Overview (3)

Mini Bio (1)

Spouse (1)

Trade Mark (5)

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



Trivia (45)

Both of his parents are lawyers.





Went to the same high school as Freddie Prinze Jr.

Has sung since he was a child. His father played the folk guitar and together they entertained.



His parents own a restaurant called "Perreniel's" in Albuquerque. His brother is now running the restaurant.





Based on his Los Angeles stage performance in the musical Rent, he was attached to play Mark Cohen in a television mini series based on the Broadway musical, with Wilson Cruz as Angel, Rikki Lee Travolta as Roger Davis, and singer Shakira as Mimi, but the rights were pulled in order for Chris Columbus to make a film adaptation using much of the original Broadway cast including Anthony Rapp in the role of Mark.

He was the "Not My Job" guest on the April 5, 2008, episode of the National Public Radio quiz show "Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me!".





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 (2004) and Harold & Kumar - Flucht aus Guantanamo (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.

He is credited using all three names because there was already a different actor named Neil Harris in the Screen Actors Guild by the time he first got his SAG card. Harris joked on NPR's "Fresh Air with Terry Gross" that he uses all three names because it's "far more theatrical," and that he and his parents considered using names like "Neil Danger Harris" or "Neil Patrick Rocket".





Has been in a committed relationship with stage and screen actor David Burtka , his partner since 2004.



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.

Recipient of the 2009 The Trevor Life Award, which annually honors an "individual who, through his or her example, support, volunteerism and/or occupation, is an inspiration to Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, or Questioning youth." The award is presented by The Trevor Project, a national crisis and suicide prevention organization helping LGBTQ young people who are facing familial rejection or considering suicide. The next year, he was elected to the Board of Directors of the Trevor Project.





In 2010, Time Magazine named Harris one of their 100 Most Influential People in the World. Joss Whedon wrote the short article on Harris in the issue.



Told Howard Stern that he had plastic surgery to pin his ears back so that they would not stick out as much as they did when he was an adolescent.



On October 12, 2010, his and David Burtka 's twins, son Gideon Scott and daughter Harper Grace, were born via surrogate.



Was in a relationship with Christine Taylor (1997-1998).



Was in a relationship with Robyn Lively (1992-1993), when they worked together on the set of Doogie Howser (1989).

Agreed to be the announcer for the CoasterRadio.com podcast after being impressed by the show's year-long "Neil Patrick Harris Project".





In June 24, 2011, Harris and David Burtka announced their engagement via Twitter, stating that they had proposed to each other five years ago but kept the engagement secret until same-sex marriage became legal.

Received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6243 Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood, California [September 2011].





Harris and his partner, David Burtka , have two children, Gideon Scott and Harper Grace, born on October 12, 2010.

Is of English, Scottish, and German descent.





Is a huge fan of the series, Mystery Science Theater 3000 (1988), and noted that he never missed an episode while making Doogie Howser (1989).

Is a lifelong comic book fan and has provided voices for famous characters such as The Flash, Nightwing and Spider-Man (in both a series and video game).



In June 2013, the New York Times reported that Harris is set to star in the title role in the first Broadway production of John Cameron Mitchell's rock musical "Hedwig and the Angry Inch", scheduled for spring 2014.



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."





"Chris Keller" in Arthur Miller 's "All My Sons" at the Geffen Playhouse in Los Angeles. [April 2006]

Appearing on Broadway as the Emcee in "Cabaret" [February 2003]





Filled in as co-host for Regis Philbin on "Live with Regis and Kelly". [June 2006]



He will be starring in the London production of Jonathan Larson 's "Tick, Tick...Boom!" through September 2005 [May 2005]



Co-Producing a Los Angeles version of the hit off-off Broadway interactive theatre experience "Accomplice: New York" with Tom Salamon . [February 2008]

Won Broadway's Tony Award as Best Actor in a Musical for his performance in "Hedwig and the Angry Inch.". [2014]



He has English, Scottish, and German ancestry.



He was awarded the 1997 Drama Logue Award for Performance for "Rent" in the Center Theatre Group production at the Ahmanson Theatre in Los Angeles, California.



He was awarded the 1997 Back Stage Garland Award for Outstanding Performance for "Rent" in a Center Theatre Group production at the Ahmanson Theatre in Los Angeles, California.



Personal Quotes (9)

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 (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'.



[on the Tony Awards] We like to call it 50 Shades of Gay.



I have always been a fan of that immersive theatre idea that there is some kind of puzzle unfolding, and that things are happening around you without you knowing it.



[on David Fincher] He's been one of my favorite directors since 'The Game', starring Michael Douglas. He directs as if he is an artist painting pictures, so he tends to create a quiet, unsettling dynamic through the use of symmetry and asymmetry. And when you look at the paintings he's created, you feel something is a bit amiss, and there's a yearning for something - something that isn't there... I think he picks his projects really carefully, based on the knowledge that he will make them better. He knows what's in his wheelhouse.



I think kids are fascinated by the morbid. I know my kids are. Harper, our daughter, likes us to tell her scary stories. I'm thinking now back to 'Grimm's Fairy Tales'. Kids are told a lot about how to behave well, so I think creatively, it's fun to indulge in the sinister.



Salary (1)