Gregory House’s friend and hospital oncologist in House M.D. is James Wilson. Wilson works at Princeton-Plainsboro and provides both medical expertise and personal support to House.
The friendship is one of the show’s emotional foundations. Wilson is generally more considerate and diplomatic than House, but he is not passive: he challenges House’s decisions, confronts his destructive behavior and sometimes refuses to enable him. Their differences create much of the series’ interpersonal drama.
Wilson’s oncology practice also gives him a distinct role in the hospital. He treats cancer patients and occasionally collaborates with House’s diagnostic team when a case involves malignancy. His professional specialty is therefore separate from House’s specialties in infectious disease and nephrology.
James Wilson is played by Robert Sean Leonard. The character’s first name is sometimes omitted because he is usually called “Wilson,” and viewers may confuse him with actor Robert Sean Leonard. The canonical character name is James Evan Wilson.