Two Minute Date with Neil Patrick Harris
MC's Favorite Emcee
By Jessica Henderson
Photo Credit: Jim Spellman/WireImage
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Hollywood's true superhero? Neil Patrick Harris, of course. Stick with us here: His mad-scientist shtick in Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog almost crashed the Internet, he rode unicorns in the Harold & Kumar sequel, and he kept viewers spellbound as host of the Tonys with a fearlessly cheeky closing act while wearing (awesome costume alert!) an absurdly shiny suit. "Everyone thought it was leather," laughs Harris, 36, of his brushed-cotton threads. "I'd have had sweat coming out my socks." It's no wonder his onstage cool seems almost preternatural. "I'm into telekinesis, moving things, bending them with my mind," says the amateur magician.
This month, the charisma-soaked N.P.H. lends his debonair powers to the Emmys. Likening it to a Dean Martin soiree, he promises an intoxicating affair. "It's akin to hosting a dinner party," he says. "A couple of rye whiskeys on the rocks certainly calm the nerves." After all, he might take the winner's podium himself—he's nominated for his role as the sex-crazed, Prada-clad Barney Stinson on the CBS sitcom How I Met Your Mother. "Nobody likes physical comedy more than I do," Harris says of getting routinely face-slapped by his costars. "I beg my bosses for pratfalls and breakaway bottles. But, yes, it stings—Jason [Segel]'s hands are as big as his junk."
With peace on the domestic front—he's been with actor David Burtka since 2004—the former kid star (as if we weren't going to mention Doogie Howser) has now hatched a plan for worldwide domination. "I dream of a Ron Howard/Steven Spielberg blockbuster where I'm acting to tennis balls on a giant soundstage, running away from computerized monsters that won't exist for 18 months," he sighs, amused. "I can't wait. It'll be so much more fun than acting with Jason."
