Neil Patrick Harris is an American actor, producer, singer, comedian, magician, and television host. He is known for playing the title character on Doogie Howser, M.D., and for his role as Barney Stinson on How I Met Your Mother, for which he was nominated for four Emmy Awards.
Let’s find out some amazing facts about him!
1. Neil Patrick Harris was born June 15, 1973 in Albuquerque, New Mexico and grew up Ruidoso, New Mexico, with his elder brother and their parents, Sheila Gail and Ronald Gene Harris.
2. His parents were lawyers and also ran a restaurant.
3. He attended La Cueva High School in Albuquerque, graduating with high honors in 1991.
4. He played Toto in a school production of ‘The Wizard of Oz’ at tender age of 3.
5. Harris began his career as a child actor and was discovered by playwright Mark Medoff at a drama camp in Las Cruces, New Mexico.
6. Medoff later cast him in the 1988 drama film Clara’s Heart, starring Whoopi Goldberg based on the novel of the same name by Joseph Olshan.
7. Clara’s Heart earned Harris a Golden Globe nomination. The same year, he starred in Purple People Eater, a children’s fantasy.
8. Harris’ first film role as an adult was 1995’s Animal Room, although he portrayed a teenager.
9. His subsequent film work has included supporting roles in The Next Best Thing, Undercover Brother, and Starship Troopers.
10. Harris plays a fictionalized version of himself in the Harold and Kumar stoner comedy films Harold & Kumar
11. In 2010, Harris provided voice acting for the role of the adult Dick Grayson (Nightwing) in the animated film Batman: Under the Red Hood and the beagle Lou in the film Cats & Dogs: The Revenge of Kitty Galore.
12. The same year, he played the lead in the indie comedy The Best and the Brightest.
13. On March 7, 2010, he made a surprise appearance at the 82nd Academy Awards, delivering the opening musical number. He starred in the films The Smurfs (2011) and The Smurfs 2 (2013).
14. In 2014, Harris showed a more serious side in Gone Girl, directed by David Fincher. Harris co-starred in the film as Desi Collings, the wealthy and obsessed ex-boyfriend of Amy Dunne, played by Rosamund Pike.
15. On February 22, 2015, Harris hosted the 87th Academy Awards; it was his first time hosting the ceremony, and the first time an openly gay man hosted the Academy Awards.
16. Harris confirmed that he is gay on November 4, 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.”
17. Harris attended the Emmy Awards in September 2007 with his fiancé David Burtka, later confirming the relationship.
18. In an interview on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, Harris said his relationship with Burtka began in 2004.
19. On August 14, 2010, Harris announced that he and Burtka were expecting twins via a surrogate mother.
20. Their son, Gideon Scott, and daughter, Harper Grace, were born in October 2010.
21. Following the passage of the Marriage Equality Act in New York on June 24, 2011, Harris and Burtka announced their engagement via Twitter,stating that they had proposed to each other five years earlier but kept the engagement secret until same-sex marriage became legal.
22. On September 8, 2014, Harris announced on his Twitter page that David Burtka and he were married over the weekend in Italy.
23. Pamela Fryman, the long-time director of How I Met Your Mother, officiated the wedding, while Elton John performed at the reception.
24. Harris and Burtka bought a townhouse on Fifth Avenue in Harlem in 2013, the Upper Manhattan, New York City neighborhood where they had been living for many years previously.
25. Neil isn’t just a television and film actor, he performed in plays and musicals as well.
26. In 2010, Time Magazine named Harris one of their 100 Most Influential People in the World.
27. Was given a lifetime supply of Red Bull due to the amount of free advertising he has given the product.
28. On September 15, 2011 Harris received star on the Walk of Fame.
29. If he needs to calm himself down during pre-shows he does a series of deep-breathing exercises and drinks a can of Red Bull.
30. David Burtka is his partner.
31. Maintains a Twitter account, called @NPHFoodPorn where he posts up meals he eats in restaurants.
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