthurst St. Barleigh, other minor characters

The BBC historical sitcom Blackadder hops to a new time period each season, starting in the Middle Ages and ending in the trenches of the First World War. Hugh Laurie plays a different character in each season, starting with one of the show's most cunning villains, Prince Ludwig the Indestructible, in season 2. His most memorable performances come after he s the main cast as the upper-class twit, George. Prince George and Lieutenant George are both stupid but boundlessly optimistic, and they consistently rub Rowan Atkinson's Blackadder the wrong way.

1 House (2004-2012)

Dr. Gregory House

House gave Hugh Laurie his most famous role, and he took it with both hands. The character of Gregory House is based on Sherlock Holmes. He has a genius-level intellect and remarkable powers of deduction, but he's misanthropic and he struggles with substance abuse. House's best episodes delve into obscure medical mysteries, as House and his team work around the clock to diagnose their patient. House's methods are unethical, and he often treats patients like puzzles rather than human beings, but his results speak for themselves. 20 years on, House is still an unbeatable medical drama.