The 'Uncoupled' star talks all things body positivity, aging and family in the new cover story.
Neil Patrick Harris is baring it all, and feeling great doing it! The former How I Met Your Mother star stripped down to his underwear to pose for the cover of Out magazine, wearing nothing but boxer briefs and a shaggy brown coat.
For the feature, Harris talks about all things body image, aging, family and his new forthcoming series, Uncoupled, where he gets more real -- and more naked -- than viewers have seen him in the past.
“I honestly feel better than I’ve felt in my whole life. As I’m aging, I’m feeling like I am more and more comfortable in my skin and my posture and my body,” Harris says. “I feel like I’m in the best shape of my life, but in more practical terms — as opposed to ‘gym body’ for others.”
The Out feature shows Harris in a variety of different looks posing in both his underwear and in chic menswear looks. The 49-year-old actor appears both confident and strong, which he attributes to his life journey of figuring out himself in physical and social realms.
“I think for a large chunk of my life, in my body, I felt younger than I actually was,” he adds. “I often felt insecure at gyms or at parties or socializing a lot, because I didn’t feel comfortable in my skin. Now that I’m [49], I’m proud of my journey, and I don’t feel like it’s ending. Knock on wood, I’m still on an upward trajectory. No hip replacements, no knee replacements, no nothing. Not yet.”
Harris' time in the spotlight has been marked by several highly acclaimed works, beginning with Doogie Howser M.D. in 1989 to his current Netflix project, Uncoupled, which begins streaming on July 29.
"I’ve always felt like life is a lot. It is acquiring chapters in a book,” he says. “I don’t want my life to be a pamphlet. I want it to be a tome. I enjoy chapters," Harris says, before noting that each chapter of his life comes with a physical element. "I enjoy lines on my face. I enjoy wrinkles around my eyes. It came about because I smile a lot, so I don’t feel the need to age down at the moment.”
Harris is married to David Burtka and they share 11-year-old twins, Gideon and Harper. Despite just being a regular dad, Harris says he isn't worried about his kids seeing his Out spread.
“If my kids happen to see pictures of me in my underwear in a magazine, they’ll just be crazy embarrassed, which is amazing," says. "At worst, they think that I’m even more ridiculous than they already think I am.”
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