Picks and Pans Review: Harold & Kumar's

>NEIL PATRICK HARRIS

Neil Patrick Harris, 31, the former child star once known as Doogie Howser, M.D., has a memorable turn in the munchie-quest comedy Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle as a former child star named…Neil Patrick Harris.

ON PLAYING HIMSELF I was already written into the script when they sent it to me. I was flattered. And I thought it was hilarious. It’s Dude, Where’s My Car? in Jersey. I play a character named Neil Patrick Harris. He’s like me tripped out on Ecstasy—a wilder version of me. I have to say, riding around in a Jeep with a couple of hot strippers isn’t a bad way to make a living. I could do worse.

ON WHAT HIS REAL LIFE IS LIKE I’m enjoying my 30s. I feel like I know where I’m going. And I like where I’m going. I went skydiving with some friends on my 31st birthday [in June]. The first time I went was the day I turned 21, so it was like coming full circle. It was amazing. You can’t beat the feeling.

ON RECENTLY STARRING IN BROADWAY’S TONY-WINNING ASSASSINS I played this balladeer, singing about presidential assassins. He’s the voice of reason, calm and cool. But then there’s a dark, dramatic metamorphosis, and he becomes Lee Harvey Oswald. I’m very, very proud of this show. And it almost didn’t happen. We were already rehearsing when 9/11 happened, and that almost killed it. It was too dark. But it was so smart, so provocative.

ON THE DOOGIE LEGACY I was 16 when I did that show. It gave me a lot of financial freedom at a very young age. And I’m certainly not embarrassed by it. It has a bit of a cult following. They should do a DVD. They’ve done one for practically everything else. But I’ve done enough as an actor in the past decade that people [shouldn’t] remember me as just Doogie.