Best quotes by Neil Patrick Harris

PopularityOh sure, now you like him [after the audience applaud David Oyelowo].

RespectComedyAudienceWith the Tonys it's a little tricky because a lot of the funnier jokes are more insider, so people watching at home may not get a Julie Taymor reference the way that New Yorkers would. So you have to figure out what comedy plays to a large audience and still respect the individuals who are there.

CharacterOpinionPersonalityReputationTobey's a mellow, cool guy. He's just a good guy. I know that's not the answer you want, and I don't mean that as the political thing to say, but he's a nice guy.

It's nice to establish yourself as an actor first and a singer second. Proof is such a tremendous piece of work, and I'm incredibly lucky to be a part of it. I'm sure that the musicals will happen in the future, though.

TelevisionKnowledgeTruthCultureOur culture's adjustment to the epistemology of television is by now all but complete; we have so thoroughly accepted its definitions of truth, knowledge and reality that irrelevance seems to us to be filled with import, and incoherence seems eminently sane. And if some of our institutions seem not to fit the template of the times, why it is they and not the template, that seem to us disordered and strange.

ComfortPreferencesI like the tube more than the NY subway though, you've got cushioned seats.

DestructionI think when dance is mediocre, it's painful. But when dance is really impressive, it destroys.

HonestyAppearanceI think it has been a weird mistake to have people with their own music careers going on and judging people because when they're too critical, it affects them. They don't want to be that honest, because they need to keep their appearance up.

ActingProcessComing at the acting business as a technician, I really enjoy the process of working. I really enjoy being in a rehearsal room, starting a theatre piece for the first time. I really enjoy shooting in front of the crew, and I really love going on location. I think all that is just so exciting. So I've never really been drawn into the fame of being an actor, which in L.A., is part and parcel of the deal. I think for a lot of people, especially kids, it's hard to not get wrapped up in the world of the perks that the job brings.

TrustCommitmentIt's like, the more you commit, the happier the animators are; if you're at all iffy and concerned, then it doesn't free them up to do as much fun stuff, so you have to just go for it and, again, trust the people around you and not be seemingly guarded and numb. Throw caution to the wind a bit.

ActingCareer ChoicesPersonal InterestsI get to choose things that interest me as opposed to trying to get any job that will have me, which for a vast majority of actors is the case.

Self-PerceptionInsecurityPhysical AppearanceI have a very large forehead. I have a pronounced skull. Maybe producers think that there is a lot going on up in there.

InterestUniquenessWhat I enjoy so much about the Tonys' uniqueness is that anyone who's tuning in has an interest in seeing the show, so our job is halfway done.

ComedyI want to be able to infuse some youthful energy and comedy while appreciating the generations before.

Neil Patrick HarrisI've gotten to hang out with Elmo, I'm the Fairy Shoeperson on 'Sesame Street'. So hopefully our kids will get to see and hear me as much as they're able.

CreativityRisk-TakingWhen you call someone and ask them to do something they've never done before, in different mediums I think they would be inclined to pass because they're afraid of the risk. But the creative people who populate the theater world love the challenge of new things.

ConfusionEngagementCharlie Sheen is who again? Denise is engaged?

ArtistsThe Tonys are the once-a-year shot for all of these shows and artists who work so diligently every single performance but only for a thousand or so people at a time. This gives them the opportunity to perform to millions of people.

TalentActorsCharactersBelievabilityThere are so many examples of talented actors working today, no matter how they live their private lives. I'm lucky that people believe me when I'm in character.

Personal GrowthWork-Life BalanceSelf-ReflectionAdaptationBefore babies, I worked very hard to make sure I understood my surroundings and figured out where I fit in the world, whether it was at work or in a social situation.

FanI’m a nerdy, geeky fan of Labyrinth and Dark Crystal.

I still audition a lot - it depends on the medium. For film, I audition just like everyone else, because it's a different set of casting directors. For television and theatre - well, for theater, there's some auditioning that has to happen, just for them to know that you can sing it, and how you'd take on the part. But for TV, things are getting a little better with, "Would you like to be a part of this?" But that's really for one - night things. It sounds like a pompous answer, if I say people are calling me to ask me to do things.

PreferencesFoodNeil Patrick HarrisChef's choice is my favorite. I'm super adventurous.

Neil Patrick HarrisA cardio-funk class - I should have at least taken one of those. But it's always terrified me. I'm never one to be a dancer on the dance floor, even at a bar or a club.

TelevisionActingI find myself acting for an editor more, because there's a quick turnaround with television, so you want to try and seem like you're as frenetic as possible, while replicating your movement so you're giving the editor more opportunity to cut within the different takes. If you're so crazy that you're sitting in one take and standing in another, the editor can only choose one take or the other. But if you can wrangle yourself into the same spot over and over, then you give them more choices for you.

New YorkTheaterWe're trying to get as many people to become interested in seeing it, but if you like the theater and you're interested in seeing what live theater looks like in New York, you probably already set your DVR. It's gonna be a hard ask to get a bunch of college-basketball fans to tune in for three hours to watch the Tonys.

ІгриShakespeareProseI'm a games and theory kind of guy. I love puzzles, so it was fun dissecting Shakespeare's prose.

Neil Patrick HarrisI'm a very lucky man in this chapter of my professional life, 'cause I get to do jobs with wildly different skill sets.

DisciplineRepetitionPerformingThe discipline of live theater - doing the same perfect thing night after night, eight times a week - never ceases to amaze me

EntertainmentNeil Patrick HarrisI love the 'So You Think You Can Dance' show. I love it. I think it's some of the best hours on TV.

I'm shocked at how early everything closes here. But people start earlier. I miss the late nightlife in NYC, but then again I sing and burn so much energy in the show that it's probably good - I get to go home and sleep.

TelevisionEntertainmentIf you don't have any ties to the music industry, you just love 'American Idol,' you can sit there and do exactly what you do in your living room, which is stare at them and judge them.

MarriageWork-Life BalanceFatherhood'Smurfs' just seemed like a great way to represent a young father to be, guy in a marriage, work in conflict, and I was really interested in the technical CG side of things. I'd never done a movie that I thought would be so physical and yet so precise. So I was intrigued by all of that.

New YorkTheaterSo I've done my fair share of theater. I have also been very fortunate in that I've been able to come to New York two or three times a year just to see as many shows as possible. I think the live theater culture here is incredible.

Neil Patrick HarrisStarship Troopers was great. It was great fun to work on something with blue screens and big budget special effects. Denise Richards was nice to look at too, of course.

Thankfully, the meat of the Tony telecast is the performances from the shows, so the awards show kind of creates itself around the season, and then I fill in based on the vibe of the season in general. I'm happy that there'll be so many legitimately good performances on the show.

SelflessnessThe voiceover thing is very selfless. You go in there and they've hired you for your voice, but they know exactly what they want, and the writer's there and he knows exactly how it's supposed to be said. So you can't really argue with them, you just have to let them tell you what to do and then do it.

Neil Patrick Harris[Before introducing the nominees for best animated film] If you're at the awards party with the guys who made the Lego Movie, now would be a good time to distract them.

GoalsAmbitionCareerStrategyI'm not trying to climb a ladder - I'm casting a bit of a net.

Neil Patrick HarrisI pride myself in being able to straddle demographics and if that was said as Barney Stinson it would mean a little different thing.

MoviesNeil Patrick HarrisI'm in a play on Broadway, I have an animated TV show coming up, I have a few movies that just came out.

SingingI'm not the best cruise ship crooner. I'm not the best karaoke guy.

Neil Patrick HarrisI do a lot of books on tape for Beverly Cleary, and another 'Smurfs' shout-out for that demographic.

ActingFunEscapeFantasyPlaying a villain was fun, only because you get to do all the things you wouldn't normally do in your real life.

Make-UpMeditationThe makeup [for Count Olaf] took about two and a half hours every morning. The meditation was another hour and a half. I would eat a big breakfast - that was probably 45 minutes. And then it was lunch.

CommunicationInterviewsYou have to be careful when you're doing an interview.

Neil Patrick HarrisI sort of pride myself in my dissatisfaction with my work. I've always been concerned with buying the hype, and having that make your performances suffer.

Personal GrowthAdaptabilitySelf-AwarenessIf I'm doing some weird tick with my mouth, or not standing still or something, I'll be the first person to notice it, and then want to change that. I think it's important just to maintain trajectory, to not just use your same tricks over and over.

WritingCriticismTheaterI don't care about my "impact" - I only care about the theater as an art form and criticism as an act of writing.

SubjectivityI don't feel ignored. But I'd rather engage readers than dictate my opinion to them. Opinion is so...subjective!

ActionMoviesAspirationsSuperheroesI'd love to be some sort of villain in a big-budget action movie. Or a superhero franchise. That'd be rad.

CharactersPerspectiveDirectingI'm very interested in starting to produce, and direct, and have an umbrella over an entire project in the future. I'd like to have control over what the characters do. I think as an actor, you get a little too caught up in the moment-to-moment, beat-to-beat stuff to have perspective.

Film IndustryEqualityFor film, I audition just like everyone else, because it's a different set of casting directors.

TechnologyI love technology. I buy all of the stuff when they come out first.

SuccessCareerWorkEnjoymentProcessI've been very fortunate to go from interesting chapter to interesting chapter. I've always enjoyed the process and always enjoyed working more really than the end result of what it achieves. I'm more interested in doing the work.

ParentingBefore babies, I worked very hard to make sure I understood my surroundings and figured out where I fit in the world, whether it was at work or whether it was in a social situation. And with kids, you just can't. The rule is you can't really do that because they dictate and they change so much so you just have to go with the flow more and be present and not have big expectations and be amused all the time.

DedicationIdeasTimingEnergyI have actual strong ideas. You just have to wait for the right timing. Timing is pretty crucial here. I can't dedicate a lot of energy and efforts trying to, say, create a show that I want to produce while I'm currently on another show.

ActorsDirectingI feel like with actors wanting to direct, you really only have a shot or two. You can't just make a bunch of little independent movies, and then finally one gets noticed. You have to make a really good one right away.

The hardest part of playing the villain was the prosthetics, because I couldn't really move my face as much as I wanted to, and yet I had to move my face a lot. If I moved my face in certain ways the prosthetics would come apart, so I could do a lot of eyebrow acting, but I couldn't do a lot of nose lifting, or the corners of the nose would pop out.

That movie [A Series of Unfortunate Events] told four books in two hours, and we have two hours per book. So we have eight hours to tell four books, and if people watch we'll get to tell more of them. There's only thirteen books, so there's only going to be two more seasons, but that allows for a lot of time to be in character and to maintain character.

LaughterI did enjoy singing the song, called "The Count", which is Count Olaf's big song that he sings to the kids when they first arrive with his henchpeople. He wrote it himself, and he thinks he's really, really talented, and it's a terrible song. So we had to learn intentionally bad choreography... We did these almost Lady Gaga-ish kind of movements, which were just awful, but that made me laugh

I don't like to be disparaging about my past roles. That's the only taboo that I don't like to cross.

I like [Count] Olaf's wardrobe, because the whole thing seems like it should be a period piece in many ways, and yet the date is non-specific. So I would wear cloaks and jackets, but also turtlenecks. I was a little beatnik, and kind of hipster in that way.