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Off-screen, Olivia Wilde, an Irish-American actress from a family of journalists, was one of the final four performers being considered for a regular role in David Shore's Emmy and Golden Globe Award-winning series that stars Hugh Laurie as dyspeptic diagnostician. On-screen, Wilde's character, dismissively nicknamed Thirteen by a Dr. House fed up with keeping track of medical residents by name, was one of the candidates to fill a full-time vacancy on House's diagnostic medical team. In true House fashion, Dr. House made his final decision -- one of the other candidates -- only to be overruled by his boss, Dr. Cuddy, played by Lisa Edelstein. Then, in another twist characteristic of House's predilection for emotional and psychological curveballs, it turned out that House wanted Thirteen all along: He had simply manipulated Cuddy into making the decision for him, much to Cuddy's annoyance. Wilde can't help but laugh when she thinks about the strange twists of fate that have brought her to this point. A year ago, she believed she would have had as much chance to land a role in House as play quarterback for the New England Patriots. She had just landed a plum part as the lone female principal player in The Black Donnellys, Paul Haggis's first foray into series TV after scoring an Oscar double with Crash and his screenplay for Million Dollar Baby. The Black Donnellys was that increasing rarity in series TV -- a sure thing. Only, the sure thing didn't quite work out as expected. Wilde ended up on the unemployment line, wondering about her future and considering whether to take up the family calling in journalism. She had recently been passed over for the role of Bond girl Vesper Lynd in Casino Royale. This acting thing wasn't working out. And then House came along, and with it an opportunity to prove her chops in front of some 20 other job candidates in House's season premiere. Hairy, yes. But fun, too. "It meant none of us took anything for granted," Wilde recalled, "which was great. We never knew if our characters were in a short-term arc or if we were there for a while. It made it more of a mystery and kept us on our toes. There was no chance to get lazy, no time for laziness, and I think that's why the performances turned out as well as they did." The result? "Pretty exciting. And pretty stressful." And then, the moment she and fellow performers Kal Penn and Peter Jacobson were signed on as series regulars, the writers' strike struck. "So we still haven't had a moment to take it for granted," she said, laughing. "I keep telling myself that's good, that that's a healthy outlook to have." Ironically, her character Thirteen plays a prominent role in the new episodes of House that have yet to air. Her character is masking a secret, too: Thirteen suffers from Huntington's disease, a rare -- and hard to diagnose -- neurological disorder.
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