Official! Neil Patrick Harris to Return as Tony Awards Host

Golden Globe-nominated and Emmy Award-winning actor, Neil Patrick Harris, will return as host of the 65th Annual Antoinette Perry "Tony" Awards® on Sunday, June 12th, live from the Beacon Theatre in New York City. Harris previously served as the host of the 63rd Annual Tony Awards. The Tony Awards will air live on CBS from 8:00-11:00PM (ET/PT time delay). The American Theatre Wing's Tony Awards are presented by The Broadway League and the American Theatre Wing.

"I'm honored and stoked to have been asked to host the 2011 Tony Awards," said Harris. "It should be a great show - we've got a fantastic mix of live performances, a few secret surprises, and since they're closed for retooling, we're using all the rigging equipment from Spider-Man. What could possibly go wrong?"

The 2011 Tony Awards will be executive produced by Ricky Kirshner and Glenn Weiss of White Cherry Entertainment. In 2010, Kirshner and Weiss, along with host Neil Patrick Harris, earned a Creative Arts Emmy Award on behalf of the 63rd Annual Tony Awards in the category of Outstanding Special Class Program.

"We're thrilled to have Neil back as our host," said Kirchner and Weiss. "And we're even happier he fits in the Spider-Man rigging."

Kirshner and Weiss have previously won the Emmy Award in the Outstanding Special Class Programs Category in 2008 for the 61st Annual Tony Awards and in 2007 for the 60th Annual Tony Awards. They won the Emmy Award for Outstanding Variety, Music or Comedy Special in 2005 for the 58th Annual Tony Awards. Weiss was also the recipient of the Emmy for Outstanding Directing for a Variety, Music or Comedy Program in 2003 for the 56th Annual Tony Awards. Kirshner and Weiss have acted as executive producers of the Tony Awards telecast for the past seven years. Together they have won Emmy's for the 59th, 60th and 61st Tony Award Telecasts.

The Antoinette Perry "Tony" Award, which was founded by the American Theatre Wing in 1947, is bestowed annually on theatre professionals for distinguished achievement on Broadway. The Tony is one of the most coveted awards in the entertainment industry and the annual telecast - the night America watches Broadway - is considered one of the most prestigious programs on television.

 

Neil Patrick Harris currently stars as Barney Stinson in the hit CBS series, "How I Met Your Mother," a role which has garnered him multiple Emmy and Golden Globe Award nominations, as well as a People's Choice Award for Favorite TV Comedy Actor. Harris recently tackled the leading role of Bobby in the New York Philharmonic's concert production of Stephen Sondheim's Company at Lincoln Center. The filmed production will soon be released in cinemas across the country. Harris made his Broadway debut opposite Anne Heche in the Pulitzer-Prize winning drama, Proof. Subsequently, Harris also starred on Broadway as the Emcee in Cabaret, and as The Balladeer/Lee Harvey Oswald in the Tony Award-winning production of Assassins. His additional theatrical credits include roles in All My Sons, Tick, Tick...Boom, The Paris Letter, Sweeney Todd, Rent, and Romeo and Juliet. Harris made his theatrical directorial debut with I Am Grock at the El Portal Theatre in North Hollywood, and he recently helmed a production of Jonathan Larson's Rent at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles. On screen, Neil has starred in numerous feature films, including Beastly, Cats & Dogs 2: The Revenge of Kitty Galore, Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, Harold and Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay, Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle, Undercover Brother, The Next Best Thing, The Proposition, Starship Troopers, and Clara's Heart (Golden Globe nom.), among many others. Harris will soon be seen starring in three upcoming films: the independent comedy, The Best & the Brightest; the highly-anticipated live-action/animated feature, The Smurfs; and the third installment in the Harold and Kumar film series, A Very Harold and Kumar Christmas. On television, Harris gained notoriety as the beloved title character in "Doogie Howser, M.D." (People's Choice Award, Golden Globe nom.), as well as the lead in the NBC comedy series, "Stark Raving Mad." Along with guest-starring roles in "Glee" (Emmy Award), "Numb3rs," "Law & Order: Criminal Intent," "Will & Grace," and "Boomtown," Harris has also starred in several made-for-television movies, including "Yes, Virginia," "The Christmas Blessing," and "The Wedding Dress."