House is Right

Interview With House Writer, Len Dick

by Lynn on February 28th, 2008

Thanks to Grace for sending me this tip! Heeb has interviewed one of the 12 writers for House. Here’s and excerpt of the interview:

After years on various television shows, why is this show unique for you as a writer?
This is a great group of people. It’s unbelievably supportive. I’ve worked on shows that have toxic writers’ rooms and bad personalities. On most shows you spend 90 percent of your day sitting in a conference room. David Shore [the show’s creator] comes from Law and Order, which doesn’t have a writers’ room, so 90 percent of my day is sitting in here and working on my own story. David Shore lets you tell the story you want to tell and he helps you shape it. The other thing is that you get to work with Hugh Laurie and the rest of the great cast—Robert Sean Leonard, Lisa Edelstein. I get to write words that Hugh Laurie says and I can’t help but feel, sitting at home on my couch on Tuesday night, “It’s Hugh Laurie! Saying what I wrote!”

(follow the jump for more!)

Which character is your favorite to write for?
House is the most fun because he’s invariably the one who will do the outrageous thing. The expression we use in the shop is, “What ‘s the big House move?” Does he immerse the patient in a vat full of piranhas? But it will never be arbitrary. It has to be organic. There’s a legitimate medical or character reason. And for House, two plus two can equal uranium. Instead of, “What would Jesus do?” it’s “What would House do?” That’s a better bumper sticker.

What is it like to work with Hugh Laurie?
Hugh Laurie is unbelievable. We write him these enormous chunks of dialogue that are long and filled with medical jargon and he does it with an accent, while walking with a cane and popping Vicodin, but he sells it. He’s so convincing. Hugh will maintain his American accent during breaks so that he won’t lose it. One day, Emma Thompson came to the set to visit and he said hello in his British accent and it was jarring. You forget that he is British, that is how amazing this actor is. And his instincts are fantastic. He’ll offer suggestions and 101 percent of the time, they are great. He’s an absolute pleasure to work with and he’s a real gentleman. He’ll come up and say, “Thank you. This was such a great script. I loved it.”

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POSTED IN: House Interviews, Show Info