25. NEIL PATRICK HARRIS
Given his predilection for prestidigitation, is it too convenient to call 2008 a ''magical year'' for Neil Patrick Harris? Maybe — he does now sit on the board of L.A.'s famed Magic Castle — but consider the evidence: He made an old-school star turn as the titular mad scientist in Joss Whedon's wildly successful online musical Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog. He continued to mine the self-parody gold of ''Neil Patrick Harris'' in the Harold & Kumar franchise. He brought compelling depth to his role as Barney on CBS' How I Met Your Mother. By year's end, the 35-year-old had pulled off quite the trick: making the last remaining novelties of his Doogie childhood vanish as he blossomed into a versatile collaborator and an incredibly funny man. — Whitney Pastorek
Image Credit: PHOTOGRAPH BY JEFF MINTON
The 25 Entertainers of the Year
2008's best and brightest, from ''The Dark Knight'' to Stephenie Meyer to the Jonas Brothers to Tina Fey to...EW's pick for No. 1!
Movie Calendar
- May 3
- May 10
- May 17
- May 24
- May 31
- June 7
- June 14
- June 21
- June 28
- July 5
- July 12
- July 19
- July 25
- July 26
- July 31
- August 2
- August 9
- August 16
- August 23
- August 30
- * Dates subject to change
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