Cast Bios

Robert Sean Leonard Dr. James Wilson

Actor Bio
Character Bio

Robert Sean Leonard has carved a distinguished career on stage and screen. He is a three-time Tony Award nominee and won the 2001 Tony Award for Best Featured Actor for his performance in "The Invention of Love." In 2003, he was nominated in the same category for his performance in "Long Day's Journey into Night," which also starred Brian Dennehy, Vanessa Redgrave and Philip Seymour Hoffman. He was most recently seen on stage in the 2011 Broadway revival of "Born Yesterday."

Leonard's extensive theater credits include "The Violet Hour," the Broadway productions of "The Music Man"; "The Iceman Cometh" with Kevin Spacey; "Arcadia"; "Candida," for which he received a Tony nomination; "The Speed of Darkness"; "Breaking the Code"; and "Brighton Beach Memoirs." He also appeared in the West End production of "Our Town."

In 2001, Leonard starred in Richard Linklater's film "Tape" with Ethan Hawke and Uma Thurman, and was in the ensemble drama "Chelsea Walls," directed by Hawke and based on the playÂ of the same name.

Born in New Jersey, Leonard began acting at age 14 at the Public Theater in New York. At 19, he made his film debut in the acclaimed "Dead Poets Society" starring opposite Robin Williams and Hawke. His film credits include "Much Ado About Nothing," "The Age of Innocence" and "Mr. & Mrs. Bridge."

While filming HOUSE, Leonard lives in Los Angeles with his wife, daughter and two dogs.

Dr. James Wilson is the head of the oncology department at Princeton-Plainsboro Teaching Hospital. He's Dr. Gregory House's best, and arguably only, friend. His bedside manner might be described as the opposite of House's: compassionate, interested, and empathetic.

Wilson and House's friendship dates back many years and has been sorely tested on several occasions. Wilson was voted off the hospital board and had his bank accounts frozen for his allegiance to House; in neither case did his friend seem particularly remorseful or grateful for the loyalty shown him.

The breaking point came after the death of Wilson's girlfriend, Amber Volakis, who was killed while attending to a drunken House. Wilson didn't blame House for Amber's death, but he felt that House was a toxic presence in his life, and so he cut off all contact with his friend. However, he didn't stay away long, admitting that he does enjoy being around House, despite his misanthropic tendencies.

Married three times, Wilson recently began a relationship with his second ex-wife, Sam. But a fight over trust convinced Sam that while she had grown during their time apart, Wilson hadn't, and she left him.

House regularly seeks Wilson's counsel, particularly over issues concerning the hospital's Dean of Medicine, Dr. Lisa Cuddy, though many times the rational, thoughtful advice Wilson imparts is lost on House, who tends to hear what he wants to hear. Wilson may have unwittingly helped direct House toward his catastrophic crash through Cuddy's living room, when he encouraged House to express his anger over their breakup, rather than keep it bottled up.