Hugh Laurie: What comes after 'House'?

What's next for Hugh Laurie?

Presumably, a rest. He told a British newspaper in February, "We are on such a conveyor belt, and it can get overwhelming." And there will be plenty of family time, too, back in the United Kingdom. "I've missed bath times and dentist appointments," said the actor, who has spent much of the past 10 years going back and forth between Los Angeles and London, where his wife and three children live.

Then, there's work. He is expected to reunite with close friend and longtime colleague Stephen Fry, although Fry -- who recently tweeted the news -- indicated the project would be only an animated adaptation of Oscar Wilde's famous and much-adapted short story "The Canterville Ghost." Both will voice characters (Laurie is a seasoned voice actor, including work on "Monsters vs. Aliens" and "Arthur Christmas").

Friends since Cambridge, Laurie and Fry were something of a dynamic comedy duo in the United Kingdom, co-starring in "Jeeves and Wooster" in the early '90s, and in the sketch show "A Bit of Fry and Laurie" in the mid-'90s.

Laurie also is starring in "Mister Pip," a movie based on the 2007 novel by New Zealand author Lloyd Jones. Filmed on Bougainville Island, east of New Guinea, it's about a somewhat eccentric teacher, Mr. Watts (Laurie), who, after all the other Westerners have fled the island during World War II, has remained behind, spending his days reading "Great Expectations" to the students. The film does not yet have a release date.