Neil Patrick Harris had all the trappings of the stereotypical Hollywood child actor horror story. At the ripe old age of 16, he became the titular character in Doogie Howser, M.D. in 1989. The show ran for four years, and Harris became synonymous with the name Doogie. When the show ended, Neil Patrick Harris could have easily followed the path blazed by Gary Coleman, Danny Bonaduce, or worse, Dana Plato. Yet, Neil Patrick Harris decided to blaze his own trail while defying both personal and professional stereotypes.
Life after Doogie
After Doogie Howser, M.D. exited the small screen in 2003, Neil Patrick Harris spent the next decade winning critical acclaim in made for television movies and guest starring on the occasional television show. He did have a scene stealing turn as a psychic military intelligence agent in 1997’s Starship Troopers, but never reached movie star status.
He also made his way to Broadway. He found favor with the critics for his roles in Assassins and Cabaret. This would eventually turn into a stint as a popular host for the Tony awards.
Breaking stereotypes
But what makes Harris so… well… awesome, is his refusal not to be. How awesome? He actually wrote a guide to being awesome for “Men’s Health”. Not to mention there are a plethora of internet memes professing his awesomeness. My daughter was born two years after Doogie Howser pulled the plug, but she now uses the initials “NPH” as a substitute for the word awesome. That is a whole lot of awesome.
All that aside, it is the way he recaptured his stardom that seems to be unprecedented. One year into his role of womanizing Barney Stinson on the popular How I Met Your Mother, Harris exited the closet and became openly gay. And six years later, the openly gay actor is still playing the smooth heterosexual character. And his audience still loves him.
Where others would wilt, Harris meets the day with a smile. Where others would fade into type casting, Harris shows his talent weekly on CBS. Where the streets are littered with bad choices, Harris has come out on top. Dang…That’s so NPH.
