As a singer, dancer, actor, and all-round entertainer, Neil Patrick Harris is one of the most charismatic, high-energy personalities in show business.
His success is to be applauded; not only because of the diverse talent that’s been on show for his 25+ year career, but because of what that career represents.
PRODIGAL STAR
Neil Patrick Harris was born in Albuquerque, New Mexico, in 1973 to parents who were both lawyers.
From a young age, he was drawn to the world of entertainment. He grew quite skilled as a magician, but it was acting that appealed to him most. At a drama camp in nearby Las Cruces, his skills became evident to playwright Mark Medoff, who cast him in his first role in the 1988 film Clara’s Heart. The film received mixed reviews, but earned Harris a Golden Globe nomination.
The following year, he landed the titular role in Doogie Howser M.D., an ABC series about a child prodigy doctor. At only 16 years old, the balance of schooling and work could have been challenging, but he handled it with aplomb.
“Whenever I wasn’t in school with a tutor three hours a day, I’d get a knock and be rushed to set and they’d be waiting and I’d film my thing and then I’d go back to school again.”
He would receive a second Golden Globe nomination for his work on the show.
Around this time, Harris began to come to terms with his sexuality. He was gay, but not openly, and it made him feel out of place, even when he met gay people in the industry. He masked his sexuality behind an array of girlfriends and TV Guide articles in which he divulged his Hollywood crushes, fearing – as had many gay actors – the repercussions his sexuality would have on his career if it became public knowledge.
ACCEPTANCE
Harris graduated from high school in 1991 with high honours.
Shockingly, two years later, ABC pulled the plug on Doogie Howser. Harris spent the next few years making guest appearances on shows like Murder, She Wrote and in TV movies, before transitioning to the stage to perform in Mark Cohen’s production of Rent.
The experience was liberating; not just for his career, but his mindset. The cast of the show came from wildly different backgrounds, and had diverse sexual preferences, but were nevertheless one big family. It was the audience’s reaction that had the more profound impact on Harris, however:
“You can see young couples, old-guy couples, clutching each other, openly sobbing,” he told New York Magazine when they profiled him in 2011. “And you’re singing at them, to them, sobbing too. It’s very cathartic. And it certainly put to rest my weird personal concerns, because there’s a much bigger picture.”
He won a Drama League Award for his performance in the play, opening up a new stage for his career: the theatre. He spent nearly a decade starring in major plays including Romeo and Juliet, Sweeney Todd, Cabaret, and Assassins, a challenging piece which saw him take on two roles in a story about the men and women involved in assassination attempts on former Presidents of the United States.
Harris supplemented this work with appearances on television (he starred in Stark Raving Mad, a popular show that was nevertheless cancelled by NBC after a single season), movies (most notably a hyper-sexual, surreal version of himself in Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle), and as a voice-over artist (he’s played Spider-Man, The Flash, Nightwing, and Ray Thompson in various superhero adaptations).
Meanwhile, Harris began to come out to the people closest to him. Though initially the news was met by anger from certain parties, he knew he was doing the right thing.
A BRAVE ANNOUNCEMENT
In 2005, Harris was cast as a supporting character in the sitcom How I Met Your Mother. As the sexually devious Barney Stinson, Harris was thrust back into mainstream in the show’s breakthrough performance.
Rumours about his sexuality began to spread, but nevertheless audiences eagerly embraced his performance as a beguiling, perpetually suited up ladies man.
The next year, Harris committed to a brave decision by making an announcement; the kind of which had destroyed careers such as his in the all-too recent past.
“Rather than ignore those who choose to publish their opinions without actually talking to me, I am happy to dispel any rumours 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.”
He braced for the storm of media controversy…but it never came. How I Met Your Mother evolved from a well-reviewed comedy series to one of the biggest shows of the decade. Between 2007 and 2010 he was nominated each year for the Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series Emmy, and in 2010 was listed as one of Time Magazine’s most influential people of the year.
Where others had met ruin, Harris’s public proclamation of his sexual identity had helped his career reach new heights.
EXPANSION
Harris has hosted the Tony Awards four times, and earned three Emmy Awards for his performance. He hosted the Emmy Awards twice, and the Academy Awards in 2015; the first time an openly gay man had lead the ceremony.
His career has expanded into video games and web series, and in 2014 he took his first directorial role for the theatrical production of Nothing to Hide.
After deciding not to take over hosting duties on either The Late Show or The Late Late Show, Harris launched Best Time Ever with Neil Patrick Harris, a variety show on NBC that ran for one season.
He is also the President of the Board of Directors for Hollywood’s prestigious Magic Castle.
“I feel like I know where I’m going. And I like where I’m going.”
SYMBOL OF EQUALITY
Following his announcement, Harris became an icon for the gay community in entertainment.
When he and partner David Burtka decided to raise twins in 2010, and were married in 2014, it made headlines worldwide.
But what Harris did, he did with no intentions of becoming proof that an actor’s sexuality has nothing to do with their ability to perform. He did it for himself. Nevertheless, he has broken significant ground in ensuring continued advancement towards equality in the industry, while continuing to entertain in the way he does so well.