Neil Patrick Harris and Winslow Fegley star as adult and young Jake Doyle in 8-Bit Christmas, which tells a humorous and heartfelt look back at the adventures of childhood. The new holiday film will debut exclusively Wednesday, November 24 on HBO Max.
Set in suburban Chicago in the late 1980s, the story centers on ten-year-old Jake Doyle’s herculean quest to get the latest and greatest video game system for Christmas.
Harris will next be seen in the widely anticipated The Matrix Resurrections, which will release December 22 in theatres and on HBO Max, and in the action satire The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent. He is currently in production on the Netflix comedy series Uncoupled, also serving as an executive producer. Recently, he can be seen in It’s A Sin and A Series of Unfortunate Events. He starred as Barney Stinson in the hit CBS comedy series How I Met Your Mother, earning him multiple Emmy and Golden Globe Award nominations, as well as two People’s Choice Awards and a Critics’ Choice Award. The actor is a five-time Emmy Award winner for his role as host of the 63rd, 65th, 66th, and 67th Annual Tony Awards as well as his guest-starring role on Glee.
Additional television credits include Best Time Ever with Neil Patrick Harris, Stark Raving Mad, Joan of Arc, The Man in the Attic, Cold Sassy Tree, My Antonia, The Wedding Dress, The Christmas Blessing, and Doogie Howser, M.D. Harris’ film work includes Gone Girl, Downsizing, A Million Ways to Die in the West, The Smurfs 1 & 2, A Very Harold & Kumar 3D Christmas, Beastly, The Best and the Brightest, Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay, Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle, Undercover Brother, The Next Best Thing, The Proposition, Starship Troopers, and Clara’s Heart.
Harris originated the role of Hedwig in the Tony Award-winning Broadway production of Hedwig and the Angry Inch. Other theatrical credits include Assassins (Studio 54), Proof (Walter Kerr Theatre), Cabaret (Studio 54), Company (New York Philharmonic), All My Sons (Geffen Theater), The Paris Letter (Kirk Douglas Theater), Sweeney Todd (NY Phil, San Francisco Symphony Orchestra), Romeo and Juliet (Old Globe Theater), Rent (Los Angeles/2nd National Tour), Luck, Pluck, Virtue (Atlantic Theater Co.), and tick, tick…BOOM! (Menier Chocolate Factory). He made his musical directorial debut with the Hollywood Bowl’s staging of Rent. He also directed Nothing to Hide (Pershing Square Signature Center & Geffen Theater), The Expert at the Card Table (Edinburgh Fringe Festival & Broad Stage Theater), as well as I Am Grock (El Portal Theater). Recently, Harris produced In & Of Itself, an off-Broadway magic show at the Daryl Roth Theater.
The actor also starred in the Emmy Award-winning, web-based musical miniseries Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog, the all-star internet hit Prop 8: The Musical, and the comedic web series Neil’s Puppet Dreams, which he also executive produced. Harris has lent his voice to characters in Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2, Adventure Time, The Penguins of Madagascar, Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions, Cats & Dogs: The Revenge of Kitty Galore, Batman: Under the Red Hood, Robot Chicken, Batman: The Brave and the Bold, Family Guy, Eat Lead: The Return of Matt Hazard, Justice League: The New Frontier, Spider-Man, Capitol Critters, Saints Row 4, as well as Yes, Virginia.
This past Fall, he launched Wondercade, a free, weekly email newsletter that aims to inform and inspire readers with content across a host of lifestyle categories. It is inspired by Harris’ interests and passions; each newsletter offers a readers a mix of inspiration and information.
Fegley is currently in production on Lyle Lyle Crocodile. Currently, the actor can be seen starring in Nightbooks for Netflix, based on the popular supernatural novel by JA White. He is best known for his break-out role as Timmy Failure in Timmy Failure: Mistakes Were Made. Other credits include the Disney Channel event series Fast Layne, the horror film Come Play, and the upcoming Neil Bogart biopic Spinning Gold.
I had the chance to ask the talented duo about the Christmas present they wanted more than anything and what message they hope families get from watching the film!
Watch my interview below to hear what they shared:
