Neil Patrick Harris Career EKG

By Amy & Nancy Harrington - GetBack.com | Friday, January 9, 2009, 2:48 PM

Neil Patrick Harris

Jason Merritt/FilmMagic.com

Neil Patrick Harris, who will be hosting "Saturday Night Live" this weekend, has had a surprisingly varied career. Of course he played Doogie Howser in the '80s and he's on that "How I Met Your Mother" show now, but you'd be dead wrong if you thought that he didn't do much in between. Au contraire. Doogie's had a solid career... on TV, in movies, and onstage. He acts, sings, dances. And the most miraculous thing is that this former child star has done it all while maintaining a private life free of melodrama. That's no easy task.

In honor of Dr. Doogie, we've donned our oversized lab coats and Playskool stethoscope and we've charted his career health below. Check out the highs (palpitations) and lows (murmurs), as well as the abnormal career choices (arrhythmias), and near-career-death experiences (flatlines) in our Neil Patrick Harris EKG.

PALPITATION (high)
"Clara's Heart" (1988)
Strong out of the gate, Neil won a Golden Globe nomination at the age of 15 for his work as David Hart, a lonely teen who develops a friendship with a chambermaid (played by Whoopi Goldberg). But he's just warming up the charm genes for what's to come.

PALPITATION
"Doogie Howser, M.D." (1989-1993)
NPH's role of the kid doctor Douglas "Doogie" Howser is so iconic that it's hard to believe the show only ran for four seasons. But once Doogie started to grow up and the "kid" faded from the doctor, the show kind of lost its point of view, and the network pulled the plug.

PALPITATION
"Rent" (1997)
Rather than going the way of so many child actors, Neil skipped the drugs and knocking-off-video-stores trip and instead hit the stage, taking on the role of Mark Cohen in the Los Angeles production of Rent. Fans and critics loved to see Doogie sing and dance, and he earned a Drama-League Award for his performance.

MURMUR (low)
"Starship Troopers" (1997)
Neil tries action, and it's not really the best fit. Starship Troopers wasn't all that rabid fans of the original novel had hoped it would be, and Harris just doesn't seem to have that action-star charisma.

FLATLINE (near-career-death experience)
"Stark Raving Mad" (2000)
Following a string of mediocre made-for-TV movies, like Snowbound: The Jim And Jennifer Stolpa Story, Harris signed on for this short-lived series with costar Tony Shaloub. It may have only lasted 22 episodes, but the contemporary take on the Odd Couple deserved a much longer run.

PALPITATION
"Assassins" (2004)
Returning again to Broadway, the once squeaky-clean Doogie Howser took on the role of Lee Harvey Oswold in the revival of Stephen Sondheim's controversial musical Assassins.

ARRHYTHMIA (abnormal)
"Harold And Kumar Go To White Castle" (2004)
"Harold And Kumar Escape From Guanatanamo Bay" (2008)
Neil plays (we assume) a much darker version of himself in the movies about stoners Harold and Kumar, proving he can poke fun at himself while gaining a little street cred with the college kids.

PALPITATION
Doogie comes out (2006)
Ending years of speculation, NPH comes out and announces to People magazine and the world that he is gay. He says it loud and proud and gets to go back to having the respectfully private life he's always enjoyed.

ARRHYTHMIA
"Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog" (2008)
Taking a break from network TV, the big screen, and the bright lights of Broadway, NPH signed on for this 43-minute Internet film. Created by Joss Whedon (Executive Producer of TV's Buffy The Vampire Slayer and Angel) during the WGA writer's strike, the cult film features Neil as mad scientist Dr. Horrible and his alter-ego, Billy.

PALPITATION
"How I Met Your Mother" (2005-)
The seemingly really likable-in-real-life Harris took on the role of sleazy, abrasive Barney Stinson in the sitcom "How I Met Your Mother." Good call. The show is a hit and has earned NPH a Golden Globe and two Emmy nominations.

NPH Hosts SNL

Drop by GetBack.com for your daily dose of pop culture pleasure: music, movies, games, and more.