Jesse Spencer, the actor behind Dr. Robert Chase on FOX's House, has claimed he is a far cry from his on-screen persona, except, that is, when it comes to physical appearance.

“I am more laidback.  I am not so out to win.  I'm not without backbone.  And I'm very loyal.  I'm just a better person,” Spencer told thestar.com with a laugh.  Funnily enough, the 28-year-old actor from Australia initially expressed hesitance over the role, fearing House would prove to be a primetime version of General Hospital.  Fortunately, his agent sent him the script anyway, and upon realizing how funny and smart the show was, Spencer tried out for the part.

After his impressive audition in Britain, he was asked to come to Los Angeles for another round. He spent all of his money flying to the U.S. but considered it well spent.

“When I first came to the States, I used to stay at a little youth hostel at Melrose Avenue and I got my room for 40 bucks a night.  Life was hard at that point. It was a humble beginning, and that's good,” Jesse Spencer told thestar.com.  “I made a lot of friends at that hostel, whom I'm still friends with now.  It's really cool.  I was in the UK for four-and-a-half years and now I am in a new country with a fantastic job.”

Ironically though, his first role in American television required him to retain his Australian roots, much to the disdain of costar Hugh Laurie, who had to shed his British accent for the show.

“At the first read, though, when Chase was still English, Hugh was horrified because he was trying to get away from the English accent and I was reading in an English accent!  He was not happy about it,” Jesse Spencer said.  “It was really weird to act in my own accent. It was odd but I am used to it now.  I had to practise my accent for a while.  Now I cannot imagine going back, I feel comfortable.”

In another ironic twist, Spencer is the only one in his family who did not pursue a career in the medical field, which is why landing a role on House is a source of amusement for his family.

“They love the show because my brothers and doctor friends have their own diagnosis.  They love watching it more than anything because they beat House in coming up with a diagnosis.  My brother tells me that he yells and screams and throws things at the television,” Spencer said, laughing.  “It is all very dramatic because this is their world, so they know it very well.  It is very exciting and challenging for them because we do have some very interesting and rare cases.  They do occasionally take a case apart when we get something wrong.”


-Lisa Claustro, BuddyTV Staff Columnist
Source: thestar.com
(Image Courtesy of FOX)