Neil Patrick Harris and David Burtka Heard 'Through the Grapevine' That Their Twins, 16, Think They're 'Cool Dads'

Neil Patrick Harris and husband David Burtka feel blessed for the great relationship they have with their twins, Harper and Gideon, who turn 16 in October.

While attending the 2026 Tony Awards on Sunday, June 8, the pair was asked if their kids see them as "cool dads," to which the How I Met Your Mother alum replied, "I think so."

"What I love about Harper and Gideon is that they have really, really great senses of humor," he told E! News. "They make us laugh a lot, and they laugh at our jokes sometimes [shrugs], which feels like a win."

He continued, "It’s probably just more performance on their part. They’ll laugh at our jokes and then ask to get money for a matcha. But I’ll take it. Any laughs I can get!"

"I’m told by other friends that they like us," Burtka said. "We’re the cool dads."

Harris interjected, "Through the grapevine. That still works."

Harper and Gideon are growing up.

"They're freshmen in high school," Harris told the outlet. "They're just graduating, so they're sophomores. They're high school teenagers. They're super fun, they're super independent."

Burtka added, "Yeah, they really don't necessarily want you there, but you need to be there if they fall. You've got to be there in peripheral."

The couple is pleased with the way their children have matured.

"He's done amazing parenting," Harris spilled. "We both worked really hard to give them opportunity, and it's so fun to watch what they do with it."

"You put the work in, you get it back. They're good kids," the actor's spouse gushed.

"They're amazing kids. We love them," NPH noted, to which Burtka added, "We're lucky."

Despite the fact that their 16th birthday is approaching, neither twin has shown interest in driving.

"Neither of them want to drive at the moment," Harris said. "They’re New Yorkers, so they take the subway everywhere, or Uber. So I don’t know. We’re getting into the Waymo world, so I don’t know honestly if they're ever going to have to touch a steering wheel."

Burtka added, "I think this summer, we might get them in the car. A run around the driveway, maybe."

"I feel bad for the trees," NPH joked.

Although Harris became a household name as a teenager thanks to the sitcom Doogie Howser, M.D., which aired from 1989-1993, he isn't sending his children down the same path of teen stardom.

"It wouldn't surprise me if they both entered into entertainment in some form," Harris confessed. "I think my single path of starting as an actor young was really unique, so I wouldn't encourage that, necessarily, but I think they'll probably be actor-adjacent. I'll hope that they can do some proper studying and go to college, actually study it, and then perform."

Burtka said, "They really love the theater, they love movies, they love TV, they love all of that. I wouldn't be surprised either."

Harris marveled, "It would be so crazy."

"It would be weird," Burtka said.

Fortunately, Harper and Gideon have talent.

"If they could get on a TV show, then we don’t have to work as much, and we can just spend their money, right?" Harris laughed. "That’s the dream. The goal, really."