Neil Patrick Harris life and biography

Neil Patrick Harris is an American actor, singer, director, and magician.

Prominent roles of his career include the title role in Doogie Howser, M.D., Colonel Carl Jenkins in Starship Troopers, the womanizing Barney Stinson in How I Met Your Mother, a fictionalized version of himself in the Harold & Kumar series, Patrick Winslow in The Smurfs, and the title role in Joss Whedon's musical web series Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog.

Harris began his career as a child actor and was discovered by playwright Mark Medoff at a drama camp in Las Cruces, New Mexico. Medoff casted him in his 1988 film Clara's Heart, a drama with Whoopi Goldberg based on the novel of the same name by Joseph Olshan. Clara's Heart won him a Golden Globe nomination. In 1988, he also starred in Purple People Eater, a children's fantasy. The following year, he won the lead in Doogie Howser, M.D., for which he was again nominated for a Golden Globe.
After Doogie Howser's four-season run ended in 1993, Harris played a number of guest roles on television series, such as Murder She Wrote, before taking his first film role as an adult in 1995 in the little-seen shocker Animal Room. Since then, his film work has included supporting roles in The Next Best Thing, Undercover Brother, and Starship Troopers. He also plays a fictionalized version of himself in the Harold and Kumar stoner comedy films (Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle and Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay).

From 1999 to 2000, Harris starred with Tony Shalhoub in the sitcom Stark Raving Mad, which lasted 22 episodes. He has taken lead roles in a number of made-for-television features including Snowbound: The Jim and Jennifer Stolpa Story in 1994, My Ántonia in 1995, The Christmas Wish in 1998, Joan of Arc in 1999, The Wedding Dress in 2001, and The Christmas Blessing in 2005, as well as series guest roles.
Harris at the 2008 Comic Con in San Diego, California.

Harris has worked on Broadway in both musical and dramatic roles. He played Tobias Ragg in the 2001 concert performances of Sweeney Todd. In 2002, he performed on Broadway beside Anne Heche in Proof. In 2003, he took the role of the Emcee in Cabaret alongside Deborah Gibson and Tom Bosley. As a result of his critically acclaimed performance in Cabaret, Harris was named the top-drawing headliner in the role of the Emcee by GuestStarCasting.com, topping fellow celebrity stars John Stamos and Alan Cumming.

In 2004, he performed a dual role of the Balladeer and Lee Harvey Oswald on Broadway in the controversial musical revival of Stephen Sondheim's Assassins. He also sang the role of Charles (first played by Anthony Perkins) on the Nonesuch recording of Sondheim's Evening Primrose. He has also portrayed Mark Cohen in the touring company of the musical RENT as a character who he mockingly reprised on the January 10, 2009, episode of Saturday Night Live, which he hosted. Since Fall of 2005, Harris has played Barney Stinson, a serial womanizer, in the CBS ensemble sitcom How I Met Your Mother. The Stinson role earned him 2007, 2008, 2009, and 2010 Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series nominations.

In 2007, Harris worked with Mike Nelson on an audio commentary for RiffTrax. The two riffed on the film Willy Wonka And The Chocolate Factory. Harris is a big fan of the cult TV series Nelson worked on, Mystery Science Theater 3000. He was actually interviewed for a 1992 Comedy Central special hosted by Penn Jillette, who did voiceovers for Comedy Central's programming at that time, about the series This Is MST3K and its fans. In 2008, Harris took the title role in Joss Whedon's musical web series Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog alongside Nathan Fillion and Felicia Day. The first episode of the series debuted July 15, 2008. In 2008, Harris also guest-starred on Sesame Street as the Sesame Street Fairy Shoe Person. On April 26, 2009, Harris hosted the 7th Annual TV Land Awards.

After a highly successful preview at the San Diego Comic-Con, a musical episode of Batman: The Brave and the Bold, featuring Harris as the villainous Music Meister, premiered on October 23, 2009 on Cartoon Network. As a character who could make anyone do his bidding by singing, he spent most of the episode singing several original songs. He then provided his voice for the role of the adult Dick Grayson (Nightwing) for the animated film Batman: Under the Red Hood which was released on July 27, 2010. and the beagle Lou in the film Cats & Dogs: The Revenge of Kitty Galore that was released July 30, 2010. On November 8, 2010, it was revealed that Harris had provided his voice to the Disney California Adventure attraction California Screamin'.

He also played the lead in the indie comedy The Best and the Brightest as a carefree father who uproots his family from Delaware to move to New York City's Upper East Side. Later he appeared as a guest judge on Season 9 of American Idol in August 2009 auditions taped in Dallas, Texas.Because of his proficient singing skills, English stage producer Cameron Mackintosh had voiced interest in producing a Broadway revival of the musical Barnum (which originally starred Michael Crawford and Jim Dale) with Harris in the title role.

Harris won an Emmy for his performance as Bryan Ryan in the television series Glee in the episode titled "Dream On"and hosted the 65th Annual Tony Awards on June 12, 2011 for the second time.

Harris performed the lead role of Bobby, in Stephen Sondheim's Company from April 7–9, 2011 with the New York Philharmonic in concert opposite Patti LuPone and others.

He directed a production of the rock musical Rent. The stage production ran from August 6 – 8, 2010 at the Hollywood Bowl. Harris cast his Beastly co-star Vanessa Hudgens as Mimi. He will be making his directorial debut in the upcoming movie Aaron and Sarah, starring Josh Hutcherson and Emma Roberts which is set to be released in 2013.

Harris is openly gay, confirming this in November 2006 by saying "...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."
Harris received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2011 and he was named as one of TIME magazine's 100 most influential people in 2010.

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