May 17, 2008 Filed Under: Articles,House M.D. Comments Off

Edelstein compares herself with her character on House

After playing Dr. Lisa Cuddy on House for four years, Lisa Edelstein must have picked up some of the lingo by now.

So, if we were to dress up Edelstein as a doctor, disguise her face so no one would recognize her from House, and drop her into a hospital, how long would it take for her to be exposed as an imposter?

“I think I could go half a day,” Edelstein said.

“I’ve always been a smarty pants. And the only thing that goes wrong now is, people know I play a doctor on TV and so they quickly call me out on the fact that I really think I am a doctor. Before, I used to get away with it much longer.”

Speaking of getting away with things, it’s Edelstein’s character, the serious Dr. Cuddy, who usually endeavours to keep the maverick Dr. House (played by Hugh Laurie) on some vague form of the straight-and-narrow. At least, that generally has been the case to this point as House heads toward its fourth-season finale, Monday night on Global and Fox.

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But there is way more to the Cuddy-House relationship than initially meets the eye.

It was suggested to Edelstein that Cuddy loves House.

“I think that theory is right on the money,” Edelstein said.

“I think she very much loves House and also lives vicariously through him. She’s a smart woman who was very successful as a doctor and has a great job and a wonderful position, but she also has had less and less to do with actually practising medicine as the years have gone by. So she’s excited by what he does and how he does it, and deeply frustrated by him at the same time.

“As all intense people are, (Dr. House) is incredibly interesting and compelling. (Cuddy) definitely falls victim to that.”

It has been reported many times that in real life Laurie is a far softer person than the character he plays on TV. As it turns out, Edelstein doesn’t have much in common with Cuddy, either.

“I’m much more playful than (Cuddy) is,” said Edelstein, who turns 42 this week and previously has been seen in multi-episode arcs on series such as The West Wing and Ally McBeal. “I behave younger and I have a different kind of energy completely.

“I’m usually ricocheting off the set walls until they say ‘action’, and then I’m this serious person. (Cuddy) wears skirts that you can’t even take long strides in. It’s great playing that part of myself with her, but I think most people are surprised when they meet me that we’re so completely different.”

Yes, Lisa Edelstein and Lisa Cuddy are very different. The character is a doctor. The person is not.

“If somebody had a heart attack, it would be bad,” said Edelstein, going back to the premise of dropping her into a hospital to see how long she could fool people.

“Even though I say ‘clear’ really well, I don’t really know what else to do.”