Since the tender age of 14, Harris' fame has steadily grown.
Here is the stunning transformation of Neil Patrick Harris.
“It was very small-town,” he recalled.
“Almost Native American, to be honest.
Fishing in duck ponds, running through pine forests.
We would create our own little world.
Harris recalled how he was moved to tears.
Harris also became fascinated with the world of magic.
As he toldWBUR, he grew up watching Doug Henning and David Copperfield on TV.
He became “smitten” by Fool’s Paradise, a local magic store.
In fact, most of his allowance as a kid went towards magic tricks.
As he explained to Backstage (viaYouTube), it was a summer that ended up changing his life.
While at the camp, he happened to be in a cold reading audition class with Medoff.
Eventually, Harris landed the role oppositeWhoopi Goldberg.
And just like that, his career was launched.
For Harris, there couldn’t have been a better way into the industry.
In fact, it served as a sort of “film school” for him.
“To have [co-star] Whoopi Goldberg and director Bob Mulligan he was remarkable.
It was a terrific film school for a 13-year-old boy.”
This television show was another important moment for Harris’s acting education.
“I’m very proud of that role,” he toldThe Guardianin 2021.
“That was my formative college years, even though I was barely in high school.”
The show ran for four years until it was canceled in 1993.
During that time, Harris rocketed to fame.
Becoming a household name at such a young age wasn’t always easy for the teen.
People in the streets would shout out his character’s name or simply watch him from afar.
For Harris, it was all a little overwhelming.
He was 20 when the show ended and stepped out of the spotlight for a few years.
He struggled with accepting his sexual identity while also dealing with the pressures of fame.
Finally, with the exception of a few TV movies, the actor turned his attention to the stage.
When he was 25, he was in an L.A. production of “Rent.”
Finally, he said, he felt he found his tribe.
“This gypsy world of people who are just so appreciative of each other’s individuality!”
he toldNew York Magazine.
Initially, the pair expected it would be a short stint.
“I assumed the show would be a short chapter,” Harris toldArchitectural Digest.
However, the show lasted for nine seasons, putting their plans for a family on hold.
He even earned fourEmmynominations for his work as Barney.
“Now it seems there is speculation and interest in my private life and relationships.”
He stated that he was happy and proud of his sexuality.
Harris was in his 30s when he came out.
“I wasn’t some sexual Lothario that people were pining after.
But as he explained, there’s nothing wrong with that.
His natural charisma and sense of comedy proved to be perfect for the job.
He’s also hosted Spike’s Video Game Awards and the TV Land Awards.
He even appeared as a guest host on “Jimmy Kimmel Live” in 2017.
In addition, he has also appeared as a judge on"American Idol.”
While hosting helped Harris’s career progress, there were some downsides.
“I enjoy being a hyphenate.”
I try hard to diversify my portfolio as best I can.”
He has certainly succeeded in diversifying hisresume.
Well, as it turns out, he canalsodirect.
As Harris once explained, he has hopes that his future lies in directing rather than acting.
I’d so much rather be Joss Whedon on the other side of the camera directing it."
“As a director, you’re, like, there with the crew, with the cast.”
As Harris and Burkta explained to Oprah Winfrey (viaYouTube), the couple was desperate to have children.
“We really, really wanted kids,” Harris said.
“Like we really had thought it through financially, emotionally, relationship-wise.”
Once the twins arrived, life changed dramatically for the couple.
“I’m an overworked dad at the moment,” Harris confessed toTime Outin 2012.
But, he added, things had become a little easier as the babies got older.
“My bonding has increased exponentially the older that they’ve gotten,” he said.
That’s not in my skill set yet."
For Harris, becoming a parent has meant learning to be more flexible.
After all, kids are constantly changing and growing and he has two of them!
Despite being very different from Barney, Harris toldTime Outthat there were a few similarities between the characters.
“It’s a different but equally impressive tightrope to walk.”
Harris and his family also moved back to New York after he finished the show.
It sounds like he returned to his roots in more ways than one.
“I’m a parent to ten-year-olds, a boy and a girl,” he toldGlamour.
I love bungee jumping and fire-eating and traveling and white-water rafting my bucket list is long.
I think that’s kind of what life is about: experiential education."
It sounds like we haven’t seen the last transformation for Harris by a long shot.
