Neil Patrick Harris was born on June 15, 1973, in Albuquerque, New Mexico, to Sheila Gail (Scott) and Ronald Gene Harris, both lawyers who also ran a restaurant. He grew up in Ruidoso, New Mexico, where he first took up acting in the fourth grade. His early start in the performing arts was marked by a memorable role as Toto in a school production of The Wizard of Oz.
As he entered his teenage years, Harris made his film debut in two movies, Purple People Eater and Clara's Heart, which starred Whoopi Goldberg. The same year, his family relocated to Albuquerque, and Harris landed the lead role in Steven Bochco's television series Doogie Howser, M.D., which catapulted him to teen-heartthrob status. The series ran from 1989 to 1993 and earned him a People's Choice Award and a Golden Globe nomination.
Harris attended La Cueva High School in Albuquerque, where he acted in a few plays, including his senior play, Fiddler on the Roof, in which he portrayed Lazar Wolf the butcher. After Doogie Howser, M.D. ended its run, Harris transitioned to stage acting, which he had always wanted to pursue. He appeared in a string of made-for-television movies before landing big-screen roles in Starship Troopers and The Proposition.
In 1997, Harris accepted the role of Mark Cohen in the Los Angeles production of the musical Rent, which earned him a Drama-League Award. He continued to perform in Rent to rave reviews until January 1998, reprising his role for six nights in his hometown of Albuquerque later that year. Harris returned to television in the short-lived sitcom Stark Raving Mad in 1999 and appeared in big-screen projects like The Next Best Thing and Undercover Brother.
He can be heard as the voice of Peter Parker/Spider-Man in the animated Spider-Man series and has continued his stage work, making his Broadway debut in 2001 in Proof. Harris has also appeared on stage in Romeo and Juliet, Cabaret, and Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street in Concert, among other productions. In 2005, he returned to television with a guest-starring role on Numb3rs and a starring role in the sitcom How I Met Your Mother.
Neil Patrick Harris also played the title role in the web-exclusive musical comedy Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog in 2008, which became the #1 TV series on iTunes for five straight weeks despite not being broadcast on television.
