Neil Patrick Harris (born June 15, 1973) is an American actor, comedian, magician, and singer, known primarily for his comedy roles on television and his dramatic and musical stage roles. On television, he is known for playing the title character on Doogie Howser, M.D. (1989–1993), Barney Stinson on How I Met Your Mother (2005–2014, for which he was nominated for four Emmy Awards), and Count Olaf on A Series of Unfortunate Events (2017–).
Harris is also known for his role as the title character in Joss Whedon's musical Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog (2008) and a fictional version of himself in the Harold & Kumar film series (2004–2011). His other films include Starship Troopers (1997), Beastly (2011), The Smurfs (2011), The Smurfs 2 (2013), A Million Ways to Die in the West (2014), and Gone Girl (2014). In 2014, he starred in the title role in Hedwig and the Angry Inch on Broadway, for which he won the 2014 Tony Award for Best Leading Actor in a Musical.