On the House Job '5 to 9' with Lisa Edelstein

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by Troy Rogers

With Fox's hit medical drama, House, now in its sixth season, actress Lisa Edelstein has captured the hearts of TV fans as Princeton Plainsboro's Dean of Medicine, Dr. Lisa Cuddy. Although the cat and mouse relationship between the Edelstein embodied Dr. Cuddy and Hugh Laurie's House character has been a source of intriguing tension and conflict for the past five seasons of House, Lisa Edelstein found Dr. Cuddy becoming the object of House's hallucinations in House Season 6, which now sees Edelstein step into her own episode called "5 of 9" on Monday, February 8 at 8pm.

Leading up to "5 of 9" on House, which gives fans an on-the-job view of the Dean of Medicine through the eyes of Dr. Cuddy, we joined a conference call with actress Lisa Edelstein to learn more about the challenges Dr. Cuddy faces in her daily routine, her feelings for both House and Lucas, how Cuddy has changed over the years, and whether we'll ever see Lisa Edelstein step behind the camera to direct an episode of House.

What was it like in an episode focused on Cuddy?

LISA EDELSTEIN: It was really exciting. It was exciting because I've been working with these people for a very long time and to be given that kind of opportunity was really special. They sent me the script weeks earlier than usual, where I could have notes about dialog, notes about story line; make script suggestions, which is not normal for our process at House. Even during filming, I just felt like I had a lot more power in terms of interacting with the writer and director. I really loved it. Plus, I was there 16 hours a day, which is a lot of hard work. But, it's really fun to set the pace and the tone of the stage, to be given that opportunity, especially with people that I've known for quite some time.

What do you hope that people glean from this episode, aside from Cuddy has a lot on her plate on any given day? What do you hope their take away is as far as your character that they might not have picked up on over the past years?

EDELSTEIN: Well, there's a lot of things I like about the episode in addition to the fact that you get a real glimpse into what it means to run a hospital. Because sometimes you see complaints that people don't think that Cuddy's very good at her job. I don't really think they know what her job is. Now you get a really clearer view of that.

I like the difference between her relationship with Lucas and her relationship with House. I think on one hand you see this kind of uncomplicated ease with this guy who's just showing up. He shows up. He actually does his best and shows up and wants to be there versus the guy that she had this long, deep, fascinating, back-and-forth with that she can't seem to steer clear of and what he actually means in her world, how he affects her world. So, I think there's a lot of levels to it.

The episode hints at the occasional disconnect with Lucas. Do you think if she does end up bailing on that romance it'll be to go to House or just to not be with Lucas?

EDELSTEIN: I don't know, because they don't tell me. So, I would hate to guess. But, I that think sometimes you just want to be in the relationship that looks good on paper and that is the relationship you think you're supposed to be in. But, I'm not sure that that really works.

So, when and if that doesn't work, I guess what you would do is really give it a shot with the thing that excites you most. But that's going to sound like a spoiler, and it actually isn't because I haven't the faintest idea what's happening.

One of my favorite moments in the "Wilson" episode earlier this year was the scene where Wilson was doing something completely, unrelated to anything that involved House. In the background, you saw the team with the patient on the gurney in the hallway, and crazy things. It really did impress on me that, 'Wow! Wilson really does have a life and career that doesn't involve House.' How interesting to see that, and again, with you, you get to have those moments, too. Is that really cool and fun and interesting for you?

EDELSTEIN: I think so. I hope the audience thinks so, because again, it is really nice to see, to fill in the blanks, and to make the picture more complete. So that you know when House is causing problems for Cuddy, what the rest of the things on Cuddy's plate are. When they interrupt something in the hallway to have a debate about a case that has nothing to do with what she's doing and the rest of her day, how she has to focus and deal with it and resolve it and move on. I mean, I just think it is fun to see that. It is fun to fill in the blanks.

A lot of fans have expressed their, I guess, anger or just dislike about the Cuddy-Lucas relationship? What do you think it is that Cuddy sees in Lucas that no one else can?

EDELSTEIN: I think he shows up. I think he helps her with her life. He's uncomplicated, very loyal, and has sex with her. I think that those things mean a lot to somebody who's got a world like hers, which can be very overwhelming. The question remains, 'Is that enough?'

But I think for right now, it's something she really needed to explore having because she's been alone for a while, a long time and kind of chasing after a House that was completely unavailable. So, this season, suddenly he turns around and announces he's available, but it's years that this has been going on. It's not so easy.

You've played this character for a while now. How do you think Cuddy's changed over the years?

EDELSTEIN: Well, I don't think characters change. I think they become more revealed. I don't think you really can change a character on a show. David Shore was talking about this, as well, a while back, because if you change the character, then the dynamic changes.

I think what happen is in the first season of any episode, as the audience, you're presented with a vague picture of these people. You, as an audience member, project onto them your idea of who they are and how they fit. As the years go by and the writers get to write more deeply about each individual, they just expose themselves little by little. I don't mean that in a nude way. Although, actually I do because that's pretty much what happened with my character. Every season, I become more and more disrobed.

Do you think that Cuddy would have settled, well, if settle is the right word, for the guy she's with right now if she hadn't had the child? Do you think he was sort of like ...?

EDELSTEIN: I think that having a child definitely changed her attitude about relationships, absolutely. I think him being in her life is really directly related to that. She really needs somebody she can rely on.

I don't think anyone can really fully prepare for having a child. I don't think there's any way of preparing for what that means to your world. This is a woman who already had a really full world. She needs reliable people in her life.

House and Cuddy seem to begin to repair their relationship just a little bit, in "5 to 9". Really for the first time, I think, since almost from the beginning of the season. Is that going to continue to evolve?

EDELSTEIN: Again, they really don't tell me what the goal is. But I did really like that and I liked the way it looked next to her relationship with Lucas because there is something very special between House and Cuddy that also is historical and deeply complicated, but has a nice weight to it, which is a very confusing thing to have in your life when you're trying to do what you think is the right thing on paper.

Do you have any acting plans beyond House? Or, would you like to write or direct an episode like Hugh Laurie has done?

EDELSTEIN: No, I don't think I'm going to write or direct an episode. Writing an episode would be an enormous challenge because they work about six months on these cases in trying to find diseases that can be confused for other things that yet you can tell a story with that's interesting. I mean, it's a very complicated process. Watching Hugh do the directing, it actually was really a little more inspiring, because I hadn't really thought about it before. Ultimately, I'm just thinking of things will interest me when House is finally done, which I don't even know when that is, and in the meantime, just trying to see as much of the world as I possibly can.

During the filming process during this episode, did you ever think, 'Wow! I can relate to Dr. Cuddy in this episode.' Like her life is so busy and it's such a balancing act?

EDELSTEIN: Well, absolutely; she's trying to do everything. I'm just glad there is an episode that shows how much it is she actually has to do, how much is on her plate. Representing single moms, and single working moms and what they do is always nice because they're unsung heroines.

Given that House's pessimistic attitude toward life is such a key element of the show, do you think that the show would still be able to have the same effect if your character and House were in a happy relationship?

EDELSTEIN: Well, I don't think just because people are in a relationship that they're happy. I don't think relationships necessarily make people happy. You just are happy or you're not happy. So, I think if they were ever to get together, there would be no loss in the misery level.