# Neil Patrick Harris
**Neil Patrick Harris** is an American actor, singer, and host who became famous as a teenage doctor on the sitcom *Doogie Howser, M.D.* and later starred as [Barney Stinson](https://www.edgepedia.org/barney-stinson) on *How I Met Your Mother*, winning a Tony Award for *Hedwig and the Angry Inch* and hosting the Tony, Emmy, and Academy Awards ceremonies.
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | 1973, Albuquerque, New Mexico; grew up in Ruidoso, New Mexico[1](https://www.biography.com/actors/neil-patrick-harris) |
| Breakthrough | Film debut in *Clara's Heart* (1988) opposite Whoopi Goldberg, with a Golden Globe nomination; title role of *Doogie Howser, M.D.* from 1989[1](https://www.biography.com/actors/neil-patrick-harris) • [2](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000439/) |
| Signature television roles | Doogie Howser (1989 to 1993) and Barney Stinson on *How I Met Your Mother* (2005 to 2014)[3](https://www.vanityfair.com/culture/2013/10/neil-patrick-harris-12-things) |
| Stage work | Broadway credits include *Rent*, *Cabaret*, *Proof*, *Assassins*, and the 2014 *Hedwig and the Angry Inch*[4](https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-cast-staff/neil-patrick-harris-87740) |
| Major awards | 2014 Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical (*Hedwig*); five Primetime Emmy wins; Drama Desk and Drama League awards for *Hedwig*[5](https://www.oscars.org/sites/oscars/files/neil_patrick_harris_to_host_the_2015_oscars.pdf) • [6](https://www.televisionacademy.com/bios/neil-patrick-harris) • [4](https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-cast-staff/neil-patrick-harris-87740) |
| Hosting | 63rd, 65th, 66th, and 67th Tony Awards (four Emmys for hosting); 61st and 65th Primetime Emmy Awards; 87th Academy Awards in 2015[5](https://www.oscars.org/sites/oscars/files/neil_patrick_harris_to_host_the_2015_oscars.pdf) |
| Personal life | Married to actor and chef David Burtka since September 6, 2014; twins Gideon and Harper, born 2010 via surrogate[4](https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-cast-staff/neil-patrick-harris-87740) • [7](https://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/profiles/oscars-2015-who-is-oscars-host-neil-patrick-harris-a158991.html) |
| Writing | Autobiography *Neil Patrick Harris: Choose Your Own Autobiography* (2014); children's book series *The Magic Misfits*[5](https://www.oscars.org/sites/oscars/files/neil_patrick_harris_to_host_the_2015_oscars.pdf) • [8](https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/authors/44512/neil-patrick-harris) |
## Early life and discovery
Harris was born in [Albuquerque, New Mexico](https://www.edgepedia.org/albuquerque-new-mexico), to parents who were lawyers and ran a restaurant, and he grew up in Ruidoso, a small town about 120 miles south of Albuquerque[1](https://www.biography.com/actors/neil-patrick-harris) • [2](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000439/). His first stage appearance came in a grade school production of *The Wizard of Oz*, in the part of Toto[1](https://www.biography.com/actors/neil-patrick-harris). He attended La Cueva High School in Albuquerque, acting in school plays including a senior-year *Fiddler on the Roof*[2](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000439/).
The acting career began, in his telling, by accident. During the summer before secondary school he attended a one-week drama camp led by the playwright Mark Medoff, who had just written the screenplay for the drama *Clara's Heart* and was looking for a boy to play opposite its star, [Whoopi Goldberg](https://www.edgepedia.org/whoopi-goldberg)[7](https://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/profiles/oscars-2015-who-is-oscars-host-neil-patrick-harris-a158991.html). Harris auditioned in Los Angeles and won the part; at 15 he earned a Golden Globe nomination for Best Supporting Actor for the 1988 film[7](https://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/profiles/oscars-2015-who-is-oscars-host-neil-patrick-harris-a158991.html) • [3](https://www.vanityfair.com/culture/2013/10/neil-patrick-harris-12-things).
## Child star: Doogie Howser, M.D.
In 1989, at 16, Harris was cast as the title character of ABC's *Doogie Howser, M.D.*, created by [Steven Bochco](https://www.edgepedia.org/steven-bochco) and [David E. Kelley](https://www.edgepedia.org/david-e-kelley), playing a teenage medical prodigy beginning a hospital residency[2](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000439/) • [9](https://www.laphil.com/people/neil-patrick-harris). The show ran four seasons, from 1989 to 1993, and made him a teen heartthrob[2](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000439/). His honors from the series included a People's Choice Award for Favorite Male Performer in a New Series and a Golden Globe nomination[2](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000439/). As he noted decades later, a generation of viewers still knew him by that name, three decades on[10](https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2021/dec/15/no-one-loves-the-extreme-more-than-me-neil-patrick-harris-on-dad-life-desire-and-doogie-howser).
## Transition and stage career
When *Doogie Howser, M.D.* ended in 1993, Harris turned to the theater, which he had long wanted to pursue; he has said he is "a huge theater fan" and credits the *Annie* soundtrack with sparking his interest in acting[11](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1993-11-21-tv-59138-story.html). He joined the Los Angeles cast of the musical *Rent* in 1997 as Mark Cohen, earning a Drama-League Award, and later appeared on Broadway in *Proof* (his 2001 debut there), the revival of *Cabaret* as the Master of Ceremonies, and *Assassins* in the dual role of the Balladeer and [Lee Harvey Oswald](https://www.edgepedia.org/lee-harvey-oswald)[2](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000439/) • [4](https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-cast-staff/neil-patrick-harris-87740).
Screen work in this period included the films *[Starship Troopers](https://www.edgepedia.org/starship-troopers-film)* (1997) and *The Next Best Thing* (2000), the NBC sitcom *Stark Raving Mad* opposite [Tony Shalhoub](https://www.edgepedia.org/tony-shalhoub), and made-for-television movies such as *My Antonia* and *Joan of Arc*[1](https://www.biography.com/actors/neil-patrick-harris).
## Barney Stinson and mainstream success
In 2005 Harris landed the role of Barney Stinson on the CBS sitcom *How I Met Your Mother*, which ran from 2005 to 2014[1](https://www.biography.com/actors/neil-patrick-harris) • [7](https://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/profiles/oscars-2015-who-is-oscars-host-neil-patrick-harris-a158991.html). The incorrigible womanizer Barney earned him four consecutive Primetime Emmy nominations and two Golden Globe nominations, and the role fixed his adult television persona[6](https://www.televisionacademy.com/bios/neil-patrick-harris) • [7](https://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/profiles/oscars-2015-who-is-oscars-host-neil-patrick-harris-a158991.html).
A comedic precursor came in 2004's *Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle*, in which Harris played a lewd, exaggerated version of himself, a part he reprised in two sequels[9](https://www.laphil.com/people/neil-patrick-harris) • [7](https://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/profiles/oscars-2015-who-is-oscars-host-neil-patrick-harris-a158991.html). In interviews he has described Barney as a part meant to "chew around the scenery," contrasting it with his subsequent film role as Desi Collings in [David Fincher](https://www.edgepedia.org/david-fincher)'s *Gone Girl* (2014), a deliberately different performance[12](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2014/oct/02/neil-patrick-harris-gone-girl-hedwig).
## Awards hosting
Harris became a frequent master of ceremonies for major awards telecasts. He hosted the 63rd, 65th, 66th, and 67th [Tony Awards](https://www.edgepedia.org/tony-awards), winning four Primetime Emmys for those broadcasts, and hosted the 61st and 65th [Primetime Emmy Awards](https://www.edgepedia.org/primetime-emmy-awards), also producing the 2013 Emmys[5](https://www.oscars.org/sites/oscars/files/neil_patrick_harris_to_host_the_2015_oscars.pdf) • [13](https://www.tonyawards.com/press/emmy-award-winner-neil-patrick-harris-returns-to-host-the-67th-annual-tony-awards/). In October 2014 the [Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences](https://www.edgepedia.org/academy-of-motion-picture-arts-and-sciences) named him host of the 87th Oscars, his first time hosting that ceremony, aired on ABC on February 22, 2015[5](https://www.oscars.org/sites/oscars/files/neil_patrick_harris_to_host_the_2015_oscars.pdf). After that edition, he had hosted all three of the major annual American awards ceremonies[7](https://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/profiles/oscars-2015-who-is-oscars-host-neil-patrick-harris-a158991.html).
## Hedwig and the Tony Award
The defining stage role of his later career came in the 2014 Broadway production of *Hedwig and the Angry Inch*, in which Harris starred in the title role of the transgender East German cabaret singer[5](https://www.oscars.org/sites/oscars/files/neil_patrick_harris_to_host_the_2015_oscars.pdf) • [14](https://time.com/2846630/tony-awards-wins-for-bryan-cranston-audra-mcdonald-and-neil-patrick-harris/). He won the 2014 [Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical](https://www.edgepedia.org/tony-award-for-best-actor-in-a-musical), along with the Drama Desk and Drama League awards for the performance[5](https://www.oscars.org/sites/oscars/files/neil_patrick_harris_to_host_the_2015_oscars.pdf) • [4](https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-cast-staff/neil-patrick-harris-87740). He also earned a Grammy nomination in 2015 for the show's cast album[15](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000439/awards/).
## Later television and film
After *How I Met Your Mother* ended, Harris took a series of darker or more eccentric parts. He guest-starred on *American Horror Story* (a Saturn Award nomination), appeared in *Gone Girl*, and played Count Olaf, the scheming villain of Netflix's adaptation of [Lemony Snicket](https://www.edgepedia.org/lemony-snicket)'s *A Series of Unfortunate Events*, which he also executive produced; the series earned him Children's Program Emmy nominations in 2018 and 2019[15](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000439/awards/) • [16](https://time.com/4643014/neil-patrick-harris/) • [6](https://www.televisionacademy.com/bios/neil-patrick-harris). He also appeared in *The Matrix Resurrections* and joined the cast of the BBC's *Doctor Who* 60th Anniversary Special[17](https://www.the-independent.com/news/neil-patrick-harris-ap-uncoupled-star-los-angeles-b2134481.html) • [8](https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/authors/44512/neil-patrick-harris).
In the 2022 Netflix comedy *Uncoupled*, created by Darren Star and Jeffrey Richman, he played a gay New York realtor suddenly single after a 17-year relationship, a role he said offered "a bit of normalcy" compared with his usual "extreme characters"[17](https://www.the-independent.com/news/neil-patrick-harris-ap-uncoupled-star-los-angeles-b2134481.html). Netflix later announced him as host of the game show *What's In The Box*, premiering December 2025[18](https://about.netflix.com/en/news/neil-patrick-harris-to-host-whats-in-the-box-a-bold-new-game-show-coming-to).
## Personal life
Harris publicly came out in November 2006, issuing a statement through *People* magazine after a blogger called for information about his private life, writing that he was "a very content gay man living my life to the fullest"[7](https://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/profiles/oscars-2015-who-is-oscars-host-neil-patrick-harris-a158991.html). He and the actor and chef [David Burtka](https://www.edgepedia.org/david-burtka), together since around 2004, married in Italy in September 2014; their twins, Gideon and Harper, were born via a surrogate in 2010[7](https://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/profiles/oscars-2015-who-is-oscars-host-neil-patrick-harris-a158991.html) • [4](https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-cast-staff/neil-patrick-harris-87740). A lifelong magic enthusiast, he has served as president of the board of the Magic Castle, Hollywood's conjuring venue[7](https://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/profiles/oscars-2015-who-is-oscars-host-neil-patrick-harris-a158991.html).
## Writing and other ventures
Harris's autobiography, *Neil Patrick Harris: Choose Your Own Autobiography*, published by Crown in 2014, is written with the multiple-choice branching structure of the *Choose Your Own Adventure* books[5](https://www.oscars.org/sites/oscars/files/neil_patrick_harris_to_host_the_2015_oscars.pdf) • [7](https://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/profiles/oscars-2015-who-is-oscars-host-neil-patrick-harris-a158991.html). He is also the author of *The Magic Misfits*, a bestselling children's fiction series[8](https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/authors/44512/neil-patrick-harris).
## References
1. [Neil Patrick Harris - Husband, Children & Career, Biography.com](https://www.biography.com/actors/neil-patrick-harris)
2. [Neil Patrick Harris, IMDb Biography](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000439/)
3. [Twelve Things You Didn't Know About Neil Patrick Harris, Vanity Fair](https://www.vanityfair.com/culture/2013/10/neil-patrick-harris-12-things)
4. [Neil Patrick Harris - Broadway Cast & Staff, IBDB](https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-cast-staff/neil-patrick-harris-87740)
5. [Neil Patrick Harris to Host the 2015 Oscars, Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences](https://www.oscars.org/sites/oscars/files/neil_patrick_harris_to_host_the_2015_oscars.pdf)
6. [Neil Patrick Harris, Emmy Awards and Nominations, Television Academy](https://www.televisionacademy.com/bios/neil-patrick-harris)
7. [Oscars 2015: Who is Oscars host Neil Patrick Harris?, The Independent](https://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/profiles/oscars-2015-who-is-oscars-host-neil-patrick-harris-a158991.html)
8. [Neil Patrick Harris, Penguin Random House](https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/authors/44512/neil-patrick-harris)
9. [Neil Patrick Harris, LA Phil](https://www.laphil.com/people/neil-patrick-harris)
10. ['No one loves the extreme more than me', The Guardian](https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2021/dec/15/no-one-loves-the-extreme-more-than-me-neil-patrick-harris-on-dad-life-desire-and-doogie-howser)
11. [Profile: Miles From Doogie, Los Angeles Times](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1993-11-21-tv-59138-story.html)
12. [Neil Patrick Harris on Gone Girl, The Guardian](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2014/oct/02/neil-patrick-harris-gone-girl-hedwig)
13. [Neil Patrick Harris Returns to Host The 67th Annual Tony Awards, Tony Awards](https://www.tonyawards.com/press/emmy-award-winner-neil-patrick-harris-returns-to-host-the-67th-annual-tony-awards/)
14. [Tony Awards: Wins for Bryan Cranston, Audra McDonald and Neil Patrick Harris, Time](https://time.com/2846630/tony-awards-wins-for-bryan-cranston-audra-mcdonald-and-neil-patrick-harris/)
15. [Neil Patrick Harris - Awards, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000439/awards/)
16. [Quick Talk With Neil Patrick Harris, Time](https://time.com/4643014/neil-patrick-harris/)
17. [Neil Patrick Harris is suddenly single in comedy 'Uncoupled', The Independent](https://www.the-independent.com/news/neil-patrick-harris-ap-uncoupled-star-los-angeles-b2134481.html)
18. [Neil Patrick Harris to Host 'What's In The Box', About Netflix](https://about.netflix.com/en/news/neil-patrick-harris-to-host-whats-in-the-box-a-bold-new-game-show-coming-to)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Screen people and creators › Screen actors of the Anglosphere and Europe › American actors: 2000s onward › Surnames H to Ha*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 12, 2026; Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
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License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license