Neil Patrick Harris

Neil Patrick Harris

Date of Birth : 15 June 1973

Location : Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA

Nickname : NPH

Height : 6’ 1" (1.85 m)

Neil Patrick Harris was born in Albuquerque, New Mexico, on June 15, 1973. He grew up in Ruidoso, New Mexico, a small town 120 miles south of Albuquerque, where he first took up acting in the fourth grade. While tagging along with Brian, his older brother by 3 years, Harris won the part of Toto in a school production of The Wizard of Oz (1939).

His parents, Ron (a lawyer) and Sheila (a writer), moved the family to Albuquerque in 1988, the same year that Harris made his film debut in two movies: Purple People Eater (1988) and Clara’s Heart (1988), which starred Whoopi Goldberg. A year later, when Neil was 16, he landed the lead role in Steven Bochco’s television series about a teen prodigy doctor at a local hospital, "Doogie Howser, M.D." (1989), which launched Harris into teen-heartthrob status. The series lasted1989-1993 and earned him a People’s Choice Award for Favorite Male Performer in a New Series (1990) and a Golden Globe Nomination (1990). Harris attended the same high school as Freddie Prinze Jr., La Cueva High School in Albuquerque. Neil acted on stage in a few plays while there, one of which was his senior play, Fiddler on the Roof (1971), in which he portrayed Lazar Wolf the butcher (1991).

When "Doogie Howser, M.D." stopped production in 1993, Harris took up stage acting, which he had always wanted to do. After a string of made-for-television movies, Harris acted in his first big screen roles in nine years, Starship Troopers (1997) with Casper Van Dien and then The Proposition (1998). In July 1997, Harris accepted the role of Mark Cohen for the Los Angeles production of the beloved musical, Rent (2005). His performance in "Rent" garnered him a Drama-League Award in 1997. He continued in the musical, to rave reviews, until January 1998. He later reprised the role for six nights in his hometown of Albuquerque, New Mexico, in December 1998.

In 1999, Harris returned to television in the short-lived sitcom "Stark Raving Mad" (1999), with Tony Shalhoub. He was also in the big-screen projects The Next Best Thing (2000) and Undercover Brother (2002), and he can be heard as the voice of Peter Parker/Spider-Man in the newest animated "Spider-Man" (2003) series. Harris has continued his stage work, making his Broadway debut in 2001 in "Proof." He has also appeared on stage in "Romeo and Juliet," "Cabaret," Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street in Concert (2001) (TV), and, most recently, "Assassins." In 2005, Harris returned to the small screen in a guest-starring role on "Numb3rs" (2005) and a starring role in the sitcom "How I Met Your Mother" (2005). Neil played the title role in the web-exclusive musical comedy "Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog" (2008), widely downloaded via iTunes to become the #1 TV series for five straight weeks, despite not actually being on television.

Trivia

Both of his parents are lawyers.

Went to the same high school as Freddie Prinze Jr..

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), and "Ellen: The Ellen DeGeneres Show" (2003).

Perfomed as Mark in "Rent" at the Ahmanson Theater and the La Jolla Theater, both in Los Angeles, to rave reviews.

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

His favorite movie is Rear Window (1954) by Alfred Hitchcock.

His parents own a restaurant called Perreniel’s in Albuquerue.

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.

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). He performed the role of Javert, to wild cheers from the audience.

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 Go to White Castle (2004) and Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay (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.

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.

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 companion since 2004.

Harris’s closest friends include his companion David Burtka, Amy Acker, Lori and Lex Medlin, Becky Baeling, and Brandon Boyce.

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.