"I feel like a hostage to fortune. Not that I am complaining. I wanted to play the role. But in truth I didn't think the show would be such a success. OK, I thought it would fail. Not because it was bad. I was confident it was good, but plenty of good things just sort of wither on the vine"

Hugh Laurie's quote speaks to the idea of taking risks and the unpredictability that includes it. He acknowledges that he wanted to handle the role, but he was unsure of the outcome. He was confident that the show was good, however he was aware that good ideas do not always prosper. He expresses his feeling of being a "hostage to fortune," implying that he is at the grace of fate and the unforeseeable nature of success. He is not complaining, however rather assessing the risks he took and the uncertainty of the result. His quote speaks with the idea that success is not ensured, and that taking threats can be a gamble.