NEIL PATRICK HARRIS MY LIFE IN 10 Pictures

GROWING UP in Ruidoso, New Mexico, Neil Patrick Harris "always loved entertaining and entertainment." But, in his hometown, he quips, "there were not a lot of artistic outlets aside from howlingcoyote paintings and making bolo ties."

Luckily, at 14, a trip to drama camp got him "plucked out of obscurity" by Children of a Lesser God playwright Mark Medoff-leading to his first part in the 1988 pic Clara's Heart and a diverse career of starring on sitcoms, hitting the stage and hosting the Emmys, Oscars and Tonys. And yet, his roles as a gay-rights advocate and devoted husband and father are just as important to Neil. "It took me a while to feel comfortable in my own skin," admits Neil, who turns 51 on June 15. "[Now] I just feel good in my life."

1 1989 THE DOCTOR IS IN "I'm very proud of that role," shared Neil of his hit turn on TV's Doogie Howser, M.D. "But it was a kind of f-ed-up name. [It] kind of stuck around with me for a while. To be called that everywhere you go when you're that age and you're trying to find some kind of identity unique to yourself [was difficult]."

2 1997 A REAL TROOPER Neil landed a part in the sci-fi pic Starship Troopers, but remarked, "Back in the mid-'90s, when you were an actor on television, you weren't welcomed into the world of film. You [hope] that you can pull a Sally Field and just stick around long enough that the rules [change]."

3 2004 GO TIME "I wasn't really looking to change anyone's perception of me," said Neil of playing "a messed-up version of myself" in Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle and its two sequels. "My favorite thing about working is just the new chapters. I get a little bit tired of redundancy."