
When writing about Neil Patrick Harris, a skilled stage magician, it's impossible to resist describing his never-ending career reinvention as a series of magic tricks.
The actor, who launched his career as a teen doctor on television, has lived through countless artistic phases.
After escaping the typecasting trap that often comes with child acting, Harris has transformed himself throughout the years, seamlessly becoming the reputable theatre star, the charismatic Barney Stinson on How I Met Your Mother, the personable awards show host, and the openly gay leading man.
Neil Patrick Harris' latest role is in Stan's It's A Sin. Watch the trailer below. (Post continues after video.)
Neil Patrick Harris' acting career essentially came about by accident.
While growing up in Alburquerque, New Mexico, Harris attended a one-week drama camp. It was here that he was "discovered" by playwright Mark Medoff, leading to his role in Clara's Heart, a 1988 film which saw a housekeeper (Whoopi Goldberg) form a bond with a young boy (Neil Patrick Harris).
"Mark [Medoff] saw potential in me when I was 12 years old," Harris told The New York Times.
"I got the job and, fully plucked from obscurity, found myself co-starring with Whoopi Goldberg on the silver screen."
Before long, Harris was attending the first of many award ceremonies after he was nominated for Best Supporting Actor at the Golden Globes.
After earning a name for himself in Clara's Heart, Harris landed the lead role in medical drama Doogie Howser, M.D., playing a teenage medical prodigy.
At the time, creator Steven Bochco warned Harris that his life was about to change.
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