For every Nicole Kidman or Mel Gibson or Russell Crowe, there were countless Australian actors who found it difficult to transition to stardom in Hollywood. However, Jesse Spencer was one of the lucky few Aussies to make a name for himself, most especially with his role on the popular TV medical drama “House M.D.” (Fox, 2004- ). As intensive care specialist Dr. Robert Chase, Spencer offered both “eye candy” for the casual viewer, and a intriguingly layered character that he embodied with ease for the more diehard fans of the show.
Born Feb. 12, 1979 in Melbourne, Australia, Spencer was the son of a doctor, Robert Spencer (both of his brothers were also doctors, and his sister attended medical school), who with his wife Robyn, founded the controversial conservative political party Australians Against Further Immigration. Spencer caught the acting bug after joining the Australian Boys Choir. Roles in local theater productions lead to his first professional acting job, that of Christopher Robin in a musical production of “Winnie the Pooh.” He made his on-screen debut in a 1994 episode of the syndicated science fiction series, “Time Trax” (1993-94).
That same year, Spencer auditioned for the role of William “Billy” Kennedy on the popular Aussie soap opera “Neighbors” (1985- ), best known as the program which also introduced Kylie Minogue. Spencer’s good looks helped make him something of a teen idol during his six-year run on the show – during which time, he was crowned “King of TV” by TV Hits magazine in 1999 – but he found the attention not to his liking and departed for the United Kingdom to seek less restrictive roles.
Once there, Spencer found work in a variety of projects, ranging from a BBC production of “Lorna Doone” (2000) to a more heartthrob-type part in a lightweight Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen film, “Winning London” (2001). In 2003, Spencer returned to his native country to star opposite Geoffrey Rush and Judy Davis as real-life Australian sports hero Anthony Fingleton, who endured a troubled childhood to become a champion swimmer in the ‘50s and ‘60s in the film, "Swimming Upstream" (2003). That same year, he appeared in the American comedy “Uptown Girls” as star Brittany Murphy’s love interest; the film also providing him the opportunity to prove his pipes by singing two songs from the film.
In 2004, Spencer signed on as Dr. Chase on “House M.D.” The role was an intriguing and layered one, with Chase being a child of privilege whose famous doctor father abandoned his family while the character was a teenager, leaving him to contend with an alcoholic mother. Chase was perhaps the closest in regards to personality to Hugh Laurie’s lead character of House – both possessing a streak of self-centeredness and a willingness to fly against the norm of medical diagnosis to heal a patient. He was also more than happy to sit back and enjoy the drubbing his colleagues endured from House. In the show’s second season, however, things got heated between the show’s two male leads when Chase regularly leaked information about House and his team to Edward Vogler (Chi McBride), a wealthy businessman who had bought his way onto the hospital board. The resulting rift between House and Chase appeared to have been resolved; indeed, viewers were left with the impression that the older doc found the gall of his younger colleague somewhat impressive.
Since the quirky show’s inception, Spencer had been primarily occupied with his work as Dr. Chase, save for a single independent feature, “Flourish,” in which he was top-billed with his “House” co-star Jennifer Morrison. The pair was also reportedly romantically involved off-screen, but even after being captured on camera together at numerous events, both refused to discuss their relationship to the press.