Books
12 Brilliant Quotes from NPH's New Memoir
You love Neil Patrick Harris more than certain relatives — and this is a safe place to admit it. And I can't blame you; it's easy to devour everything NPH does, whether it be his incredible stint as Dr. Horrible, as ladies man Barney Stinson in How I Met Your Mother, or his numerous Tony and Emmy hosting gigs (and anticipating his up-coming gig hosting the Oscars). The charismatic, mutli-talented actor is not only brilliant on stage and screen, but now he's proving that he's one hell of a writer, too. Take a look at these Neil Patrick Harris quotes for proof.
Harris' memoir hit shelves in mid-October and, as the name suggests, is modeled in the style of the popular Choose Your Own Adventure books of the '90s. Harris takes you, the reader (which means you, Neil), through an interactive journey of performing magic at birthday parties, discovering the limelight at age 13, feeling that "tingly" feeling for boys, and much more. Neil Patrick is funny, charming (duh), honest, surprisingly insightful, and will make you feel like he's your bestie by the end. (That is, if you don't die first from a magic trick gone horribly wrong. Quick, turn back to the page you came from!)
Read on to gush and swoon over NPH even more:
On his mother...
"She is the kind of mom traditional enough to sing in the church choir every week, but hip enough to improvise a horrific death for a character in the bedtime story she's reading you just to make sure you're paying attention. The kind of mom who sews your Halloween costumes and plays the flute and loves to laugh and encourages you to pursue your passions."
On his love of magic...
"Magic teaches you an important thing: you love to be in on secrets. Not gossipy secrets; actual secrets, secrets of information, of mechanics, of science. No profession is more explicitly about secrecy than magic."
On his first-ever stage role...
"You love it. Love, love, love it. The glorious illusion of performance, the way the experience is simultaneously real and fake, it thrills your soul."
On being in the closet...
"The truth about a person's sexual preference is often revealed through a long journey of tiny steps, and acceptance is one of the last ones. It's tough to confront those things that your are afraid of in yourself. In your case, it will take time. Time, and experience. But you will get there."
On his first "hookup"...
"His name is Andy, and he's in Rent with you, and from the moment you see him you kinda sorta know it might go that way. One night he lures you back to his place with the "I'll happily give you a back massage if you want one" line. (Even then, you knew that was a line.) In fairness, you do really need a massage..."
On meeting David...
"It's natural. It's familiar. It's as cozy as an old shoe. You've met the right man, and luckily you've done so at the right time. You are no longer scared of emotional intimacy. You are ready, and David is ready."
On watching himself act...
"It's tough to watch yourself performing, mainly because of how you look physically. The image sears itself into your mind, becoming for many years your gangly, mental avatar of how you look to the outside world."
On Doogie Howser...
"If you had known people would be calling you by your character name for the next twenty years, you might have asked for a different one. Thunderbolt Howser, say, or Dr. Feelgood, or Baron von Sexy Ass."
On his concerns auditioning for How I Met Your Mother...
"The title raised all kinds of questions. Who was 'I'? Who was 'you'? Why would it take an entire half hour for this meeting to take place? Wouldn't they have to keep changing the title to How I Went on a First Date With Your Mother or How I Got to Third Base with Your Mother?"
On Barney and Robin...
"In Seasons 1 and 2, Barney began giving Robin extra-long looks or checking out her ass every time she left the bar. I wanted to see what the writers would do with that. And sure enough, our characters ended up making out. Our chemistry worked well, and I cherished every scene I got with her."
On Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog...
"For all the blind faith you have going into the project, the reality turns out even better...like any true work of art, it's unlike anything you've ever seen before, yet feels immediately recognizable. Dr. Horrible is this delicious, flawless little thing."
On starting a family...
"You sit in front of your house, staring at the stars, speculating about life and its meaning. HIMYM is starting syndication, meaning that you'll be able to stay in one place with some financial stability for a least a couple of years. 'David,' you say, 'if we're going to have kids, shouldn't we do it now?' He takes a deep breath, like the last breath you take before jumping off a bridge with a bungee around your ankle."
Images: Ron P. Jaffe/CBS; Giphy (2); Getty Images(4)
