Neil Patrick Harris Quotes

A 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.

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.

I 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.

I often teach a graduate theater seminar on Greek tragedy in performance. I usually begin by saying that no matter what technological advances occur, the wisdom of these plays will never be obsolete.

I felt a little green, because Shakespeare writes the thought process within the text; it was tricky not to think of what to say and then say it, and instead just deliver the lines.

[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.

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

Thankfully I've been quite lucky in my career, but it's always good to re-evaluate things and think about what else you want to do.

Our 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.

Babies laughing is like opium.

I enjoy darker sardonic wit more than knock-knock jokes. I spent the first healthy chunk of my career playing all-American, pleasant, average, nice people, so it's fun to have some complications there.

There 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.

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

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

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

I 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.

I think, in life, being nervous about something that's forthcoming is very helpful, whether it's an awards show or a family gathering or a job interview. If you're too calm and confident, then I think you aren't executing to the best of your ability. So I try not to let nerves get the best of me, but I welcome them because it tends to fuel me to try harder.

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.

I 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.

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

If 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.

Before 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.

I'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.

Tobey'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.

I remember thinking that the rest of my life would be solo. I wasn’t weepy when I thought that - it was just a realization that I had gone this long being self-sufficient.

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

It PASSED! Marriage equality in NY!! Yes!! Progress!! Thank you everyone who worked so hard on this!! A historic night!

What 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.

The 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.

Benedict Cumberbatch is not only the best name in show business, it's also the response you get when you ask John Travolta to pronounce Ben Affleck.

The 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.

I don't want to have to inadvertently find a gift and go like, "What the hell is? Oh no, that's for me." And then have to pretend like I'm surprised later. If I know where they're hidden, I will not look. I love presents and I hate faking surprises.

My favorite time to dance is at, like, wedding receptions, when it's all ages and everyone seems to be having fun.

I often feel like books find us for reasons, and we read them when we need them the most.

I have more artistic control in a smaller show. But it doesn't really matter. Sometimes you can have the smallest role in the smallest production and still make a big impact.

When I auditioned for the show, I didn't realize it was an MTV production, which is going to make for really good tunes during the episodes, if nothing else.

I always thought filet mignon was the steak to beat, but the fat content in a rib eye is fantastic.

I would not dream of taking on Tobey Maguire. Plus, he's a talented and nice guy, and I have nothing but nice things to say about him.

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

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

Charlie Sheen is who again? Denise is engaged?

I'm a big proponent of monogamous relationships regardless of sexuality, and I'm proud of how the nation is steering toward that.

Chef's choice is my favorite. I'm super adventurous.

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

I'm having a ball. I just walk in, make some funnies and walk out, no pressure.

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

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.

The theater is reaching as many different demographics as it can now.