Fans of television’s best bromance, House and Wilson on FOX’s House, will want to circle the calendar on Monday, November 21, as Robert Sean Leonard (Wilson) steps into the spotlight in an episode titled, appropriately enough, “Wilson.” The engaging actor chatted to the media in a conference call about the episode, life as an actor, and those posters in Wilson’s office.
The first question for Leonard was not so much a question as a congratulations for getting a self-titled episode, to which he replied,
"Oh, no, it’s my worst nightmare. Are you kidding? When I first got out here five years ago, I read Numbers and thought, well this is way too many scenes. It’s way too hard, and I’m not interested. And then I read House, and Wilson was in about three scenes a show, and I thought this is perfect. You know, I’m the Carlton the Doorman of my show. I’m not the most ambitious guy. I like playing the best friend. It’s good to be the lead of a show for a week, but I wouldn’t spread it all around too much. I like my role the way it is."Leonard was then asked how Wilson is different in this episode and why. He said,
"Well, he’s not different; he’s just examined more. You see my assistant you’ve never met. You see the oncology floor, you see where I work. My office next to House’s is just my office, so there’s a whole floor where I work in oncology. I have my own patients, my own assistant, my own day that doesn’t include House, so you basically follow Wilson around for a few days and see what his life is like ... Josh Malina, this great guy ... who played Will Bailey on West Wing, is the patient, and he’s an old friend of mine. He gets into some trouble and I have some moral decisions to make throughout the show, and yep, it’s a personal case for me."No doubt to the delight of many viewers, on the subject of House and Wilson house hunting together, the actor said that when House was released from Nolan’s care, “it was kind of dependent on him having someone to look after him, that he didn’t live alone. So, I think we’re in Felix and Oscar mode a little while longer.”
Article comments
1 - Orange450
Thanks! Nice job!
RSL comes across as a great guy. I love his insights, his perspective on himself and his wry humor. I also love the way his intelligence shines through. Probably an important aspect of his great chemistry with Hugh Laurie.
I love and agree with his position that viewers project a lot onto Wilson. Actually, I think the same can be said for all the other major characters as well. Lots of viewer projection going on, IMHO.
His take on Wilson as a dark guy under the surface is intriguing. And Ordinary People was indeed a great movie, but Judith Guest's novel was even better.
2 - Gerry
RSL was a sweetheart on the call and you certainly can't miss the wry humour! I agree with the projection factor with everyone on House, but most especially with Wilson, I think. It may be because he outwardly appears to be so conventional, in contrast with House, you miss his similarities with House--though his darkness is of course uniquely his own.
I've always thought Wilson is as dark and damaged as House. It's what makes this friendship so interesting.
Thanks for stopping by!
3 - Linda
Thanks for writing up the entire interview. At least it seems like the entire interview. I've been catching bits and pieces of it here and there in different articles but never the whole thing. It seemed like there must be more.
Wilson seems exactly right for House and RSL seems exactly right for Hugh. I remember seeing outtakes from One Day One Room, the last scene where House and Wilson are playing that paddle game and House says that all he really did was make a girl cry. Sad little dramatic scene. But Hugh Laurie and RSL were having a terrible time getting through it because they were laughing so hard. It made me admire them more when I went back and looked at the scene in the episode. Not a bit of a suppressed smile or any other sign that they had been ROFL. It's nice to see professionals at work!
4 - Jodie
You wrote a MUCH better article than the one on the Sympatico home page one (TV Guide).The article you wrote was much easier to understand and follow.
Thank you Gerri!
5 - Belle
An excellent interview. So nice to see such a faithful recounting of RSL's words and thoughts. So many other interviews report things out of context these days that one is usually left confused, I got to the end of you interview and felt pleasantly informed. A complex and interesting man with an interesting point of view. Thankyou.
6 - Gerry
Thank you all for the kind words! I had to edit the interview a bit for length and clarity but I did try and include as much as possible of it, so RSL's own voice came through. I'm glad you enjoyed it.