The most effective Neil Patrick Harris films and TV exhibits embrace a variety of roles, from a child physician to a womanizer to a fictional, over-the-top model of himself. Harris obtained his begin as a baby actor and made a reputation for himself because the lead within the tv present Doogie Howser, M.D., the place he performed the titular character on the age of 16. Harris’s profession as an grownup was an interesting journey, with him discovering nice success on the Broadway stage and afterward tv.
His most well-known titles are on the small display, together with his hottest grownup roles being in How I Met Your Mom and A Sequence of Unlucky Occasions. Nevertheless, he additionally had some fascinating roles on the large display, each taking part in characters spoofing his persona and different roles that even had him taking part in a fictional model of himself. After all, his most notable success was on the stage, as he gained a Tony Award, along with his 5 Primetime Emmy Award wins and a Grammy Award nomination.
10
Glee (2010)
Bryan Ryan
Neil Patrick Harris discovered his most vital success on the stage, with Broadway roles in Cabaret, Hedwig and the Offended Itch, Lease, and extra. That made him an ideal particular person to look on the musical TV present Glee. Harris solely appeared in a single episode of the hit collection, season 1’s “Dream On.” Followers know that Harris can sing, and he proved that with one of many present’s finest musical numbers, as he sang the Aerosmith track “Dream On” alongside Matthew Morrison’s Will Schuester.
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The storyline featured Harris’s Bryan Ryan as a former rival to Will and somebody who wished to chop faculties’ budgets for choir applications, however he quickly discovered the error of his methods when Will helped him get an audition for Les Misérables. Within the episode, Harris additionally sang “Piano Man” by Billy Joel and contributed to “Daydream Believer” by The Monkees. It was just one episode, however Harris gained a Primetime Emmy for his efficiency as Excellent Visitor Actor in a Comedy Sequence.
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Undercover Brother (2002)
Lance
- Launch Date
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Could 31, 2002
- Runtime
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86 minutes
- Director
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Malcolm D. Lee
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Chris Kattan
Undercover Brother
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Denise Richards
Mr. Feather
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Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor
White She Satan
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Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor
Sistah Woman
After Doogie Howser, M.D., Neil Patrick Harris appeared in a handful of films, after which he disappeared from the large display for a couple of years. His return got here in 2002 when he signed on to the spy comedy Undercover Brother. Directed by Malcolm D. Lee (The Finest Man) and starring Eddie Griffin, this movie is a satire of spy films, changing the suave James Bond with a Black secret agent. The story is infused with African American tradition, as Griffin’s Undercover Brother fights to cease “The Man.”
Neil Patrick Harris is a part of the comedy reduction, taking part in Lance, an intern employed resulting from affirmative motion legal guidelines as the one white man within the B.R.O.T.H.E.R.H.O.O.D. group. Harris is hilarious in his position because the stereotypical white-acting character who stands out within the funniest methods attainable round a forged that features Dave Chappelle, Chi McBride, and extra. Critics praised the movie’s script, which was stuffed with humorous racial jokes that principally all hit the mark.
8
The Insufferable Weight of Huge Expertise (2022)
Richard Fink
Neil Patrick Harris performs over-the-top variations of himself in a number of films. In The Insufferable Weight of Huge Expertise, he does not play himself, however he would possibly as effectively have. This film options Nicolas Cage taking part in a fictional model of himself, named Nick Cage. His profession has stalled, and he’s struggling to safe new roles. This leads his agent, Richard Fink, to land him the gig of attending a South American billionaire’s birthday celebration for $1 million, which Cage reluctantly accepts. Harris performs Richard Fink.
He is not taking part in Neil Patrick Harris, and is as an alternative an agent. Nevertheless, he performs a model of his fictional self, making an attempt to spice up his buddy Cage and dealing on getting him to see the sunshine on the finish of the tunnel. This can be a small position for Harris, because the film belongs to Cage and Pedro Pascal, who performs the billionaire mega-fan of Cage. Nevertheless, it was enjoyable seeing Harris within the movie, taking part in the character sort that his followers have grown accustomed to over the past decade or so.
7
The Matrix Resurrections (2021)
The Analyst
The Matrix Resurrections obtained optimistic critiques from critics upon its launch, but it surely divided followers of the franchise. The film was a field workplace bomb, and whereas many followers appeared upset with the storyline, it was simply as revolutionary and groundbreaking as the unique trilogy. The movie was principally a critique by Lana Wachowski of how folks took her franchise and tried to drive it to adapt to their views, whereas she confirmed that wasn’t going to occur.
Keanu Reeves and Carrie-Anne Moss returned as Neo and Trinity, though they not remembered one another. They reside within the Matrix once more and are oblivious to the warfare that they had fought to win years earlier than. That is because of Neil Patrick Harris’s Analyst, the creator of this model of the Matrix, who pretends to be Thomas’ (Neo’s identify right here) therapist however is actively working to maintain him beneath management to safe this model of the Matrix with out opposition. The film is a lot better than folks would possibly keep in mind.
6
Gone Woman (2014)
Desi Collings
Neil Patrick Harris has developed a distinct segment for himself in films and TV exhibits all through his profession. Nevertheless, he nonetheless surprises folks with supporting roles which are in contrast to anything he is engaged on. Considered one of these got here when David Fincher forged Harris in Gone Woman. Primarily based on Gillian Anderson’s novel of the identical identify, the film stars Ben Affleck as Nick Dunne, a person whose spouse Amy (Rosamund Pike) went lacking, and the world thinks he killed her. Neil Patrick Harris performs Desi Collings, Amy’s rich ex-boyfriend.
The film has a twist ending that entails Desi, and he is among the most important characters within the movie, together with Nick and Amy. It was an uncommon position for Harris, who often sticks with comedies or quirky films, and infrequently goes into the drama waters that this movie supplied. Rosamund Pike earned an Oscar nomination, and whereas Harris solely had a supporting position, he proved himself with a wonderful efficiency.
5
Doogie Howser, M.D. (1989-1993)
Doogie Howser
After beginning his profession as a baby actor in films like Ciara’s Coronary heart and Purple Individuals Eater, Neil Patrick Harris landed a number one tv position in Doogie Howser, M.D. On this medical sitcom, Harris performed Dr. Douglas “Doogie” Howser, a teen with a genius mind and a photographic reminiscence who accomplished highschool in 9 weeks and graduated from Princeton College on the age of 10. By the point he was 14, he had completed medical college and have become a licensed doctor.
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The collection splits its time between his job as a physician and his life as a teen. The collection not solely exhibits how Doogie seeks acceptance from different children and his colleagues at work, but it surely additionally offers with a number of hot-button points, together with AIDS, racism, homophobia, gang violence, sexism, and extra. The collection lasted for 4 seasons and 97 episodes, however was canceled earlier than creator Steven Bocho may end the story. Regardless of that, it nonetheless gained three Primetime Emmy Awards.
4
Starship Troopers (1997)
Carl Jenkins
Starship Troopers is among the most misunderstood films ever made. Whereas many mistakenly reward or bash the film as pro-military, it’s a satire that mocks fascism and is the precise reverse of the novel by Robert A. Heinlein. A lot of what Paul Verhoeven does within the film mocks your entire thought of fascist and xenophobic actions, and that is no extra evident than within the character of Carl Jenkins, performed by Neil Patrick Harris.
The uniform Jenkins wears is extremely harking back to these worn by the Gestapo, and the propaganda proven within the movie is straight out of Leni Riefenstahl’s “Triumph of the Will,” a German propaganda documentary. Ultimately, Jenkins was one of many ways in which Verhoeven added Nazi symbolism to the film to show his level, and there have been nonetheless individuals who did not get it. For Harris’s half, it was a surprising position for the Doogie Howser actor, and it confirmed that he was coming into his personal on the large display.
3
Harold & Kumar Go To White Citadel (2004)
Neil Patrick Harris
Neil Patrick Harris performed himself within the comedy stoner film Harold & Kumar Go to White Citadel. There have been loads of nice visitor appearances within the movie, with Christopher Meloni sensible as Freakshow, but it surely was Harris who stole each scene he was in, taking part in an over-the-top model of himself. He first seems within the movie whereas hitchhiking, and Kumar picks him up. They understand who it’s, however then it is also revealed that Harris is excessive on ecstasy. Harris then steals their automobile, however exhibits up later to purchase them White Citadel burgers.
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It’s as ridiculous because it sounds, and Harris was implausible on this position, organising an opportunity to return in later films. The second film switches up the plot, with Harris choosing up Harold and Kumar this time round when they’re hitchhiking. Lastly, he had an much more vital position in A Very Harold & Kumar 3D Christmas, the place he claims he died within the second film however was kicked out of Heaven by Jesus, and now he’s telepathic. The primary film remains to be one of the best, however Harris stood out in all three.
2
A Sequence Of Unlucky Occasions (2017-2019)
Rely Olaf
In 2017, Neil Patrick Harris took on the villainous lead position within the Netflix collection A Sequence of Unlucky Occasions. Primarily based on the novels by Lemony Snicket, Harris stars as Rely Olaf, an actor who plans to say the Baudelaire household fortune for himself after a fireplace kills the mother and father, leaving Violet, Klaus, and Sunny as the only heirs. Because the e-book collection exhibits, Olaf creates elaborate plans to kill the kids in order that he’ll inherit the fortune, and he makes use of his appearing expertise to tackle totally different roles as he units his plans in movement.
Jim Carrey performed the identical character in a film primarily based on the books. Nonetheless, Harris exhibits that he may need been the only option for Rely Olaf, delivering an excellent efficiency over the three seasons and 25 episodes that the present aired on the streaming large. Critics praised the collection, and it obtained excessive viewing numbers. A Sequence of Unlucky Occasions gained a prestigious Peabody Award for Kids’s & Youth Programming in 2017.
1
How I Met Your Mom (2005-2014)
Barney Stinson
For most individuals, one of the best position that Neil Patrick Harris ever had was on the tv collection How I Met Your Mom. On this collection, he performed Barney Stinson, an conceited, manipulative womanizer who typically has multiple scheme underway at a time within the episodes. This was a wonderful efficiency, because it was in opposition to sort for Harris, who’s an overtly homosexual man recognized for his work on the Broadway scene. Nevertheless, he took on the position of Barney with a ardour that made folks imagine he was a womanizing yuppie.
What resulted was a job that made Barney the most effective characters on a present stuffed with nice characters, and his journey to search out love turned much more essential at occasions than that of the principle character, Ted, who narrated the collection. For Harris, it was a critically profitable position as effectively, with 4 Primetime Emmy and two Golden Globe nominations, though he did not win any of them. In all, Neil Patrick Harris appeared in 208 episodes and even obtained an opportunity to direct one, season 5, episode 13, “Jenkins.”
