TV Tattler: Celebrity Interviews

Tattling This Week: Lisa Edelstein Gives the Scoop on 'House'

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Nov. 22 – Maybe there's hope for Paris Hilton yet. After all, 'House' star Lisa Edelstein used to be the It Party Girl. Then she wrote a musical about AIDS and became a respected actress.

After some memorable roles on 'Seinfeld' and 'Felicity,' Edelstein landed the role of Dr. Lisa Cuddy, a no-nonsense hospital administrator whose chief job seems to be keeping the irascible, rule-breaking Dr. Gregory House (Hugh Laurie) in line.

Edelstein spoke to AOL Television editor Kelly Woo about her hard-partying days, her AIDS musical and the state of Dr. House's underwear.

You must be feeling good that the show is doing so well.
None of us are optimistic enough to ever feel that way. We all are very happy that we're doing what we're doing, and just take it as it comes. It's not that we're not optimistic about the show, you're just not dealing with a bunch of optimistic people. I think between Robert Sean Leonard and Hugh Laurie, and to some extent myself, we find humor in the pessimism rather than the optimism.

There are a lot of sparks between Dr. Cuddy and Dr. House. Will that relationship ever go anywhere?
There's always that possibility. They've certainly hinted at it, and I would love it. It would be great if that happened.

Why would they be good together?
They really get each other. They're definitely equals. They have mutual respect, and they understand each other.

Did you feel violated when Dr. House snooped around Dr. Cuddy's underwear drawer a couple episodes back?
It's interesting what a man will look for when he snoops around someone's house.

So what kind of underwear do you think House wears? Boxers or briefs?
I would say… I don't know. I would like to say briefs because they're cuter. Those aren't tighty-whities, we're not talking about that. Briefs are like the tighter shorts, right? I'm just gunning for those because they look better.

What's it like to work with Hugh Laurie?
He's a genius. He's extremely hilarious. He's an incredibly hard worker. He impresses me a great deal, and I love working with him. You know, the whole feeling on the set starts at the number one on the call sheet, which would be Hugh Laurie in our case, and he's just a genuinely lovely guy and he's working so hard.

Is it weird that he's British? They made fun of that at the Emmys.
When I met Hugh, when we were shooting the pilot, we shot in Vancouver. All my scenes were being shot at the very end, so I was there for a month not doing anything. So I was the person that everybody hung out with on their days off. I made up things to do, I was camp counselor. So I got to know Hugh on his days off, but I only heard his English accent. It wasn't until I went to work finally that I heard his American accent. At work he doesn't speak with an English accent, only American.

Do you ever get recognized from other shows, like 'Seinfeld'?
People who are 'Seinfeld' fans are avid, avid fans. They know exactly who you are. Even if you had one line on that show. So, yeah, I get recognized for 'Seinfeld.' I once rescued a dog and brought it to the pound – not to leave it there, but to be photographed there – and the woman there was able to reconnect the dog to the owner because when the owner came in a panic, she knew exactly who I was because it was that bitch from 'Felicity' who stole Ben and got pregnant. It was pretty funny.

Do you ever reflect on your days as a Hilton-like party girl?
I learned a lot from that time about celebrity, and that it's not a goal, that it certainly wasn't a goal that I was interested in and that if I wanted to be an actress because I wanted to be a celebrity, it wasn't a good enough reason. It made me step back and reassess what I was doing. Then, it inspired me to write the musical that I did, to do something that meant something to me.

Have you ever thought of putting that musical, 'Positive Me,' back on?
It's really outdated. It was meant for a very specific time, and that was when AIDS was killing people, there was no treatment and there was very little talk about it. President Reagan had never even said the word AIDS at that point. We had three matinees for some alternative high schools in Harlem. But it was very hard because we couldn't take it into the schools themselves because you weren't allowed to talk about sex and drugs in school. And the problem actually persists today. A large part of why so many people are dying in Africa is a lack of education. It's a crime that anybody is recommending only talking abstinence and not really discussing AIDS and sex and drugs.

Maybe you should update it for today's society then?
Well, maybe I will!