It’s a debate that could rumble on forever: who exactly is the coolest man alive today? Is Kanye’s time been and gone? will.i.am would be pretty awesome on a night out you would think. Or Jay-Z maybe? Well, he is married to Beyonce and his list of hits are as long as your arm.
Image via hakarune
But I would like to put forward someone else: Neil Patrick Harris. It’s not just now that he’s become awesome. Oh no. Let me explain.
Even when he was a teenager he was well on his way to awesomeness. His first role as a child actor came in a film called Clara’s Heart starring none other than…wait for it… Whoopi Goldberg. Granted she hasn’t done a decent film in years, but back in 1988, she was moving onto bigger things like Sister Act and Ghost. Did you know she was a character in The Lion King? Anyway, his role won him a Golden Globe nomination. At the age of fifteen? Yeah I’d say that’s pretty cool.
NPH then went onto star in a comedy drama series called Doogie Howser M.D. This may mean nothing to you if you live outside of the States, but trust me, it was pretty big. Doogie was a teenage genius, who happened to be a doctor at the age of 16. He had to balance the pains of being a teenager with helping people at the hospital. Sure, the plot was farfetched, but people loved it; and he was nominated for another Golden Globe too.
After that he lost some awesomeness, drifting in and out of lesser known roles. His most notable appearances were Starship Troopers and Harold and Kumar. Like most actors he had a spell in musicals… and rocked that too. Critics loved his performance in Cabaret. He also landed a role in Rent which he later directed a rock version of in 2010.
And then the spotlight shone on him. No longer was his awesomeness known to few, but to everyone who has watched How I Met Your Mother. Since 2005, he’s been the womanizer we all know and love – Barney Stinson. He’s won numerous awards for his performance. In his audition, he acted out a scene in laser tag by performing a dive roll, knocking over a chair and slamming into a wall in the process – and the rest is history. You really can’t imagine anyone else playing the role anywhere near to his level of wit and suaveness. Like a sarcastic James Bond. Well, maybe Paddy McGuinness if they ever made a British version. Can you imagine the chat-up lines though? Let the sausage, see the roll?!
Anyway, he’s also been a guest judge on American Idol and guest starred in Glee; the latter won him an Emmy. He was named in Time Magazine’s 100 most influential people in 2010 and finally got a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame last year. He’s a magician in his spare time and is engaged to actor and chef David Burtka.
And in case you need anymore convincing that he is the coolest man alive, he’s starred on Seaseme Street. They don’t let just any Joe Public appear on that ya know!
So to summarise: he can sing, dance, direct, perform magic tricks and act. He’s the epitome of ‘girls want to be with him, guys want to be him’. Neil Patrick Harris, I salute you.
Who do you think is the coolest man alive? Tell us in the comments section below.
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May 4, 2012
Celebrity