Neil Patrick Harris quotes:

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  • I love Buster Keaton. I was a big fan of the stunt shows at Universal Studios. I'm a huge Cirque du Soleil nut.

  • I've done plenty of daredeviling - from white-water rafting to bungee jumping. But I think the most fearless was hosting the Emmy Awards. It was overwhelming, and I definitely had to leave fear at the door.

  • We're in such a volatile climate right now politically. I think they didn't want Assassins to not succeed due to popular opinion and politics, versus on its own merits. I can respect that.

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

  • I'm a very lucky man in this chapter of my professional life, 'cause I get to do jobs with wildly different skill sets.

  • I'm shocked at how early everything closes here. But people start earlier. I miss the late nightlife in NYC, but then again I sing and burn so much energy in the show that it's probably good - I get to go home and sleep.

  • Starship Troopers was great. It was great fun to work on something with blue screens and big budget special effects. Denise Richards was nice to look at too, of course.

  • I'm probably my biggest critic. I worry that if you spend any quality time reveling in good things then karma will slap you upside the head, so I try to stay as even keel as I'm able.

  • I'm in a play on Broadway, I have an animated TV show coming up, I have a few movies that just came out.

  • 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.

  • Mr. Steven Bochco is a very wise man. After a many-monthed nationwide search to find a precocious teenage doctor, he hired me.

  • I don't stay up and rent private jets and go on yachts and whoop it up in Miami.

  • Mmmmmmmm. Anderson. He's dreamy. Just dreamy. I've been a fan of his since season 1 of 'The Mole.' I just thought he was so cool when he talked in this cool, low, secret-agent voice.

  • My parents own a restaurant in Albuquerque.

  • 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.

  • Being able to live my life transparently does empower me to feel like I can be myself more. It's easier for me to flirt with girls now that girls know that I'm gay. It almost makes it a sexier encounter than if I was trying to pretend that I was straight.

  • I need to stop carving out four-hour chunks to do random things and go home and watch my children grow up.

  • What defines a relationship is the work that's involved to maintain it, and it's constantly changing.

  • Whenever I wasn't in school with a tutor three hours a day, I'd get a knock and be rushed to set and they'd be waiting and I'd film my thing and then I'd go back to school again.

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • When you call someone and ask them to do something they've never done before, in different mediums I think they would be inclined to pass because they're afraid of the risk. But the creative people who populate the theater world love the challenge of new things.

  • You figure out what your standards are, and I think that's important.

  • So I've done my fair share of theater. I have also been very fortunate in that I've been able to come to New York two or three times a year just to see as many shows as possible. I think the live theater culture here is incredible.

  • I always thought I'd make a good parent, but I was single and led a solitary life for many, many years. Then I met David, and he had experience with kids and wanted to have a family, too.

  • I think it has been a weird mistake to have people with their own music careers going on and judging people because when they're too critical, it affects them. They don't want to be that honest, because they need to keep their appearance up.

  • Whether it's a double take or a spit take or an extra-long pause before a reaction or a line, I try to be as cognizant as possible about the technical end of it. So I think the physical stuff works easier for me than maybe for others who are more just going on instinct.

  • I like to make decisions based on things I'm interested in doing, not what seems like the next move in my quote-unquote career.

  • I didn't want to go marching down the street with camera crews. Oy. To get married? Really? It seems like you have an agenda when you do it that way. I wouldn't want to get married to be an example.

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

  • [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.

  • It's like, the more you commit, the happier the animators are; if you're at all iffy and concerned, then it doesn't free them up to do as much fun stuff, so you have to just go for it and, again, trust the people around you and not be seemingly guarded and numb. Throw caution to the wind a bit.

  • I've got no plans to be a ballet dancer at the moment.

  • In my 20s, I mostly ate burritos and nachos, with the occasional burger.

  • We're trying to get as many people to become interested in seeing it, but if you like the theater and you're interested in seeing what live theater looks like in New York, you probably already set your DVR. It's gonna be a hard ask to get a bunch of college-basketball fans to tune in for three hours to watch the Tonys.

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

  • I regret not dancing more, just cutting loose on the dance floor. I still admire those who don't care much about what others think of them.

  • I've gotten to hang out with Elmo, I'm the Fairy Shoeperson on 'Sesame Street'. So hopefully our kids will get to see and hear me as much as they're able.

  • 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.

  • I've been taking a trapeze class for the last couple of years. I'm working on my double back flip right now.

  • 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.

  • He's easily the most well-adjusted former child star in the room, please welcome... Jason Bateman

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

  • Rather than ignore those who choose to publish their opinions without actually talking to me, I am happy to dispel any rumors or misconceptions and am quite proud to say that I am a very content gay man living my life to the fullest and feel most fortunate to be working with wonderful people in the business I love.

  • 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 grew up being educated by Sesame Street and gained a sense of humor from The Muppet Show. I'd give my right foot to be able to do a scene or two with the Muppets.

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

  • 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.

  • The voiceover thing is very selfless. You go in there and they've hired you for your voice, but they know exactly what they want, and the writer's there and he knows exactly how it's supposed to be said. So you can't really argue with them, you just have to let them tell you what to do and then do it.

  • 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.

  • 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 don't know, on a sitcom, and in theatre especially, you have to really be listening to an audience. And if you're losing them, you can hear the sniffs, and the playbills shuffling and whatnot.

  • It's good to have a lot of once-in-a-lifetimes in your lifetime. If you get the chance to skydive, go skydiving. If you're offered a part in a weird Shakespeare play in San Diego, slap on some tights and rock out some iambic pentameter.

  • 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.

  • I do a lot of books on tape for Beverly Cleary, and another 'Smurfs' shout-out for that demographic.

  • Smurfs' just seemed like a great way to represent a young father to be, guy in a marriage, work in conflict, and I was really interested in the technical CG side of things. I'd never done a movie that I thought would be so physical and yet so precise. So I was intrigued by all of that.

  • I thought the idea of 'Smurfs' lent itself to the 3-D environment pretty well, I think, better than some of the farm animal movies that have been done before. I was a fan of the 'Smurfs' and they come with their own fan base, which I thought was nice.

  • American Sniper focuses on a soldier with 160 kills, or as Harvey Weinstein calls it, a slow morning

  • The subject of Citizenfour, Edward Snowden, could not be here for some treason.

  • I enjoy being a hyphenate. I've always thought of my career as a plate spinner in the circus.

  • I have an unbelievable assistant who handles all of my scheduling! It's like a Tetris game.

  • 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.

  • Tonight we celebrate Hollywood's best and whitest, sorry... brightest.

  • 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.

  • It's really something for people who are approaching 30 to take a look at what that means to them. I think turning 30 is a chance to re-identify with yourself.

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

  • 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.

  • There is just a lot of creativity and theatricality in performers who happen to be gay. Maybe there's a success in numbers, so by the law of averages we are going to get these jobs.

  • 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 loved Rent when I first heard it, but it grew on me and so did Tick, Tick... Boom. Some songs are more interesting than others and sometimes the ones that never stood out at first end up being the best to perform.

  • 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.

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

  • Charlie Sheen is who again? Denise is engaged?

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

  • With the Tonys it's a little tricky because a lot of the funnier jokes are more insider, so people watching at home may not get a Julie Taymor reference the way that New Yorkers would. So you have to figure out what comedy plays to a large audience and still respect the individuals who are there.

  • I was a big fan of how Johnny Carson hosted awards shows. Dick Cavett, as well, I think did a really great job of providing a nice blend of comedy, wit and class.

  • I'm a nerdy, geeky fan of' Labyrinth' and 'Dark Crystal'.

  • If I wrote a musical it wouldn't be about me. Although I do some magic, so it would probably be about a magician who appeared and re-appeared all over the place.

  • I like the tube more than the NY subway though, you've got cushioned seats.

  • I collect puppet stuff. I have a puppet workshop in my garage. I was looking for any opportunity to be able to get very creatively involved in that world.

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

  • Jim Henson was the only piece of fan mail I ever wrote when I was a little kid.

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

  • I have a very large forehead. I have a pronounced skull. Maybe producers think that there is a lot going on up in there.

  • 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 TV schedule is fantastic. It allows you to have a life. Theater actors are so disciplined - especially if you're doing musicals, you have to be in shape physically, mentally, and have to be on your game all the time. That's exhausting. On TV, especially a sitcom, you have a lot of free time to play.

  • I'm lucky that people believe me when I'm in character.

  • 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.

  • As an actor, you most often play relatively average parts, so to get to play extreme versions of anything, those are the most exciting parts.

  • As I learned from chapters past, it's important to try and stay in the chapter that you're in, and enjoy it while it's lasting. Not be constantly worrying about where this step will take you - living in the potential future. Like a good meal. Like a good chef's tasting meal. You don't want to wonder what's next while you're eating the foie gras.

  • Babies just change everything. You have to become super selfless and super tired and super amenable to change. They just change all the time.

  • Babies laughing is like opium.

  • 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 whether it was in a social situation. And with kids, you just can't. The rule is you can't really do that because they dictate and they change so much so you just have to go with the flow more and be present and not have big expectations and be amused all the time.

  • 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.

  • But magic is like pizza: even when it's bad, it's pretty good.

  • For film, I audition just like everyone else, because it's a different set of casting directors.

  • I did enjoy singing the song, called "The Count", which is Count Olaf's big song that he sings to the kids when they first arrive with his henchpeople. He wrote it himself, and he thinks he's really, really talented, and it's a terrible song. So we had to learn intentionally bad choreography... We did these almost Lady Gaga-ish kind of movements, which were just awful, but that made me laugh

  • I don't care about my "impact" - I only care about the theater as an art form and criticism as an act of writing.

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

  • I don't know, but I think kids just want to be listened to, so I want to make sure I do that.

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

  • 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. I won't look. If I know where they're hidden, I will not look. I love presents and I hate faking surprises.

  • I feel like I know where I'm going. And I like where I'm going.

  • 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 get to choose things that interest me as opposed to trying to get any job that will have me, which for a vast majority of actors is the case.

  • I like [Count] Olaf's wardrobe, because the whole thing seems like it should be a period piece in many ways, and yet the date is non-specific. So I would wear cloaks and jackets, but also turtlenecks. I was a little beatnik, and kind of hipster in that way.

  • I love physical stuff. I love circusy, weird, breathing fire and bucket-listy things.

  • I love technology. I buy all of the stuff when they come out first.

  • I love the American musical for the simplicity of emotion that gets expressed.

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

  • I sort of pride myself in my dissatisfaction with my work. I've always been concerned with buying the hype, and having that make your performances suffer.

  • I think flirting is great fun. It doesn't mean that anything's going to come of it but it's fun to be told that you're hot and that your tits look great. You all get your pens out.

  • I think things through a lot, so I probably use my head more than my heart. That probably comes through in my acting.

  • I think when dance is mediocre, it's painful. But when dance is really impressive, it destroys.

  • 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.

  • If I'm doing some weird tick with my mouth, or not standing still or something, I'll be the first person to notice it, and then want to change that. I think it's important just to maintain trajectory, to not just use your same tricks over and over.

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

  • I'm not trying to climb a ladder - I'm casting a bit of a net.

  • 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.

  • I'm wildly impressed with the diversity of gay roles.

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