Neil Patrick Harris

Neil Patrick Harris is best known for playing a 16-year-old doctor in the Steven Bochco television series Doogie Howser, M.D. (1989-1993). Harris made his debut in 1988 appearing in two films, The Purple People Eater and Clara's Heart, in which he played a troubled yuppie boy who finds solace with his wise but mysterious Jamaican nanny (Whoopie Goldberg). Before landing the lead in Doogie, Harris appeared in two television movies. Following the series' demise, the young adult actor hit the TV-movie circuit, appearing in such movies as Snowbound: The Jim and Jennifer Stolpa Story (1994) and My Antonia (1995). In 1997, Harris established a film career with Starship Troopers and Shakespeare's Sister. In addition to his film and television career, Harris has also had a successful career on-stage. In 1997, he wowed California audiences playing the lead in the popular off-Broadway musical Rent. -- Sandra Brennan, AllMovieGuide