Welcome back to the Deep Dive. Today we are tackling
a really fascinating figure. We're charting the
career of Neil Patrick Harris. Yeah, and it's
quite the undertaking. It really is. I mean,
when you look at his resume, it's not just that
he's done different things in media. No, it feels
like he's truly well conquered almost every single
one. Exactly. Actor, singer, writer, producer.
Magician, don't forget magician. And of course,
the master of ceremonies for seemingly every
awards show. Right. So the challenge for us today
and for you listening is to understand how that
happened. Yeah. How does someone go from being,
you know, America's favorite teenage doctor?
The ultimate symbol of sincerity, really. To
this boundary -pushing stage actor, a super sharp,
satirical comedian, and, yeah, the guy hosting
the Tonys and the Emmys. It's a trajectory for
you, man. I mean, pulling off that kind of transition
across TV, film, stage, and hosting, it's rare.
And the awards prove it right. We're talking
to Tony, five primetime Emmys for performing
and hosting. A Grammy nod. It's that sheer breadth
and the level of success in each field simultaneously.
That's what we really need to unpack today. How
did he pull it off? OK, so let's start at the
beginning. We think of him as this New York or
L .A. figure, but his roots are actually in the
southwest. Albuquerque, New Mexico. Born June
15th, 1973. Right, but raised mostly in Ruidoso,
a smaller town. And you know, his family background
is pretty unique for a future performer. How
so? Well, both parents were lawyers, which is
already, you know. quite intense definitely but
they also owned and ran a restaurant so you've
got this mix of like serious professional discipline
from the law side and the chaos and hard work
of the service industry on the other exactly
you can sort of see how that might instill a
pretty intense work ethic early on that discipline
showed up academically too right the sources
mentioned he graduated high school with high
honors in 91 yeah from la cueva high school and
he apparently credited private tutoring he got
while already working on set for keeping his
grades up so even as a young act He was juggling
both and doing well at them. That's telling.
Very. And his discovery story is almost like
something out of a movie itself. Oh, yeah. He
was spotted by playwright Mark Medoff, a Pulitzer
nominee at a drama camp down in Las Cruces. Wow.
So Miroff saw something special. Apparently so.
That connection led pretty directly to his first
big film role, Clara's Heart, in 1988. He was
starring opposite Whoopi Goldberg. And that role
got noticed immediately. His first Golden Globe
nomination in 89. That's huge for a debut. It
really is. But then, of course, came the role
that defined him for a whole generation. Doogie
Howser. Doogie Howser, MD. ABC, 1989 to 1993.
Child prodigy doctor. It wasn't just a hit show.
It was a cultural moment. Got him a second Golden
Globe nomination. But, uh -oh, the child star
problem. Exactly. The show ends in 93. He's not
the kid doctor anymore. Now that transition is...
Famous and brutal. So the grind began. What did
that look like? Well, the sources show it wasn't
straight to big movie roles. It was a lot of
legwork guest spots on TV shows like Murder,
she wrote. Really? Murder, she wrote. Okay. Yeah.
And tons of made -for -TV movies. Things like
Snowbound in 94, The Christmas Wish in 98. Just
constant work, keeping his face out there, trying
to break the doogie mold. Paying the dues, essentially.
Totally. His first adult film role, Animal Room,
in 95, he was still playing a teen, but then
he started getting into bigger studio stuff.
Like Starship Troopers? Right, in 97, playing
Carl Jenkins, the psychic guy. A very different
vibe. And then... The next best thing with Madonna
in 2000. So dipping his toes into different genres.
Trying to, yeah. But the real key during this
period, the thing that set up his huge comeback
later. It wasn't the movies. It was the stage.
Absolutely. He jumped into theater. He knew,
I think, that it offered the kind of challenge
and credibility he needed to be seen as a serious
adult actor. So what were the big stage roles,
though? He played Mark Cohen in the national
tour of Rent in 1997. That's a demanding show,
vocally and physically. A huge statement. And
not exactly light fare. Not at all. Then he did
a recording of Sondheim's Evening Primrose in
2001, played Hal in the Broadway run of Proof
in 2002. He was building serious stage cred.
Forcing people to see him differently. Precisely.
And all that culminated in 2003 with a role that
was, well, transformative. Playing the MC in
the Broadway revival of Cabaret. Wow. Talk about
the opposite of Doogie Howser, dark, complex.
Totally. And he crushed it. Critics loved him.
And the sources say he became the biggest box
office draw in that role during his run. So even
before his next huge TV hit, he was already a
proven A -list stage star. That's the crucial
takeaway. That stage success gave him the leverage,
the credibility to really steer his career in
the direction he wanted next. The stage was like.
The launch pad for Act 2. And Act 2. Wow. It
really blasted off with Barney Stinson, didn't
it? How I Met Your Mother. CBS 2005 to 2014.
Oh, completely. 208 episodes. It totally redefined
him for a massive audience. Talk about a 180
from Doogie. From the earnest kid Doctor 2. Well,
Barney. The ultimate bro. The serial womanizer.
Suit up. It was genius casting, really. And it
let him flex all those comedic muscles he'd honed
on stage. The physical comedy. The timing. Yeah.
It was incredible. And the industry agreed. Four
Emmy nominations in a row for that role, 2007
through 2010. That tells you how central he was
to that show's success. And he even dipped his
toes into directing on the show, right? Yeah,
he directed one episode, Jenkins, which is interesting,
right? Even at the peak of his sitcom fame, he's
already thinking about other aspects, production,
directing. Always looking ahead. Diversifying.
Seems like it. But what's also fascinating about
this period is what he was doing in film at the
same time. Right. That persona he created. Oh,
the Harold and Kumar version of Neil Patrick
Harris. Exactly. Starting with White Castle in
2004, then the sequels, playing this totally
exaggerated, lewd, womanizing version of himself.
It was hilarious, but also really smart, wasn't
it? Like a way to control his own image. Totally
strategic. He basically took the audience's perception,
maybe some leftover doogie vibes, and just blew
it up. It was self -parody. And incredibly, he
did this before he publicly came out in 2006.
playing this hyper straight caricature. Right.
It was like he was saying, look, I can play anything.
He completely owned the narrative about himself.
It was kind of brilliant and maybe paved the
way for people to accept him in any role afterwards.
And he wasn't just sticking to TV and film. This
is when he made that move into, well, what we
now call streaming. Dr. Horrible's sing -along
blog, 2008, Joss Whedon's web series musical.
Which was huge. Yeah. And so ahead of its time.
Absolutely. A professionally produced musical
released online when that was still kind of the
Wild West. It showed he was willing to experiment
with new platforms, not just chase network gigs.
Again, avoiding being put in a box. Seems to
be the theme. And this versatility extended to
voice acting, too. He was doing a lot of that.
Right. Like Steve the Monkey in Cloudy with a
Chance of Meatballs. Yep. And Nightwing in Batman
Under the Red Hood. A serious DC animated role.
And didn't he do a musical Batman thing too?
Yes. The Music Meister in Batman. The Brave and
the Bold. That episode is legendary among fans.
Using those musical theater chops again, but
in animation. So you've got Barney Stinson, the
satirical NPH, Dr. Horrible, cartoon villains.
And wasn't he on Sesame Street around then too?
He was. In 2008. As the Sesame Street fairy shoe
person. Okay, the range is just... It really
is. But through all this mainstream success,
all these different projects, he never let go
of the stage. Still doing serious theater. Absolutely.
Balancing the sitcom with really demanding roles.
Like in 2004, he did Sondheim's Assassins on
Broadway, playing two roles, the Valadier and
Lee Harvey Oswald. Wow. That's heavy stuff. Deep
Sondheim, yeah. And then in 2005, he starred
in the London premiere of Tick, Tick. Boom. Playing
John. Keeping that connection to serious musical
theater alive. Exactly. Signaling that even as
a huge TV star, the stage was still vital to
him. And I remember that directing credit on
H .I .Y .M. He expanded on that, too. He directed
a production of Rent at the Hollywood Bowl in
2010. And he cast Vanessa Hudgens, who he'd worked
with in the movie Beastly. So mentoring, directing,
performing, producing. This decade, 2004 to 2014,
it wasn't just about A .K .M. It was about leveraging
that visibility to conquer Well, everything else.
And that incredible momentum led him straight
into becoming like the undisputed king of hosting,
right? Yeah, that ability to command a live high
pressure event became a huge part of his brand.
He took those performance skills and applied
them to hosting in a way few others could. The
Tony Awards specifically. He hosted them four
times. Four times. 2009, 2011, 2012, 2013. The
only person who's hosted more is Angela Lansbury.
That says a lot about how the Broadway world
saw him. Wow. And he did the Emmy. Twice, 2009
and 2013, and then the big one. The Oscars, 2015.
Yeah. But here's the really crucial thing to
understand about his hosting. It wasn't just
that he was popular. He was winning awards for
hosting. Right. Emmys specifically for the Tony
hosting gigs. Exactly. Four primetime Emmys just
for hosting the Tonys, 2010, 2012, 2013, 2014.
That's huge. It validates the hosting itself
as a distinct achievement. He basically brought
Broadway showmanship, the singing, the dancing,
the timing. to the awards show format and elevated
it. And it wasn't just the big three award shows
either. No, he did the TV Land Awards, the Spike
Video Game Awards. He became the reliable go
-to guy for any big live event that needed energy
and structure. But even while ruling the hosting
world, he went back to the stage for what many
consider his absolute peak performance. Hedwig
and the Angry Inch. On Broadway. That must have
been intense. Unbelievably intense. He took on
the title role in the first ever Broadway production
of that show starting in March 2014. And Hedwig
is. I mean, it's a demanding role physically
and emotionally. Totally. Rock vocals, intense
movement, carrying this incredibly complex, tragic,
funny character for the whole show. It required
a complete transformation. How did people react?
Critics were blown away. Variety called it an
astonishing physical performance comparing him
to Iggy Pop and Lou Reed. It was the ultimate
proof that he was far, far more than Barney Stinson.
And it paid off. He won the Tony for it. 2014
Tony Award for Best Leading Actor in a Musical.
It was like the final jewel in his Broadway crown.
Solidified him as a truly serious, risk -taking
stage actor. But then he left the show relatively
quickly, didn't he? August 2014. Yeah, he cited
wanting to spend more time with his family. Which,
you know, fits that pattern of balancing work
and life. But maybe also avoiding getting stuck.
Avoiding burnout after such an intense role.
That idea of avoiding repetition. It came up
again around late night TV, right? It did. There
were reports that he was in the running or maybe
even turned down offers to replace Letterman
or Craig Ferguson. A gig most stars would kill
for. Right. But the reason cited was his fear
of the nightly grind, the repetition of doing
a talk show every single day. Did he ever confirm
that? He later clarified she wasn't officially
offered either job, but that, yeah, there were
conversations about his interest level. But that
core feeling, the fear of repetition, seems genuine.
It's interesting because hosting the Tonys four
times has its own kind of repetition. True, but
maybe it's the difference between a huge annual
event you can really prepare for and craft versus
the relentless daily churn of late night. He
seems drawn to unique, challenging projects,
not necessarily the comfortable long run. And
this whole period, his influence was really peaking.
He made Time magazine's 100 most influential
people list in 2010. Yeah, and that wasn't just
about acting. It was about his whole cultural
footprint, the versatile performer, the visible
gay man thriving in the mainstream. It was a
big moment. Okay, so post -Oscars, post -Hedwig,
what's the next chapter? It seems like he shifts
focus again more towards creating his own stuff.
Exactly. Less performing in other people's projects,
more becoming a writer and producer. Building
his own IP. Starting with his memoir in 2014.
Neil Patrick Harris. Choose your own autobiography.
And even that wasn't standard. The format itself
was innovative. The choose your own adventure
style. That's very him. Right. taking a familiar
format and putting his unique playful spin on
it and it worked hit the bestseller list and
then he leaned into his love of magic for another
writing project yeah the magic misfits series
young adult novel starting in 2017 the sources
list four books it's him building a whole world
based on something he's genuinely passionate
about so author and then he got into Board games.
Sort of. He released Box One in 2020. It's described
as a single -player board game, but it's really
more like an escape room in a box. Oh, interesting.
Interactive. Very. Uses physical puzzles, digital
elements. It's another example of him finding
a new creative outlet, leveraging his interests
in magic and puzzles into a totally different
kind of product. Again, avoiding repetition,
tackling game design. Meanwhile, his acting career
didn't stop. He jumped heavily into streaming.
Big time. playing Count Olaf in Netflix's A Series
of Unfortunate Events from 2017 to 2019. And
he was a producer on that, too. Olaf seems like
a perfect role for him, actually. All those disguises.
Exactly. Constant variety built into the character.
It prevented him from being stuck playing the
same note. Then he did another Netflix show,
Uncoupled, in 2022. Right. Playing a gay man
navigating dating in middle age. He was an executive
producer on that one, too. Yeah. And that felt
significant. Using his star power to center a
mature LGBTQ story, showing commitment to that
kind of representation. The sheer variety of
roles in recent years is kind of staggering,
though. Serious drama. Like playing Desi Collings
in Gone Girl back in 2014. Very creepy, very
different. Big sci -fi. The Analyst in the Matrix
Resurrections in 2021. Acclaimed international
TV. It's a Sin in 2021, the British series about
the AIDS crisis. A really powerful, dramatic
role. And then something totally different again
with Doctor Who. Yeah. the toy maker in the 60th
anniversary special in 2023. Super flamboyant,
villainous, memorable. And he even popped back
up as Barney briefly. Just for two episodes in
How I Met Your Father in 2023. A little nod to
the past, but not a full commitment. Very strategic.
Plus, more Sondheim with Into the Woods at Encores
in 2022. It's like he's deliberately touching
base with every single part of the industry.
blockbusters, streaming, indie drama, YA books,
games, Broadway. He's refusing to be categorized.
That seems to be the driving force now. So to
really understand the MPH brand, we have to look
at how his personal life intersects with all
this. Yeah. Especially his journey with the sexuality.
Absolutely. And it seems he was quite self -aware
early on. He talked about dating Christine Taylor
back in the late 90s. Right. And saying that
relationship helped him realize he was gay. Like
if it wasn't clicking with her. It probably means
I'm gay. Yeah. That kind of introspection seems
typical of how he approaches things. Which led
to him coming out publicly in November 2006.
And the timing, again, is fascinating. He's starring
as Barney Stinson, Mr. Hetero, on a huge sitcom.
And he just puts it out there. I am a very content
gay man living my life to the fullest. It was
a powerful moment. It kind of challenged audiences,
showing that an actor's identity doesn't have
to limit their roles. And his relationship with
David Burtka has been very. very public since
2004. Very. They've become this really visible
couple. And their journey to marriage was tied
into the fight for marriage equality. They got
engaged years before they announced it. Yeah.
Proposed to each other way back, but waited until
the Marriage Equality Act passed in New York
in 2011 to make it public on Twitter. A real
statement. And they had their twins, Gideon and
Harper, via surrogacy in 2010. Right. Then they
finally got married in Italy in 2014. Pamela
Fryman, the HIMYM director, officiated. Elton
John performed. Pretty epic wedding. Cemented
them as this major Hollywood family. They even
sold their Harlem townhouse for nearly $7 million
in 2022. So, you know, they're doing okay. Seems
like it. Now let's talk magic, because this isn't
just a minor hobby for him. Oh no, he's a serious
magic enthusiast. Especially card magic, performance
magic. And he brings it into his work, right?
Whoa! Barney did magic, his character on American
Horror Story did. Yeah. Even on Glee, he weaves
it in. It's part of his toolkit. And the magic
community recognizes his dedication. He won the
Tannins Magic Louie Award in 2006, hosted the
World Magic Awards. And he was president of the
Magic Castle. President of the board of directors,
yeah. From 2011 to 2014, that's a serious leadership
role in the heart of the magic world. He really
commits. Okay, and philanthropy, where does he
focus his efforts? A lot of it aligns with his
life and career. LGBTQ causes, AIDS research
and support, organizations like the Trevor Project,
AIDS Healthcare Foundation, Elton John AIDS Foundation,
Broadway Cares Equity, Fights AIDS. Makes sense.
Connecting his platform to causes he cares about.
Yeah, and he even did that fashion collaboration
with Ron Dorff, donating proceeds to World Central
Kitchen, using his brand for charitable work,
too. We also need to touch on that controversy
that resurfaced. the Amy Winehouse incident from
2011. Right. The Halloween party where the unfortunate
meat platter resembling her corpse was served
not long after her death. He came back up in
2022 and he apologized publicly then. Yeah. It's
kind of a stark reminder of the tightrope walk
involved in having that edgy satirical persona
he cultivated. Sometimes the irony or the boundary
pushing can cross a line into poor taste or insensitivity.
It shows how hard it is to manage that kind of
complex public image. 247 hashtag tag outro.
So wrapping this all up, looking back at this
incredible career, the real aha moment for me
is just the sheer audacity of the reinvention.
Right. Going from duty to Hedwig is one thing,
but doing that while also becoming the face of
the Tony Awards, pioneering web series like Dr.
Horrible, writing bestselling kids books. It's
mind boggling. He just never stayed still. Never.
And I think. The synthesized takeaway, the core
of his success, is this mastery of perception.
He learned how to play with how people saw him.
How do you mean? Well, first he needed to break
the doogie image, so he embraces this wild, satirical
version of himself in Harold and Kumar to show
he's in on the joke, that he's got edge. Right,
the self -parody. Yeah, then he uses these incredibly
demanding stage roles, cabaret, headwig, to prove
his serious acting talent beyond any doubt. Real
artistic credibility. And then uses the fame
from HIMYM in hosting. To bring his niche passions
like magic or deep cut musical theater or even
puzzle games to a huge audience. He's like the
ultimate popularizer of cool, slightly nerdy
things. He makes the niche mainstream through
his own broad appeal. He's a curator, like you
said. Which brings us to our final thought for
you, the listener. We know he fears repetition.
He's conquered TV acting, film acting, Broadway,
hosting, writing, producing, even game design.
Pretty much every corner of entertainment. So
the question is, what's left? Is he constantly
hunting for that next totally new medium or format
to master? We know he's got roles coming up in
Dexter. Resurrection and a Deadpool VR game.
Which are still within acting, mostly. Exactly.
So where does the multi -hyphenate magician go
next when he seems to have already done it all?
What's the ultimate non -repetitive challenge
for NPH? Something for you to ponder until our
next deep dive.