12 Things To Know About Neil Patrick Harris

In my opinion, Barney Stinson is one of the greatest television characters of all time. He's outrageous, a little bit crazy and is always hilarious. I mean, everything that comes out of his mouth is a great one-liner. I started using "true story" and "legen.. wait for it... dary" because of Barney! And one of the main reasons why the character is so amazing is because of Neil Patrick Harris! He's one of the most well-known actors in Hollywood and he continues to be part of amazing projects. He's going to be in the new adaptation of A Series of Unfortunate Eventson Netflix. So before it comes out, here is everything you need to know about Neil!

1. Neil loves magic and considers himself an amateur magician! He's even on the board of directors for The Magic Castle, a nightclub for magicians and magic enthusiasts!

2. His routine before hosting an awards show is always meditating and then drinking a ton of Red Bull. He actually received a lifetime supply of Red Bull because of this and all the other free advertising he gives the product!

A lifetime supply of Red Bull? A lifetime supply of wings! 

3. All the suits that Neil wore when playing Barney Stinson were tailored especially for him. So when the show ended, he took a bunch of them home! 

Side note: he also got to take home Barney's important Playbook!

No wonder Neil always looked so good on that show. 

4. When Barney was arrested in the episode "The Magician's Code"for trying to sneak a magic trick through airport security, this was based on real life events! Neil was stopped at an airport because he also had weird props for a magic trick in his bag. 

5. Neil wrote a biography but it's in the style of a choose your own adventure! It's called Choose Your Own Autobiography and the reader gets to live Neil's life! 

The official description for this book is nothing short of awesome: "Choose correctly and you’ll find fame, fortune, and true love. Choose incorrectly and you’ll find misery, heartbreak, and... piranhas." I WANT TO READ IT NOW.

6. Normally, when actors play themselves, they are listed in the credits as "Himself." But because Neil was playing such an over-the-top version of himself in Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle, he specifically requested to be credited as "Neil Patrick Harris" just so people would know he's nothing like that in real life!

Honestly, he's the best part of those movies!

7. He's obsessed with comic books and is proud that he got to provide the voices for some of his favorite characters like The Flash, Nightwing and Spider-Man.

8. Neil only uses all three names because when he signed up for the Screen Actors Guild, there was already an actor named Neil Harris. He's joked before that other options he was thinking of using were Neil Danger Harris and Neil Patrick Rocket. 

The other options were cool but none of them roll off the tongue like NPH!

9. Ever wondered why it looks like Neil was just born to act? It's because he literally was! He started acting when he was three years old in a school production of The Wizard of Oz. He played Toto. 

Neil always kills it with the musical numbers when he's hosting an awards show. He's just a born performer!

10. He announced his engagement to his longtime partner David Burtka on Twitter. David is an actor and a chef who trained under Mario Batali! After becoming engaged in 2006, they married in Italy in 2014. 

Isn't it the dream to be married to a chef? 

11. His breakout role was playing the title role in Doogie Howser, M.D. when he was only 16 years old. 

12. And finally, nobody does Halloween like Neil and his family. Nobody. 

HIS KIDS ARE MARILYN MONROE AND JAMES DEAN. DOES IT GET ANY CUTER THAN THIS?!

Leave a COMMENT and tell us your favorite Barney Stinson quote! 

Mine is: "When I get sad, I stop being sad and be awesome instead. True story."