Neil Patrick Harris Trivia | 40 facts about the famous actor

Neil Patrick Harris is an American actor, singer, writer, producer, and television host. He is primarily known for his comedic television roles.

Let’s find out more about him!

1. 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.
2. 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.”.
3. He is an amateur magician, which he once demonstrated on the Jerry Lewis MDA Telethon.
4. 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 (2008), he requested that his credit read “Neil Patrick Harris” instead of “as Himself”.
5. This was to make clear that he was playing a fictional character that was in no way a true representation of himself.
6. Has sung since he was a child. His father played the folk guitar and together they entertained.
7. 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).
8. On October 12, 2010, his and David Burtka’s twins, son Gideon Scott and daughter Harper Grace, were born via surrogate.
9. 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”.
10. His favorite movie is Rear Window (1954) by Sir Alfred Hitchcock.
11. Was in a relationship with Christine Taylor (1997-1998).
12. Is a huge fan of the series, Mystery Science Theater 3000 (1988).
13. He noted that he never missed an episode while making Doogie Howser, M.D. (1989).
14. 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.
15. He was awarded a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for Television at 6243 Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood, California on September 15, 2011.
16. Has been in a committed relationship with stage and screen actor David Burtka, his partner since 2004.
17. Is an avid Les Miserables fan, and performed the song “The Confrontation” with his co-star Jason Segel (both of How I Met Your Mother (2005) fame) live on The Megan Mullally Show (2006).
18. Appeared fully naked with Josh Radnor onstage in 2004 before their How I Met Your Mother (2005) days in Jon Robin Baitz’s The Paris Letter, where they played lovers.
19. His parents own a restaurant called “Perreniel’s” in Albuquerque. His brother is currently running the restaurant.
20. All in the same award season, he hosted The 61st Primetime Emmy Awards (2009) and The 63rd Annual Tony Awards (2009), presented an award at Golden Globe Awards (2010) and had an opening act at The 82nd Annual Academy Awards (2010).
21. 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.
22. Attended the same high school as Freddie Prinze Jr..
23. 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”.
24. 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.
25. 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.
26. Was in a relationship with Robyn Lively (1992-1993), when they worked together on the set of Doogie Howser, M.D. (1989).
27. According to an oral history of Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog (2008) published in July 2008 in Entertainment Weekly, he auditioned to play the doctor role on Firefly (2002) that was eventually filled by Sean Maher.
28. Both of his parents are lawyers.
29. Has performed magic tricks on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson (1962), Late Show with David Letterman (1993), The Tonight Show with Jay Leno (1992), Ellen: The Ellen DeGeneres Show (2003) and The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson (2005).
30. 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.
31. Harris and his partner, David Burtka, have two children, Gideon Scott and Harper Grace, born on October 12, 2010.
32. Agreed to be the announcer for the CoasterRadio.com podcast after being impressed by the show’s year-long “Neil Patrick Harris Project”.
33. In one year, he hosted The 7th Annual TV Land Awards (2009), The 63rd Annual Tony Awards (2009), and The 61st Primetime Emmy Awards (2009). All three ceremonies featured him singing a song about the occasion that had been written for him by Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman.
34. Based on his Los Angeles stage performance in the musical “Rent”, he was attached to play Mark Cohen in a television miniseries 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.
35. 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!”.
36. 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.
37. He won Broadway’s 2014 Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical for his performance as the title role in “Hedwig and the Angry Inch” at the Belasco Theatre.
38. 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.
39. Neil won the 2014 Tony Award for Lead Actor (Musical) for “Hedwig and the Angry Inch”. He also received his only Grammy nomination to date for Best Musical Theater Album for the show’s cast recording.
40. Neil has hosted the Primetime Emmy Awards twice, in 2009 and 2013. In 2015, he became the first openly gay man to host the Academy Awards.