James Wilson (House) - Concept and Creation

Concept and Creation

"I like being on the side, I like kind of being the friend who pokes his head in and says, "How ya doin'? OK," and then goes home".

Robert Sean Leonard was not initially interested in auditioning for the role of James Wilson. He believes that he got the role because of his friendship with Bryan Singer, whom he had met in the past, shortly after he was paid for his role in Dead Poets' Society. Singer borrowed money from him to shoot Lion's Den starring his friend Ethan Hawke, who also attended high school with Singer. In 2004, Leonard received the scripts for the pilot of both House and CBS' Numb3rs (in which he was asked to audition for the part of Charlie Eppes). He thought the script for Numb3rs was "kinda cool". However, he decided to audition for the part of Wilson on House, because his character on Numb3rs was in almost every scene of the show.

Within the scope of a popular comparison that draws parallels between House and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes, Wilson is equivalent to Doctor Watson. In two-parts episodes such as Euphoria, Part 1 and Euphoria, Part 2, and House's Head and Wilson's Heart, Wilson's voice is heard narrating the story, while Dr. Watson is the character who narrates the stories in most of Sherlock Holmes novels. Leonard has said that his character and House were originally intended to play the role of Dr. Watson and Sherlock Holmes, respectively, in the series although he believes that House's team has assumed the role of Watson since the show has begun. Producer Katie Jacobs believes that Wilson and House both hide from mature relationships, which brings the two closer together. She has said that the difference between the two characters is that Wilson finds it hard to say no because he wants to please the other person. The similarities between Dr. Wilson and Dr. Watson was also one of the reasons that made Leonard choose House over Numb3rs.

Leonard has said that Wilson is one of the few characters to voluntarily maintain a relationship with House, because neither of them work for one another and thus his character has "nothing to lose" by telling him the truth. His character is one of the few who can make House laugh. Katie Jacobs has said that Wilson's moving into House's apartment after a failed relationship in "Sex Kills" symbolizes his taking "emotional refuge" in his friend. Leonard said that he is content with the size of his role, and wants to continue playing the character. He has also stated that he would "kill himself" if he had a role as big as the other cast members.