Hugh was born in Oxford, England on June 11, 1959. He was educated at Eton and Cambridge. Son of an Olympic gold medalist in the sport, he rowed for the England youth team (1977) and for Cambridge (1980). He met Emma Thompson at Cambridge in 1978 when both joined "Footlights" and was introduced to Stephen Fry by Emma in 1980. Hugh is married and lives in London with his wife and three children. Besides acting and comedy, he has written the best-selling thriller, "The Gun Seller", also has done a screenplay for the film version, and has a second novel called "The Paper Soldier" being published on 27 September 2007.


Achieved a Third-Class Honours degree in anthropology & archaeology at Selwyn College, Cambridge University. Attended the Dragon School, a renowned British "public" college preparatory school located in Oxford, England. Also attended by actress Emma Watson and tennis player Tim Henman. 1977: Won the National Junior Championship for rowing (coxed pair). In the same year, he and his rowing partner represented England in the World Junior Championship for rowing where they finished fourth place. Plays the husband opposite Imelda Staunton's characters in two films: Sense and Sensibility (1995) and Peter's Friends (1992). Is the youngest of four children, by six years. He has a brother, Charles, who works as a lawyer/shepherd in Scotland, and two sisters. He is an accomplished piano player. Was first cast in the role of Perry White in Superman Returns (2006). However, the popularity of his TV show "House M.D." (2004) caused schedule conflicts. Frank Langella was then cast. He was a house captain (senior prefect) in his last year at Eton College. He also played percussion for the school's orchestra and was a "wet bob" - a member of Eton's prestigious rowing team. Although his first name is James, he has never been called that. His third name, Calum, is the short form of 'Mael Calum', which translates from Gaidhlig (Scots Gaelic) to Scottish and English as 'Malcolm'. (The Gaeilge or Irish Gaelic form is 'Maol Colm', or 'Colm' in short form). His brother's full name is Charles Alexander Lyon Mundell Laurie. He's a big fan of Clint Eastwood. He is a member of the Leander Club, one of the oldest rowing clubs in the world. His father once served as the club's president. His daughter Rebecca Laurie starred in the film Wit (2001) (TV) as Emma Thompson's character aged five. Plays keyboard in the band Poor White Thrash with Lenny Henry, Shade Adejumo, Kate McKenzie, Sophie Elton (wife of Ben Elton), 'Ken Bowley', Andy Gangadeen, John Thirkell, and Phil Smith. Directed some scenes of his film Maybe Baby (2000) when Ben Elton had to go to hospital for the birth of his children. He was a member of the Cambridge Footlights and in 1981, along with Stephen Fry, Tony Slattery, Emma Thompson, Paul Dwyer and Paul Shearer, he became the winner of the first ever Perrier Award at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. Is a published author. His novel, The Gun Seller, was released in 1996. A follow-up novel, The Paper Soldier (UK title: Paper Soldiers), is forthcoming. Is very good friends with "House M.D." (2004) co-star Robert Sean Leonard. When Bryan Singer cast Laurie as Gregory House on "House M.D." (2004), he was unaware that Laurie is British. He plays keyboard in the band "Band from TV.". Longtime best friend Stephen Fry served as best man at Laurie's marriage to Jo Green (1989).