Neil Patrick Harris on parenthood, the end of “How I Met Your Mother” and his versatile career

Neil Patrick Harris has a new movie coming out on Wednesday, Smurfs 2, so he’s doing some publicity for it now.

He’ll get a short break from interview before having to chat about the Primetime Emmys that he’s hosting in September, the animated movie Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2 in which he is one of the voices, as well as the ninth and final season of his CBS sitcom How I Met Your Mother.

He had a nice chat with a writer from USA Weekend for the issue out now and here are some excerpts:

On raising twins Harper and Gideon with partner David Burtka: “For the better part of 20 years, I was a solo practitioner,” he says. “Then I got David, and that changed my dynamic. I had to be very conscious of another person, but we were still able to jump into a car and go to Vegas or spend three weeks in Italy. Although we were a unit, we were still very free. When you have kids, everything anchors to their wants and needs, so you get less sleep and have to be more aware all the time. You have to be adaptable because they constantly keep changing. They’ll do something that blows your mind and then they’ll spit all their food out on the carpet. The first year with them was complicated. They were twins, and they were crying a lot. Thank God for David. He is so good at differentiating cries.”

On his final season as Barney Stinson on How I Met Your Mother: “I’m sorry to see it finish. I’ve gotten to play a character who dresses well and ends up with the most glorious girl you can imagine. It’s great for a positive alpha-male image, but I’m glad I’m not doing it for 14 years.”

On the versatility of his 25 year career on television, on stage and in movies: “Frat boys think I’m one person. Theater geeks think I’m another. Internet bloggers think I’m a third. I’m very happy with how many different demographics I’ve been able to hold onto.”