Late Friday evening Neil Patrick Harris, 33, became the latest celebrity to tell People magazine he is gay. Said the Albuquerque, New Mexico native, “I am happy to dispel any rumors or misconceptions and am quite proud to say that I am a very content gay man living my life to the fullest and feel most fortunate to be working with wonderful people in the business I love..."

Harris joins pop singer Lance Bass and Grey’s Anatomy star T.R. Knight as recent high profile celebrities to come out. Harris explained his reasons for coming out now as being due to “speculation and interest in my private life and relationships.”

The possibility Harris might be gay is one that has floated around the gay community for a number of years. However, no one had ever publicly published what amounted to only rumor. That changed on October 23rd, when Canada.com reported that Harris had supposedly landed David Burtka, 31 - a man he was rumored to be involved with - a guest role on his CBS series How I Met Your Mother. Burtka had small parts on The West Wing and Crossing Jordan, but is more well known for his stage work including performing alongside Bernadette Peters in Gypsy.

While the mainstream media did not repeat the item in Canada.com, it reportedly led Harris’ publicist to issue a statement stating, “He is not of that persuasion.” However, the report in People seems to contradict the accuracy of that report by indicating Harris told the magazine he had not ever denied he was gay.

Neil’s comments to People make no mention if Harris is involved with Burtka or anyone else.

Harris first rose to prominence as the teenage star of Doogie Howser, M.D. but has successfully made the transition from child star to adult actor. He currently stars on How I Met Your Mother, playing Barney Stinson. As with Grey’s Anatomy star Knight, this not only makes Harris one of the few gay actors playing a heterosexual role, but a notorious womanizer at that.

As of this moment, no one from CBS or the series has commented on Harris’ coming out.

Before landing the role of Barney on How I Met Your Mother, Harris had guested on other television series including Numb3rs, Law and Order, and Boomtown.

One of the first roles that helped Harris break out of his Doogie Howser image was provided by Starship Troopers, a science fiction film in which he played an aggressive military colonel. But it was reportedly his turn in Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle that brought Harris to the attention of Mother’s producers. In Harold & Kumar, Harris played a drastically fictionalized version of himself. During the course of the movie, he snorts cocaine off a woman’s backside, hitchhikes, and steals a car.

Broadway also provided an avenue for Harris to show his acting chops. In 2002, he starred with Anne Heche in Proof and then in 2004 he took over the role of Emcee in Cabaret. In addition, he starred in the revival of Stephen Sondheim’s Assassins playing both Balladeer and Lee Harvey Oswald. Harris also performed as Tobias Ragg in several performances of Sweeney Todd and sang the lead role of Charles in Sondheim’s Evening Primrose.

Harris’ coming out on the heels of Bass and Knight further breaks down doors and stereotypes of gay men and the roles they are capable of performing.

It remains to be seen whether acknowledging he is gay will affect how the public perceives his role as the womanizing Barney, but it’s hard not to think that the American public must be growing accustomed to learning such news. Indeed, with the recent revelation that former Congressman Mark Foley is gay, and the apparent outing of Evangelical leader Reverend Ted Haggard, it seems every day brings news of someone else coming out.

Fortunately, Harris, a happy and content gay man, provides a positive counterbalance to those less positive images.