Emma Thompson Once Compared Ex-Boyfriend Hugh Laurie to a "Well-Hung Eel"

Who: Two-time SAG Award and three-time Golden Globe Award-winning actor Hugh Laurie, 60, and two-time Oscar-winning actress Emma Thompson, 60.

How They Met: Laurie and Thompson met through the University of Cambridge’s drama club, the Footlights, in which they were both members through the late ‘70s and early ‘80s.

In addition to his membership in the Footlights, Laurie was also on the crew team. Thompson described him during this period as being “enormous and eating steak all the time. And asleep for the rest of the time” — oh, and also “very funny.”

Why We Love(d) Them: Decades post-split, the British actors remain close and incredibly complimentary of each other. Laurie even spoke at Thompson’s Hollywood Walk of Fame induction in 2010, telling the crowd that his longtime friend and colleague had always “oozed talent.”

"She said talented things, she wore talented clothes, she rode a talented bicycle, she made talented spaghetti. She is a truly remarkable person, a very good friend, and I could not be prouder," Laurie gushed.

Thompson has said sweet (if not incredibly strange) things about Laurie as well. In 2000 she told The Guardian, Laurie “is very loveable,” adding, “He is one of those rare people who manages to be lugubriously sexy, like a well-hung eel.” Can’t say we have a frame of reference for that simile, but we’ll take Thompson’s word on it.

When They Peaked: According to an Interview Magazine piece Thompson spoke to Laurie for in 2008, the pair used to drive around in Laurie’s convertible, which is the most wholesome image my brain could ever hope to conjure.

The Breakup: During Laurie’s speech at Thompson’s Hollywood Walk of Fame ceremony, the House star got real about their breakup, revealing Thompson “dumped me for a mime artist.” Perhaps it was a mime who reminded her of a well-hung, uh ... squid?

Where They Are Now:

Thompson wed Irish actor Kenneth Branagh in 1989. They split in 1995 and she then wed fellow Brit Greg Wise in 2003. Thompson and Wise share two children: Gaia, 20, and Tindyebwa Agaba, whom they informally adopted when he was a teen.

The actress recently wrapped production on Disney’s Cruella.

Laurie wed Jo Green in 1989. The couple shares three children: Charles, 31, William, 29, and Rebecca, 26.

The TV star is currently leading HBO’s sci-fi comedy Avenue 5, which airs its premiere on Sunday, Jan. 19.