TV Close-Up: How I Met Your Mother's Neil Patrick Harris

Anyone heard of the late '80s TV show Doogie Houser, M.D., the show about a teenage doctor dealing with high school heartache and open-heart surgery simultaneously? While that infamous show may not have left its mark, its 16-year-old star, Neil Patrick Harris, has grown into a multi-talented celebrity, making strides on Broadway and in film. Currently, though, Harris lights up the small screen in his scene-stealing role as Barney Stinson in CBS' How I Met Your Mother. He brings a professional and sophisticated swagger to even one of the most chauvinistic womanizers on television. He continually displays versatility, as he explores a different side to Barney in the show's fourth season: Barney in love. After a one-night stand with his best friend's ex (an ex-Canadian pop singer, but that's a different story), Barney discovers his true feelings for her, and no doubt Harris will handle them with warmth and wit. So next time you see Harris sporting a lab coat in his Old Spice commercials, stop and think, "You've come a long way, Doogie."