Unfortunately its very true. Personally, in the movies, I say that Hugh Laurie would have been a much better choice over Robert Downey Jr. Look wise, its a better choice, and Laurie already has experience being a smart, overly confident problem solver who notices those small things that make the case.
House is based Sherlock, who is(in part) based on Dr. Joseph Bell, who was the subject of the book House got for Christmas that Wilson made up a story involving House falling for a patient named Irene Adler in the episode "Joy to the World".