I’m a huge fan of Neil Patrick Harris. Of course, I loved him as Doogie Howser MD, but Neil stole my heart when he played a total jerk in “Harold and Kumar Go To White Castle” (enjoy the hilarious clip by clicking here. Warning: it’s not work appropriate). Now in addition to roles on Broadway and lending his vocal talents to play Steve the talking monkey in “Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs,” Neil Patrick Harris delights us every week on “How I Met Your Mother” where he plays the obnoxious character of Barney Stinson. And this past weekend Mr. Harris did what most people only dream of doing: he hosted the Emmy Awards and did a damn good job of it. Watch this clip of his opening number:

What’s also so inspiring about Neil Patrick Harris is his success in Hollywood despite the fact that he is openly gay (sadly, even at this day in age gay actors are still discriminated against for sexual orientation). New York Magazine has a great piece out this week about how Neil Patrick Harris became Hollywood’s first (openly) gay male breakthrough star acknowledging that “there’s one set of performers for whom coming out is still considered a career death sentence: male actors, particularly those who play romantic leads or star in action films.” (Barney Stinson may not be romantic per se but he is an over-the-top womanizer.) The article goes on to say “An out male star can never be a leading man. Straight women won’t be able to fantasize about him; straight men won’t be able to relate. Harris has violated all these expectations.”

Check out the full article here.