- Born
- Nickname
- NPH
- Height6′ (1.83 m)
- Neil Patrick Harris was born in Albuquerque, New Mexico, on June 15,
1973. His parents, Sheila Gail (Scott) and Ronald Gene Harris, were lawyers
and ran a restaurant. He grew up in Ruidoso, New Mexico, a small town
120 miles south of Albuquerque, where he first took up acting in the
fourth grade. While tagging along with his older brother of 3 years,
Harris won the part of Toto in a school production of
The Wizard of Oz (1939).
His parents moved the family to Albuquerque in 1988, the same year that
Harris made his film debut in two movies:
Purple People Eater (1988)
and Clara's Heart (1988), which
starred Whoopi Goldberg. A year later,
when Neil was 16, he landed the lead role in
Steven Bochco's television series about a
teen prodigy doctor at a local hospital,
Doogie Howser, M.D. (1989),
which launched Harris into teen-heartthrob status. The series
lasted1989-1993 and earned him a People's Choice Award for Favorite
Male Performer in a New Series (1990) and a Golden Globe Nomination
(1990). Harris attended the same high school as
Freddie Prinze Jr., La Cueva High
School in Albuquerque. Neil acted on stage in a few plays while there,
one of which was his senior play,
Fiddler on the Roof (1971),
in which he portrayed Lazar Wolf the butcher (1991).
When "Doogie Howser, M.D." stopped production in 1993, Harris took up
stage acting, which he had always wanted to do. After a string of
made-for-television movies, Harris acted in his first big screen roles
in nine years,
Starship Troopers (1997) with
Casper Van Dien and then
The Proposition (1998). In July
1997, Harris accepted the role of Mark Cohen for the Los Angeles
production of the beloved musical,
Rent (2005). His performance in "Rent"
garnered him a Drama-League Award in 1997. He continued in the musical,
to rave reviews, until January 1998. He later reprised the role for six
nights in his hometown of Albuquerque, New Mexico, in December 1998.
In 1999, Harris returned to television in the short-lived sitcom
Stark Raving Mad (1999),
with Tony Shalhoub. He was also in the
big-screen projects
The Next Best Thing (2000)
and Undercover Brother (2002),
and he can be heard as the voice of Peter Parker/Spider-Man in the
newest animated Spider-Man (2003)
series. Harris has continued his stage work, making his Broadway debut
in 2001 in "Proof." He has also appeared on stage in "Romeo and
Juliet," "Cabaret,"
Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street in Concert (2001),
and, most recently, "Assassins." In 2005, Harris returned to the small
screen in a guest-starring role on
Numb3rs (2005) and a starring role in
the sitcom
How I Met Your Mother (2005).
Neil played the title role in the web-exclusive musical comedy
Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog (2008),
widely downloaded via iTunes to become the #1 TV series for five
straight weeks, despite not actually being on television.- IMDb Mini Biography By: ChristiRene80@aol.com
- SpouseDavid Burtka(September 6, 2014 - present) (2 children)
- ChildrenGideon Scott Burtka-HarrisHarper Grace Burtka-Harris
- ParentsSheila Gail ScottRonald Gene Harris
- RelativesBrian Harris(Sibling)
- Blond hair and blue eyes
- Often plays mischievous characters
- Often works his singing abilities into his roles
- Often works his abilities as an illusionist into his roles
- Often plays theatrical, over the top characters
- Enjoys Red Bull so much on and off the set of How I Met Your Mother (2005) that he was given a lifetime supply of it and a mini-refrigerator by the company that makes the drink because of the amount of free advertising he has given it.
- Has sung since he was a child. His father played the folk guitar and
together they entertained. - In 2011, Harris and Burtka told People magazine that they were each the biological father of one of their twins. Harris said: "We found an egg donor anonymously through a hilarious process of looking at people's profiles and then an amazing surrogate who had helped a same-sex couple before. And then we inserted two eggs, one with my sperm, one with David's sperm and they both took." Burtka added: "We don't know whose is whose.".
- He is an amateur magician, which he once demonstrated on the Jerry Lewis MDA Telethon.
- Typically, actors playing themselves on film are listed "as Himself" in the film's credits. Due to the over-the-top, outlandish nature of his role in Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle (2004) and Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay (2008), he requested that his credit read "Neil Patrick Harris" instead of "as Himself". This was to make clear that he was playing a fictional character that was in no way a true representation of himself.
- People Magazine, November 3, 2006: "Rather than ignore those who choose
to publish their opinions without actually talking to me, I am happy to
dispel any rumors or misconceptions and am quite proud to say that I am
a very content gay man living my life to the fullest and feel most
fortunate to be working with wonderful people in the business I love." - I heard through the grapevine that they'd written this movie and that I
was in it, and that I had to call my attorneys and make it stop -- that
it was a bad thing, and I read it and thought it was hilarious. A
friend was auditioning for a different part in the movie and said, 'do
you know about this movie that you're in?' - on playing "Neil Patrick Harris" in
Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle (2004). - Comedy is way more difficult than drama. What I might find funny, the editor might not find funny. They might choose the reaction shot from Take 4 with my line from Take 1 with my next line from Take 7, and then the timing that I was trying to do does not come across.
- She's like the coolest, nicest chick ever. She's an absolute catch, and
I thought if I'm not going to feel the super sparks with her, then it
probably means that I'm gay. [Speaking to Howard Stern about having
dated actress Christine Taylor in his early 20s]. - I'm not the biggest fan of the word 'partner'. It either means that we run a business together or we're cowboys. 'Boyfriend' seems fleeting, like maybe we met two weeks ago. I've been saying 'better half' for as long as I've been able to. I think it's a little self-deprecating and clearly defines that we're in a relationship, but it would be nice to say 'my husband'.
- How I Met Your Mother (2005) - $150,000 /episode (2009-10)
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