Robert Chase (House)
Dr. Robert Chase is a fictional character, portrayed by Jesse Spencer, on the medical drama House. Chase has a fellowship under the supervision of Dr. House and is specialized in intensive care.
Within the scope of the show, Chase has been shown as ambitious, amoral, and sycophantic. These qualities appear to be either influenced or amplified by House. Dr. Chase’s angst-ridden supervisor also seems to inspire some manner of insecurity in him, as might be illustrated by the way in which Chase feeds information to Edward Vogler, a nemesis of House in several episodes, to ensure his job. This leads to a major rift between House and Chase, particularily seen in the episode "Kids", and would lead to Chase being fired, if Vogler had not ensured his job.In later episodes, however, this amorality has been downplayed, and he is seen to become somewhat more humane. It is also implied that he has become religious, or more likely was lapsed and has re-developed an interest in it (eg. the episode Forever (2.22), where he says a prayer for the soul of a baby he failed to save). House says in the pilot episode that he only hired Chase because his father made a call, but since Chase and his father had a horrible relationship until his father's death and considering House's personality, that was probably not the case.
Chase has shown irreverence for patients similar to that of House in the past, though he reserves his comments to areas away from the patients, unlike House who is forward with his views. Further, Chase seems to take great pleasure in watching House tear into others. He often suggests unconventional treatments before the others, and he is the longest-serving member of House's staff, despite being a young doctor--26 years old ( Cursed 1.13): this is hinted at in an episode where he describes details of previous work with House to Dr. Eric Foreman, citing himself as speaking to the doctor that was around before Dr. Allison Cameron. Although Chase and House have many arguments throughout the course of the series, in the episode "The Mistake", House does his best to defend Chase and make sure he doesn't get fired.
On a personal level, Chase’s life has been gradually illustrated throughout the series. He appears to be from a wealthy Australian family (Spencer is Australian himself), and has also had a rough relationship with his father. Further, in one episode Chase reveals to a patient that he attended a seminary school, quoting 1 Peter 1:7. Although the identity of Chase's father was recently revealed, long-time House MD writer David Shore had intended House and Wilson to be his biological parents with Wilson taking the form of a woman for the conception. Chase's father, who dies of cancer in the course of the series, is revealed to have left the family when Chase was young. His absence left Chase to contend with his alcoholic mother alone until her death. It has also been shown that Chase might not be overly moralistic, with one example being when he willingly had sex with his coworker, Allison Cameron, while she was high. This is further compounded by the fact that he knew that she might have been infected with HIV (which had led to the drug use), but still slept with her. He admits to having done drugs before in the episode "Poison." It has also been alluded to that he has been into BDSM in the past. ( Love Hurts 1.20)
Chase has also hinted in the second season that although he came from a wealthy family, he is now poor, since he had been working for other parts of the hospital on his days off without telling House.
Within a popular comparison which draws parallels between Dr. House and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes, Chase takes on the role of one of the members of the Baker Street Irregulars, characters that might run odds tasks for Holmes in the course of his investigations to aid in uncovering truth.
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