Is there anything that Neil Patrick Harris can’t do?
This week, the former “Doogie Howser, M.D.” star returned to Broadway as the title character in “Hedwig and the Angry Inch,” playing a transgender German rock ‘n’ roller.
It’s only the latest of his theatrical incarnations, which included stints in “Rent,” “Cabaret” and Sondheim’s “Assassins.” He even sang with the New York Philharmonic. Add that to his impressive television and movie résumé, which includes everything from “Murder, She Wrote” to the upcoming “Gone Girl,” and it’s no wonder the openly gay star attracts members of both sexes.
And why not? After taking a look at 10 of his greatest moments, you’ll probably fall for him, too.
“How I Met Your Mother”
Barney Stinson will go down as one of TV’s most legen . . . wait for it . . . dary characters of all time.
With an affinity for suits, catchphrases, laser tag and, of course, picking up women, Barney was the character “HIMYM” fans couldn’t get enough of.
NPH took home back-to-back People’s Choice Awards for the role in 2011 and 2012, and earned four Emmy nominations for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series.
“Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog”
During the 2007-2008 Writers Guild of America strike, writer and director Joss Whedon needed a way to circumvent the strike and put out quality programming: Enter the web musical miniseries, “Dr. Horrible.”
Harris starred as the lovable villain of the title, working on a freeze ray with the hopes of being inducted into the Evil League of Evil.
Not only that, but Harris and his co-stars did it for free. (Since then, “Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog” turned more than $3 million in profits and the cast and crew were presumably compensated accordingly.)
The Magic Touch
Barney loves to pull a rabbit out of his hat every now and then on “HIMYM,” but Harris is a true magician. In fact, he’s the former president of the Board of Directors of the Academy of Magical Arts (whose clubhouse is Hollywood’s Magic Castle) and hosted the World Magic Awards in 2008.
While giving Oprah a tour last year of the home he shares with fiancé David Burtka, Harris revealed a hidden room filled with his props and gags — what he calls his “Magic Room.”
The Host with the Most
A two-time host of the Emmy Awards and four-time host of the Tony Awards, Harris combines his gifts of song, dance, magic and comedic timing for some of TV’s greatest shows.
His 2011 Tony Awards opening number, “It’s Not Just for Gays Anymore,” was matched only by his 2013 performance of epic proportions.
He isn’t hosting this year’s Tonys — he’s too busy starring in “Hedwig” — but he might end up winning the award itself.
“Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle”
NPH revived his film career in the 2004 stoner comedy series “Harold & Kumar” by playing a very un-Doogie version of himself — hopped up on Ecstasy and hookers.
In “A Very Harold & Kumar 3D Christmas,” he made a cameo alongside real-life love Burtka, who played Harris’s drug dealer.
Quick to Judge
In 2009, Harris stepped in as a last-minute guest judge for the “American Idol” auditions in Dallas. He spent the day butting heads with Simon Cowell, as the two seemed to have differing views on who would make it through and who would get the boot. But at least having NPH turn you down softens the blow.
Harris has acted as a guest judge on a number of other popular shows, including “Top Chef” and “So You Think You Can Dance?”
Be Our Guest
Remember “Captain Planet,” the animated blue superhero out to save the world through recycling? NPH lent his voice to the show during his “Doogie Howser” days, contributing to a 1992 episode dealing with HIV and AIDS that was ahead of its time, even by today’s standards.
You can spot Harris doing guest roles in a number of famous ’90s shows, including “Roseanne,” “The Simpsons,” “Murder, She Wrote,” “Homicide: Life on the Street,” “Will & Grace,” “Touched by an Angel” and, of course, “Law & Order.”
Delightful Duet
Harris and his “How I Met Your Mother” co-star and fellow musical theater enthusiast Jason Segel brought their love of “Les Misérables” to the small screen not once, but twice.
The duo originally crooned “The Confrontation” on “The Megan Mullally Show” in 2006, but recently revived the duet in March for the “HIMYM” edition of “Inside the Actor’s Studio.”
“Dream On”
In 2011 NPH joined TV’s favorite musical show, “Glee.” He played Bryan Ryan, a former Glee Club member and schoolmate of Will Schuster (Matthew Morrison) who, after high school, became addicted to crack. Will revives Bryan’s love of singing and the two duet on Billy Joel’s “Piano Man” and Aerosmith’s “Dream On.”
NPH won an Emmy for the role as Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series — the “Dream On” single reached #26 on the US charts.
“Doogie Howser, M.D.”
You can’t talk about NPH without acknowledging his start — as the 16-year-old playing a 16-year-old doctor on TV’s “Doogie.”
Harris seems to relish the role, because it somehow manages to come up in many of his other works. In “HIMYM,” he writes in his computerized diary to the strains of the “Doogie Howser” theme song. And in a 2008 Old
Spice deodorant commercial, he claims to be an expert because he “used to be a doctor for pretends.”