Neil Patrick Harris to Return as Tony Awards Host for 2011?

Deadline.com is reporting that Neil Patrick Harris who hosted the Tony Awards two years ago will return as host for this year's broadcast. The 65th Annual Tony Awards will be broadcast in a live three-hour ceremony from the Beacon Theatre on the CBS television network on Sunday, June 12, 2011.

Neil Patrick Harris, who just appeared in the New York Philharmonic production of COMPANY, currently appears as Barney Stinson in the hit television series, How I Met Your Mother. He has starred in three Broadway productions, including the dual roles of The Balladeer/Lee Harvey Oswald in the Tony Award-winning musical Assassins; in the Pulitzer Prizewinning production of Proof, opposite Anne Heche; and as the exuberant emcee in Cabaret at Studio 54. Additional theater credits include roles in the Geffen Playhouse production of Arthur Miller's All My Sons; Amadeus at the Hollywood Bowl, with the music of Mozart performed live by the Los Angeles Philharmonic; The Paris Letter at the Kirk Douglas Theatre; tick, tick...BOOM! at London's Menier Chocolate Factory; Romeo and Juliet at The Old Globe Theater in San Diego; and the Los Angeles production of Rent, which garnered him a Drama Desk Award. He later made his musical directorial debut with the Hollywood Bowl's recent staging of Rent. He made his theatrical directing debut with the original comedic script I Am Grock at the El Portal Theatre in North Hollywood, and he later mixed his love of magic and theater in directing The Expert at the Card Table at the 2008 Edinburgh Fringe Festival. From his film debut opposite Whoopi Goldberg in Clara's Heart and his seminal role as the beloved titular character in television's Doogie Howser, M.D. to his recent turns in the Harold & Kumar films and Joss Whedon's online sensation, Dr. Horrible's SingAlong Blog, Neil Patrick Harris has enjoyed a successful career spanning more than 20 years in the industry. He recently won his first two Emmy Awards for his guest-starring role on Glee, in addition to serving as host of the 2009 Tony Awards. He also served as host of the 2009 Emmy Awards. His role on How I Met Your Mother has garnered him four consecutive Emmy Award nominations and two consecutive Golden Globe nominations. 

Mr. Harris will soon be seen in three upcoming films -Beastly, a modern-day retelling of the fabled Beauty and the Beast story, co-starring Vanessa Hudgens and Alex Pettyfer; The Smurfs, the live-action/animation feature based on the famous cartoon series; and A Very Harold and Kumar Christmas, the third installment in the successful cult comedy film series. He will also soon make his feature film directorial debut with Aaron & Sara (Working Title), a romantic comedy starring Josh Hutcherson and Emma Roberts.