Neil Patrick Harris is the cover story in the upcoming issue of Rolling Stone, and, well, it’s impossible to miss the fact that he’s naked — except for a bow tie and delicately-balanced top hat.Â
Rolling Stone offered a preview today, including these excerpts from the print version:
He believes coming out helped — rather than hurt — his career. “Once all the cards were on the table, I got more opportunities than ever,” Harris says. “Some actors don’t get hired because you can’t look into their soul and see what they’re like, because they’re kept guarded.”
He found coming out to his family more difficult than telling the public. Harris’ brother, Brian, recalls that the actor took a gradual approach to telling him that he was gay. “It was three conversations,” he said. “First he goes, ‘I just don’t think I’m going to date, really, for a while.’ And he had some bad luck with the girls he dated early on. Probably because he was gay! And then we had a different conversation about how he likes girls, but he kind of likes guys too. And we had another conversation after that: He likes guys.”
Harris, currently starring in Hedwig and the Angry Inch on Broadway, talked with Rolling Stone about issues of perceived masculinity.
“I have always been highly aware of how I was presenting myself,” Harris admits. “Which, now that I’m playing overtly feminine and loving it, is kind of a stupid concern.”
  Photo of Neil Patrick Harris by Terry Richardson. Image via Rolling Stone.