Video: Neil Patrick Harris: Five hosting highlights

When Neil Patrick Harris takes the stage as Oscars host in February, he’ll check an item off his bucket list while moving one step closer to the hosting equivalent of the EGOT — the acronym for those who have won an Emmy, a Grammy, an Oscar and a Tony.

Harris has hosted the Emmys twice and the Tonys four times, always to excellent reviews, and he’s proven himself a dazzlingly versatile performer who can crack jokes, belt songs and hoof it with equal aplomb.

Even for a seasoned vet like Harris, emceeing the Oscars will be a test like no other, and we’ll have to wait a few more months to see how he fares. In the meantime, let’s take a look at some of his past awards-show highlights.

2013 Tonys: opening number

Singing, dancing, costume changes, magic, cheerleading, jumping through hoops (literally) and, yes, Mike Tyson — what didn’t Harris’ marathon seven-minute intro have to offer? (Watch it at the top of this post.) The showstopping — er, show-starting — performance was met with a much-deserved minute-long standing ovation.

2011 Tony Awards: dueling hosts with Hugh Jackman

This tale of two hosts paired Harris with another skilled song-and-dance man: Hugh Jackman, who threw down the gauntlet with a variation on the classic Irving Berlin duet “Anything You Can Do.”

“Anything you can host, I can host better,” Jackman challenged. “I can host anything better than you.” Harris, however, was game for the challenge and matched Jackman step for step (mostly). Naturally, the two reconciled and joined forces mid-performance.

2013 Emmys: opening monologue

A successful Oscars host must be able to hold his (or her) own in the quieter moments, work the crowd and banter with onstage guests. Harris did so in this Emmy opener that started small before being humorously hijacked by erstwhile Emmy emcees Jimmy Kimmel, Jane Lynch and Conan O’Brien, plus front-row attendees Tina Fey and Amy Poehler (who had hosted the Golden Globes earlier in 2013).

2013 Tony Awards: closing number

Start strong, finish strong. After kicking the show off in grand fashion (see above), Harris brought things home by rapping his wrap-up — an impressive feat given that the lyrics referenced show moments that had taken place just minutes before.

2013 actually marked the second time Harris pulled off that stunt; the first was in 2011. Will he do something similar at the Oscars?

2010 Oscars: opening number

Harris didn’t host the Oscars in 2010 (Steve Martin and Alex Baldwin did the honors) but he did get the ball rolling with, yes, a rollicking song-and-dance routine.

Harris sang, “Tonight there’s two hosts to split the fee / I fired my agent, ‘cause one’s not me.”

Come February, though, he’ll be singing a different tune.

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