AE: As much smack as you want.
NPH: [Laughing] I’m sure. I think that clobbering is not foreseeable. I don’t have any idea how it all plays out. The nominations are — not to toe the party line — but it’s actually way more respectable than the win. The win is very subjective and we all have to submit only one episode of our show and that has to only contain the scenes that we’re in and it has to contain every scene that you’re in and those scenes have to be back-to-back. So if there’s an episode that you’re really good in, but the rest of it’s not so good, it’s not the best episode to submit.
And you’re also competing against some pretty extraordinary performances on shows that are able to have a much randier content. So it’s difficult to compete with Jeremy Piven in Entourage just because he’s given so much great stuff to do on that show. So I don’t know how they vote, but I’m excited to get all dolled up and wander around for the afternoon.
AE: Given your whole career arc and your career come back and then coming out, what would it mean personally to you to win the Emmy for How I Met Your Mother? When I talked with Bryan Fuller, he said it would really mean a lot to him. Is that how it is for you?
NPH: I’m generally content with the nomination, but I don’t know. It’s a weird thing to declare someone a winner quote-unquote when everyone is working so hard. I couldn’t love my career path more right now. I’m getting to do a lot of different types of jobs simultaneously – and mostly because I love doing them. And people are responding to Dr. Horrible, to the Fairy Shoe Person [on Sesame Street], to Regis and Kelly, and I guess because I’ve been working in this business for so long, winning would be a nice icing on the cake just because I think I have a bit of perspective that I probably wouldn’t have if this was my second year in the business.
AE: It seems to me just surviving in Hollywood as long as you have is equal to a shelf full of Emmys.
NPH: That’s kind of how I feel. I’m just really grateful and lucky that I get to keep existing in this business and existing by way of working as opposed to just being around the scene. So I love the process of making all of this. Being on set at the Sesame Workshop was one of the great things of last year for me. Getting just to work with Joss Whedon [on Dr. Horrible] for six days renegade-style was just unbelievable. Every week getting these new scripts and seeing what Barney Stinson gets to say and do is like a constant Christmas present. Things are swell.
Harris in Joss Whedon's Dr. Horrible
AE: Time for a fun question. During my interview with Bryan I asked him if he could only pick one other man to be left with him in the world and it couldn’t be his partner, would he choose T.R. Knight, Lance Bass or you. I believe the exact answer was, “Woof! Neil Patrick Harris!” So for you, if you couldn’t pick your partner David [Burtka], but had to choose between Anderson Cooper, T.R. Knight or Lance Bass, which one would you pick?
NPH: Oh, God. I would pick Bryan Fuller.
AE: You’d toss it back to Bryan? Oh, how diplomatic. [Laughing] Neil Patrick Harris knows how to play the game.
NPH: [Laughing] What were the choices?
AE: Lance Bass, T.R. Knight or Anderson Cooper.
NPH: Yeah, still Bryan Fuller.
AE: By the way, that was my subtle way of working Anderson Cooper into the conversation.
NPH: I did a whole six-page interview [with Out] about all kinds of stuff and what is the [news] crawl that they use on CNN? Do you find Anderson Cooper dreamy? I was like, Oh, man! [In the Out interview Harris referred to Cooper as “dreamy” several times.]
AE: [Laughing] Don’t worry. That’s not where I’m going. But in that interview with Out you said that you even though you might find a newsperson dreamy, you didn’t need to know more about them of a personal nature. Earlier in that same interview you also commented that it was seeing Danny Roberts on The Real World that sort of empowered you as a gay man for the first time. Comparing those two statements — about Danny being out and not needing to know about Anderson’s private life — isn’t the same true of anybody in a high profile position? That if Anderson were gay and were willing to talk about it, that he might very well be empowering some younger gay man? So I’m sort of asking you about the disconnect between knowing about Danny and knowing about Anderson Cooper. Does my question make sense?
NPH: No, it makes perfect sense, but I really stand by my statement. I mean, the difference between those two to me is that Danny Roberts was on a reality show, so I was watching him exist in his world and so that was what was empowering was to see him interacting socially and admiring the way he behaved in any given situation. With someone who’s sole job it is to relay information, I think the more you know about them, the more things can get muddled when you’re trying to pay attention to a story.
So I think those two examples are actually kind of radically different. I’m a big fan of respecting someone’s skill set. Of course, if anyone wants to stand tall, I think they would be impressing upon lots of people to stand tall as well, but I don’t think that one is required for the other. I mean with Danny Roberts, he was inviting cameras into his actual life to film him. And when you’re dealing with Anderson Cooper, who is really recounting the news stories, he’s doing quite the opposite.
