Hugh Laurie is making a house call...to his own home.
The
House star abruptly took a break from filming on the doctor drama series Thursday afternoon to fly back to London to deal with unspecified "family obligations."
"Hugh had family obligations in England to attend to, but production is continuing in his absence," Universal Media Studios, which produces the Fox hit, said in a statement.
Producers and publicists—and Laurie himself—have remained tight-lipped about the apparently pressing nature of the family obligations, but the actor's rep said the star would be back on set by Monday.
It's unclear how much advance notice was given to producers by Laurie for his sudden transatlantic flight; per the
Hollywood Reporter, producers were left scrambling to rearrange the Thursday schedule in the wake of their 48-year-old star's absence.
Laurie's rep, however, said the trip had already been cleared with the show's producers.
The actor's family, including his wife of 18 years, Jo, and three children, has remained in England since Laurie decamped to the U.S. to take on the role of Dr. Gregory House back in 2004.
There doesn't seem to be any hidden motivation behind the abrupt trip. Laurie, a two-time Golden Globe winner and two-time Emmy nominee, has been rewarded handsomely for his efforts. The actor, who appears in nearly every scene of Fox's top-rated drama, renewed his contract in a deal that earns him more than $300,000 an episode, placing him among TV's highest paid actors.
The show's fourth season kicked off last month.