With the 2013 Emmy nominations announced just this morning, Emmy anticipation is gearing up, not just with chatter about the nominees, but also with excitement for Neil Patrick Harris to return as host for the second time. If the past is any indication, audiences are in for a treat.
Harris is no stranger to hosting high-profile awards shows. He's hosted the Tony Awards four times (in 2009, 2011, 2012 and 2013), and he made his debut as Emmy host in 2009. The "How I Met Your Mother" actor even won two Emmy Awards for hosting the Tonys, earning rave reviews from the industry itself.
Harris is clearly well-qualified to host some of the biggest nights in Broadway and television, but how does one compare to the other? Oprah asked the actor that question shortly before the 2012 Tony Awards when he appeared on an episode of "Oprah's Next Chapter."
For Harris, the biggest difference comes down to the integrated nature of Broadway versus the varied nature of television industry. "The Tonys is all people involved in the same world... They're all in a big community," Harris explains in the above video. "In the Emmys, everyone is compartmentalized, so you're there hosting an event where people don't really know each other at all. They're individualized."
For all of his hosting jobs, there's still one award show Harris hasn't hosted -- the Academy Awards. Would he, if asked? "I certainly wouldn't say no..." he tells Oprah. "[But] there's a rigidity to the Oscars that you have to somehow break without being too casual. It's a tricky beast, as I'm sure you know."
"Well, I don't think I would ever do it," Oprah says. "But you could do it."
"Oprah's Next Chapter" returns with new episodes beginning Sunday, July 28, at 9 p.m. ET on OWN.
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