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Q&A: Neil Patrick Harris
He's had an impressively varied career since his starmaking turn in "Doogie Howser, M.D." many years back; now Neil Patrick Harris turns in a scene-stealing cameo as himself in the outrageous new stoner comedy "Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle." He spoke with NEWSWEEK's Devon Thomas.
How many White Castle burgers have you eaten at once?
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I think I've maybe eaten one Slider in my whole life. I'm from L.A. by way of Albuquerque, and there aren't White Castles in either town. So I didn't grow up with them or anything, but I think I had one once in Jersey or Manhattan.
Did you like it?
Yes. Oh, boy. Contractually speaking, I've never had anything tastier in my life.
Is it a blessing to you that people still remember you, after all these years, as Doogie?
It's really out of my control. So if someone wants to say that, that's up to them.
Do you type diary entries into your computer like Doogie did?
Are you seriously asking me that question?
Yes.
No.
How was it playing yourself in "Harold and Kumar"?
It was surprisingly difficult. I didn't realize just how deep a person I really am. I thought it would be simple one-note shallowness, but I really sat with myself and interviewed myself for a while and found some interesting levels.
Lately you've been taking on darker, more serious roles. Are you making an effort to distance yourself from your TV past?
No, not at all. I'm just taking any roles that I can get that are interesting.
You were terrific in the Broadway show "Assassins." Ever thought about cutting an album?
No, not at all. My singing's only in the context of the show. No musician aspirations at all.
I heard that you like the Muppets. Would you ever sing on "Sesame Street"?
I love me some Muppets! I've always wanted to go on. If they'll have me that'll be fantastic.
Is This All A Wasted Effort?
It's fine to bust skanky lowlifes--keeps our streets safe--but if the cops don't cut celebs some slack, who's going to keep the nightclubs hopping and the paparazzi paparazzing? Some recent drug-war casualties:
KIMORA LEE SIMMONS
Wife of hip-hop mogul Russell, busted for pot possession
COURTNEY LOVE
The rocker was sentenced to 18 months in drug rehab
DONATELLA VERSACE
Fashionista checked into rehab for cocaine addiction
JA RULE
Rapper nabbed for pot possession, driving without license
SAVION GLOVER
Tapper nabbed on the same day as Ja Rule, for the same thing
Quiet! Sleeper Exploding.
Summer movies are supposed to make us feel like superheroes. Which makes this summer's sleeper even more remarkable. "The Notebook," based on a romantic novel by Nicholas Sparks, stars relative unknowns and boasts nary a special effect. Still, the $30 million movie has made $65 million and counting. New Line Cinema marketed "The Notebook" as an alternative to blockbusters, then got an unexpected bump in interest when Ronald Reagan died because the film also depicts the lovers as an elderly couple battling Alzheimer's. "The film does wear its heart on its sleeve," says New Line's Russell Schwartz. At least it has one.
--Ayesha Mcadams-Mahmoud
An Overdose of Melodrama In the Zeta-Jones Case
The Catherine Zeta-Jones stalker hearing now underway in a Los Angeles courtroom gets more and more like a soap opera. Last Thursday's court proceedings were postponed when the accused, 32-year-old Dawnette Knight of Beverly Hills, Calif., was discovered on the floor of her cell, groggy from an overdose of sleeping pills she'd bought in jail. Knight, who prosecutors say was infatuated with Zeta-Jones's husband, Michael Douglas, has been charged with 25 felony counts of stalking and making criminal threats. Last week in court, Zeta-Jones (right) read from the 22 letters containing threats, which included descriptions of decapitation and references to the deaths of President Kennedy and Nicole Brown Simpson. Knight's attorney says the incidents are nothing more than a girlish crush spun out of control. Well, the out-of-control part sounds right.
--Devon Thomas
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