Hugh Laurie has released a statement to put an end to speculation that Fox was forced to cancel 'House' because he no longer wanted to play the character.
The network announced last week that the show's current season would be its last.
"Some newspapers, obviously dissatisfied by the statement we released last week, have suggested that 'the truth' — a modern journalistic shorthand for 'not even remotely the truth but it's creepy enough so let's go with it' — behind our joint decision was that I was sick of going to work," says Laurie.
"The evidence for this was a remark I made five years ago about a different subject."
"Let me say unequivocally that I love my job, and work harder at it than most journalists work at theirs. As we explained in our press release, we were trying to preserve some of the character's mystique; we never wanted to over-stay our welcome."
"Very possibly, we could have continued with a re-worked formula — House gets a job in a shoe shop and high jinks ensue," he jokes, "but none of us could face that. We wanted to keep the band together and go out with as much dignity as we could muster."
"I realize that plan is looking a little scruffy now, thanks to this petty rebuttal, but what the heck. I had to put the record straight. As House himself has repeatedly said, 'everybody lies.'"
Laurie's rebuttal comes days after a London newspaper ran a story, based on quotes from past interviews, that the actor quit because he was 'sick' of working 16 hour days.
Hugh Laurie has released a statement to put an end to speculation that Fox was forced to cancel '
