Actor Neil Patrick Harris appears on the cover of New York magazinethis week, accompanied by a profile that heralds him as “Hollywood’s first (openly) gay breakthrough star.”

Journalist Emily Nussbaum explores the “high-wire act” through which Harris, an avid magician, has “violated all these expectations” of the career “death sentence” that befalls male actors who come out. According to the New York magazine profile, being positive and matter-of-fact about his sexual orientation has been the secret of Harris’s success as a leading man since he came out to the public in 2006.

“But perversely, Harris’s wholesome statement to People about being 'a very content gay man,' paired with his marital stability, seems to have freed him up to be a polymorphously flirtatious celebrity, catalyzing crushes from all corners,” writes Nussbaum.

“‘No one was ever old-school Hollywood, with a cigar in their mouth, saying ‘You can’t do this, see! It’ll ruin your career, kid,’” says Harris.

Nussbaum writes, “With his mild New Age streak, Harris expresses faith that intentions are what matter: ‘So long as you’re representing yourself well, you’re making good choices for good reasons, all of the circumstantial things will vanish."
 
Harris holds so much A-list potential that Nussbaum dubs him “the Great Gay Hope.”

Although rumored to be actively pursuing fatherhood with his partner, actor David Burtka, Harris says they have no specific plans yet. However, he tells Nussbaum that he believes “we’d make very good parents.”