'House' Originals Omar Epps, Jennifer Morrison & Jesse Spencer Speak Out On The Show's Shift

Since last year's game changer, which had the House team of Foreman, Chase and Cameron disperse as a new group of ducklings was inducted, fans have been up in arms. Finally, the three actors who actually experienced the shift speak about it...

There has been a fair amount of controversy among the fans, regarding the changes in season four, which sidelined the original team in favor of the new team. What was your reaction to that?
Omar Epps: Well, season four was really about bringing the new team members in, but I think the writers original intention was to then integrate the new team with the old team. But the strike happened, so I don't think they got the chance to really pan that storyline out. We lost eight shows. That's two months of story lines. So season five is about that reconciliation, it all coming together, the new team with the old team, those new relationships, how the new team is working with House and how the new team is looking to Cameron and Chase for advice.

So we will see a lot more of Cameron and Chase this season?
Jennifer Morrison: Yes.

Were you nervous when you realized they weren't going to be using you as much last season?
JM: No, I wasn't nervous. It's so funny, people have this idea, as if something horrible was going on. It's just a long running show and things just sort of shift and change when they shift and change, you know? And I think we all felt like it was the right time for something to move. You can only do the same thing over and over again before you start to lose [viewers]. So I think it was important to bring in new people. I think it was important for all of our characters. I think it was important for the audience. I think it was important in terms of being able to reveal deeper and deeper levels of House's character. It was exciting for us to see the change. And then, as [Omar] said, ultimately, season five is really about that puzzle coming back together.

Jesse Spencer: I think the new team was a really, really good idea. I know that there was a lot of [concern] among the fans, saying that [the writers] have changed the show and all that stuff, but the idea of the same three doctors working under House [indefinitely] is unrealistic. Why would they be there? You know, it's a very difficult job. Why wouldn't they move on and do something else and be successful, not having to deal directly with this guy who is just nuts. I mean, he's a genius, and they've learned all the good stuff they can from him, but it was time for them to take that [knowledge] somewhere else.

JM: You know, there were a lot of separate elements last year. You had the new team coming in, you saw Cameron running the ER, Chase in surgery, Foreman trying to figure out where he fit in terms of being sort of the leader of the team but not really having power. And so everybody was in a different, somewhat uncomfortable position, and by setting up that kind of discomfort, they now have room to sort of start resolving all of that and seeing how it all fits back together. So from our perspective, as actors, I think we were all excited, because it's an opportunity to evolve as a show and evolve our individual characters.

So there will be a lot of interaction between the new team and the original team, but will we see what's going on with Foreman, Chase and Cameron apart from the newbies?
JM: Yeah, I think this season is going to be really fun. You definitely get to see how we all [come together], the old team relating to the new team, when they call on us for our opinions and advice. But Foreman starts to sort of step up and want something of his own, and so he starts taking on cases separate from House and then he kind of calls on Chase and Cameron and we pretty quickly jump on board to help him! I mean, it's like we kind of try to resist for a second, but the intrigue of that world is too much for us to say no to.

OE: I think Foreman sort of puts his foot down in a sense. He wants to assert his power. And this is actually the second time that's happened. [Last season], when the Survivor game was going on and House was still deciding on the new team, Foreman had come back and [the new team] -- which was larger at the time -- tried to rebel and they ended up being wrong and House sort of chastised them. And I think once they narrowed the team down to the final three, having had that experience, knowing that Foreman's been working with this guy for three years, they know they probably don't want to piss him off that much, that they may possibly need him as an ally in the future. But, at the same time, that's where House comes into play. House sort of pushes [the new team] to forget about that. He pushes them to ignore Foreman and ignore everything they think is normal to get the best out of them. Because that's how they're going to find the answer to the [medical] mysteries. But I think Foreman's had enough in a way.

JM: The three of us have worked under House for so long and we know him so well -- To the point where there are times in season five where Cameron is even anticipating what House will ask. You know, he's like, well do this, this and this and she's like, I've already done it. -- But they all got to a place where they were willing to walk away from him. You know, I got to a place where I felt like I'd learned everything that I could possibly learn from him. Foreman felt afraid that he was turning into House. Chase was fired, but was kind of on the verge of wanting to resign anyway. And so, in a sense, we were all ready to branch out. But once you've gone there with someone, once you've gone to that place of understanding that you may have to do something unethical to get the job done, and you may have to do the outrageous thing to save the life, you kind of can't go back. And so now, the three of us have this internal struggle of feeling like we do want to assert our independence and we do want to move into these other places, but we keep getting drawn back. It's like it's so hard to be away from that, because once you've been there, it's addictive. You want more. You want the excitement. You want the challenge of saving a life every week. And so I think that's what's interesting to watch this season: the three of us trying to deal with that internal struggle and then also seeing the new kids sort of being turned into what we've already become.

What you've become as a product of House's school of medicine?
JM: Yes. You watch them go, wow this is a really tough place to be, because to operate in the medical world, you do have to have ethics, you do have to have morals, you can't normally get away with what House would push you to do. So how do you exist in the normal, medical world again once you've been there with him? And so seeing the juxtaposition of us next to the newbies is interesting. It's like they're still a little bit virginal in a sense and we've sort of been tainted, and to see those two things next to each other and to see us kind of helping push them to that new place, but knowing that there really will be that internal struggle because of it, it's just interesting. I think it sets up a lot of drama and conflict.

Will we see you getting to know the new team on a personal level?
JM: I think so. I mean, we're just getting into that now. What we're shooting now is sort of the beginning of that puzzle working. There are several scenes where I'm doing DDXs with Cutner and Taub. So it's interesting to suddenly be in a completely different dynamic with those two when I'm used to doing differentials with Chase and Foreman. I think there are going to be a lot of different pairings of the old team and the new team, a little different mixing and matching based on the needs of each patient.

And how about Cameron and Chase's personal life? They are still a couple, no?
JS: Yeah, apparently so.

Executive producer Katie Jacobs has said that there will be an upcoming episode that focuses on their relationship. Can you talk about that?
JS: Yeah, you know, Cameron was always the one who was unsure about the relationship. Chase was very sure about it and knew that he wanted to be with her. And that issue hasn't really gone away. That sort of comes back and Cameron has to decide what she really wants. We learn more about Chase and Cameron through their relationship which is basically the way that we bring out the different parts of these characters.

And will we see more of your characters' professionally this season as well?
JS: Yes.

Having moved on to practicing more conventional medicine, do you ever miss the thrill of the diagnostic and being a part of the crazy cases?
JS: No. [Laughs] Just, as an actor, actually doing those [diagnostic] scenes, we used to call that outer office "the room of death." Because you spend so much time in there talking jargon, after awhile you just feel like you're speaking a foreign language, it's very odd. So I'm now really enjoying when they have a major surgery and they come along and ask me to do it or not to do it. And there's usually a major operation in every episode, so now my scenes often involve discussing with the new team what they want and whether I should do it or whether I should do it just because House wants it and is it the right thing. I enjoy that.

You like the direction they're taking you in.
JS: Yeah, I'd like to see him continue to move up the ranks in surgery. I think that's a really good position for him, he has a little bit more power. He can make decisions, saying yes or no, and he hadn't really had that before, because when he was working for House, he had to do what House said. And now, he's working for Cuddy, so he have the power to say no to something if he think it's not right. But also, Chase is a bit of a brown noser, so he still doesn't mind taking the path of least resistance and just doing things to please House.

What would you say to the fans who are heartbroken about you having less screen time?
JM: They are so sweet! Every time I'm out, I hear, why aren't you on the show?! I'm like, I didn't write it! It's not my decision! [Laughs] People get mad at me like it was my decision! It's interesting, though. The old team was the original House team. And so we very much represent the original audience in a sense.  And then, the new team kind of represents the new audience that's come in. We have both those dynamics going on in the show, and it seems to dictate who relates to who. If you run into a newer fan, they usually relate to someone on the new team. If they've been watching the show since day one, they usually relate to one of us.

But I've been incredibly blessed this year because I've had the opportunity to work on other projects and do House, which is, talk about a dream situation. I love this show and I love this character and I wouldn't want to be anywhere else, but at the same time, to have some space to branch out, I have zero complaints. I was able to do Star Trek and then I also did a film called Table For Three, and as an actor, I so love having new challenges as well, so to have both, it's been like, pinch me! And [on House] I think there are just so many more places we can go emotionally now having nine of us to interact instead of just the six characters that everyone was already used to.