he said his friends called him hugh since high school, so he kind of got used to it :) btw, you should post questions like these in hugh laurie spot, no offence :)
not sure why he goes by the name hugh instead of james without looking it up :P however, most actors do chose a different name as their 'stage name'. but i do know that his full name is james hugh callum laurie! :) hope i was of some help!
I am fairly sure that it is because he knew that as of this point in my life, my two favorite male actors are named "Hugh". That would be Hugh Laurie and Hugh Jackman. In order to meet the needs of destiny, he went with his middle name. Just a thought...lol. Sorry, just a little goofy this evening.
Probably because he may have been named after a member of his family, who was also names James. For example, my dad was named after his uncle Don, and his name is Donald Scott. But everyone he knows calls him Scott, so they don't get confused between him and his uncle. It's very common.
