Biography:
Early life
Harris was born in Albuquerque, New Mexico, U.S., and grew up in Ruidoso, New Mexico. His parents, Sheila H. and Ron Harris, were lawyers. He has an older brother, and it was by following his brother to an audition in fourth grade that he first began acting – as Toto in a school production of The Wizard of Oz. He attended La Cueva High School in Albuquerque and was active in school plays and musicals there. Harris was an honors student and graduated with honors in 1991. He was three years ahead of fellow La Cueva student Freddie Prinze, Jr.
Career
Harris began his career as a child actor. His first significant roles came in 1988, when he starred in two movies: the film Clara's Heart, a drama with Whoopi Goldberg that won him a Golden Globe nomination, and Purple People Eater, a children's fantasy. The following year he won the lead in Doogie Howser, M.D., for which he was again nominated for a Golden Globe. After Doogie Howser's four-season run ended in 1993, Harris played a number of guest roles on television series, before taking his first film role as an adult in 1995 in the little-seen shocker Animal Room. Since then his film work has included supporting roles in The Next Best Thing, Undercover Brother, Starship Troopers and Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle, in which he played a drug-crazed, lecherous parody of himself.
From 1999 to 2000, Harris starred with Tony Shalhoub in the sitcom Stark Raving Mad, which lasted twenty-two episodes. He has taken lead roles in a number of made-for-television features, including Snowbound: The Jim and Jennifer Stolpa Story in 1994, My Ántonia in 1995, A Christmas Wish in 1998, Joan of Arc in 1999, The Wedding Dress in 2001, and The Christmas Blessing in 2005, as well as series guest roles.
Harris has worked on Broadway in both musical and dramatic roles. He played Tobias Ragg in 2001 concert performances of Sweeney Todd. In 2002, he performed on Broadway beside Anne Heche in Proof. In 2003, he took the role of the Emcee in Cabaret, alongside Deborah Gibson and Tom Bosley. As a result of his critically acclaimed performance in Cabaret, Harris was named the top drawing headliner in the role of the Emcee by GuestStarCasting.com, topping fellow celeb stars John Stamos and Alan Cumming.
In 2004, he performed a dual role of the Balladeer and Lee Harvey Oswald on Broadway in the controversial musical revival of Stephen Sondheim's Assassins. He also sang the role of Charles (first played by Anthony Perkins) on the Nonesuch recording of Sondheim's Evening Primrose. He has also portrayed Mark Cohen in the musical RENT. Harris' current role is in the CBS ensemble sitcom How I Met Your Mother, playing a serial womanizer in a performance that earned him a 2007 Emmy nomination. The show debuted in the fall of 2005 and wrapped up its third season on May 19, 2008.
In 2007, Harris worked with Mike Nelson on an audio commentary for RiffTrax. The two riffed on the film, Willy Wonka And The Chocolate Factory. Harris is a big fan of the cult TV series Nelson worked on, Mystery Science Theater 3000, and was interviewed for a 1992 Comedy Central special hosted by Penn Jillette, who did voiceovers for Comedy Central's programming at that time, about the series and its fans, This Is MST3K. In 2008, Harris starred alongside Nathan Fillion and Felicia Day in Joss Whedon's new musical web series, Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog.
Slipping
Neil Patrick Harris Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴
Look at these people
Amazing how sheep’ll
Show up for the slaughter
No one condemning you
Lined up like lemmings
You led to the water
Why can’t they hear the lies?
Maybe the fee’s too pricey
For them to realize
Your disguise is slipping
I think you’re slipping
Now that your savior is
Still as the grave you’re
Beginning to fear me
Like cavemen fear thunder
I still have to wonder
Can you really hear me?
I bring you pain
The kind you can’t suffer quietly
Fire up your brain
Remind you inside you’re rioting
Society is slipping
Everything’s slipping away
So…
Go ahead
Run away
Say it was "horrible"
Spread the word
Tell a friend
Tell them the tale
Get a pic
Do a blog
Heroes are over with
Look at him
Not a word
Hammer, meet nail
Then I win
Then I get
Everything I ever
All the cash
All the fame
And social change
Anarchy
That I run
It’s Dr. Horrible’s turn
You people all have to learn
This world is going to burn
Burn
(Yeah, it’s two r’s. H, O, R, R, yeah, right.)
Burn
No sign of Penny
Good, I would give anything not to have her see
It’s gonna be bloody
Head up, Billy, buddy
There’s no time for mercy
Here goes no mercy…
Neil Patrick Harris's song "Slipping" gives listeners an insight into the main character's perspective in the famous internet musical "Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog". The song opens with Dr. Horrible criticizing the people around him for their blindness to the manipulations of their leader. He is sarcastic in his assessment, likening them to "sheep" who follow their leader blindly to the slaughter. Dr. Horrible then wonders rhetorically why the people cannot see through the lies they are fed or hear the truth from his perspective.
Dr. Horrible seems to take pleasure in the idea that people will soon be forced to face the consequences of their inaction or disinterest. In a sense, he is like the ancient prophets of old, warning against imminent danger and offering insight into the truth that others may not want to hear. The character is confident in his position and the eventual triumph of his values.
As the song progresses, Dr. Horrible's tone changes from sarcastic to threatening. He implies that he will inflict pain and cause people to experience emotions they cannot deal with quietly. He also suggests that the society in which he lives is slowly slipping away.
The song concludes with Dr. Horrible's epic declaration that he also wants to win at everything, and the world will soon burn. He seems to derive pleasure from the prospect of anarchy and revels in the thought of a world in chaos where he is in control.
Overall, "Slipping" provides listeners with insight into the psyche of a character whose goals and motivations are far from ordinary. The song's emotional intensity and thought-provoking lyrics make it a stand-out in the realm of internet musicals.
Contributed by Caleb T. Suggest a correction in the comments below.