Neil Patrick Harris talks fatherhood with Oprah, teases Tonys

By Oliver Gettell

June 1, 2012 12 AM PT

Just ahead of Father’s Day, new dads Neil Patrick Harris and partner David Burtka joined Oprah Winfrey to talk about the challenges and rewards of having children as a same-sex couple and of raising twins.

“We really, really wanted kids,” Harris says in a clip from “Oprah’s Next Chapter,” airing Sunday. “We really had thought it through financially, emotionally, relationship-wise. We didn’t just accidentally get pregnant and decide that now we need to make this work. These kids come into our world with nothing but love.”

The comment prompted the ever-wise queen of all media to have what she calls “an aha moment.”

“Same-sex couples, in order to have a child, means you really, really, really, really gotta do a lot of work to make that happen,” Winfrey says, prompting nods and agreement from Harris and Burtka.

Also in the episode, Winfrey meets Gideon and Harper, the couple’s 19-month-old twins. Each father fertilized one egg, and both boys were carried and born via one surrogate.

Harris and Winfrey apparently have some history when it comes to matters of parenthood, at least if the “How I Met Your Mother” star is to be believed (and in this case, he probably isn’t). In March, Harris purportedly spoiled his show’s central mystery, telling David Letterman that Oprah is in fact the show’s yet-unrevealed title character.

Harris seems less inclined to say what surprises are in store for next week’s Tony Awards, which he will host June 10. Speaking to Entertainment Weekly recently, Harris downplayed his own contributions to the show.

“The more content I end up doing, then the less time everyone gets to spend watching performances, and really, in addition to doling out awards, that’s the reason you watch,” he said. But, he added, “Not to say I won’t be around. I’m hoping for the watercooler-y moments when you have to pause and go back and rewatch. There will be a couple surprises!”

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