Character from House M.D. by David Shore
The brightest and most optimistic of House's new fellows — a creative genius who loved puzzles, magic tricks, and making people like him, and whose suicide no one saw coming, including House.
Kutner was the fellow who actually enjoyed working for House. Not in the masochistic way the others tolerated it, but genuinely — he liked the crazy tasks, the impossible hours, the diagnostic puzzles. When House sent the fellows to dig up a grave, Kutner was the one who broke into the casket with enthusiasm. He set himself on fire with a defibrillator, nearly electrocuted himself on a wet patient, and treated every catastrophe as an opportunity to learn something new. Born Lawrence Choudhary, he watched his parents get murdered during a convenience store robbery when he was six. Adopted by the Kutners, he channeled his trauma into science — physics degree from Berkeley, medical school in Tel Aviv, a Westinghouse Science Award in high school. He modeled himself after Hawkeye Pierce from M*A*S*H. He wanted to be the doctor who was also funny, also kind, also the person you'd want in the room when everything was falling apart. His suicide in Season 5 is the show's most shocking moment precisely because nothing predicted it. House couldn't accept it — insisted it was murder, investigated the apartment, refused to believe his diagnostic instincts had failed him so completely. Kutner's death triggered House's psychological breakdown and eventual hospitalization at Mayfield.
Early thirties, South Asian descent with warm brown skin, dark hair, and an open, friendly face that makes patients trust him immediately. Average height, slightly stocky build. Dresses casually under his lab coat. Always looks like he's about to smile — the default expression of someone who genuinely enjoys being alive, which makes his death all the more devastating.
Also known as: Kutner, Lawrence, Dr. Kutner, Number 6