Neil Patrick Harris spoke to Insider about his new TV series "It's a Sin " from Russell T. Davies.- "It's a Sin" follows a group of gay friends during the AIDS crisis in the 1980s.
- Harris also defended Davies, who said straight actors shouldn't play gay roles.
Neil Patrick Harris has fulfilled something of a career dream with his latest role in Russell T. Davies' "It's a Sin," the British series following a group of gay friends through the AIDS crisis in the 1980s.
The former "How I Met Your Mother" actor plays Henry Coltrane, who works in a Savile Row tailor and befriends Callum Scott Howells' Colin.
Harris spoke to Insider about the debate centered on straight actors portraying gay roles onscreen, spurred by the show's creator, the "blessing" of "It's a Sin," and perfecting a British accent for the role.
Harris disagrees with Davies, who said straight actors shouldn't play gay roles, but said critics shouldn't take his comments too 'bluntly'
"It's a Sin" has been in headlines recently and not necessarily for the show's storylines.
Instead, the show's writer, Davies, who also created "Queer as Folk" and was the former showrunner of the 2015 revival of "Doctor Who," is getting tons of attention after he suggested that straight actors shouldn't play gay roles.
The writer told the Radio Times: "You wouldn't cast someone able-bodied and put them in a wheelchair, you wouldn't Black someone up."
Although Harris disagrees with Davies' sentiment, he told Insider that he doesn't think Davies was speaking as "bluntly" as some headlines suggest.The actor, who was helping to launch Baileys Deliciously Light, a new cream liqueur from Baileys Original Irish Cream, added that Davies was perhaps "speaking in the conversation of joyful inclusion."
"I appreciate that he feels that way and that we live in a time where that's a super viable option," Harris continued. "Getting to be a part of 'It's a Sin' with so many people who were standing so proud and acting with remarkable grace and talent was an absolute joy."
Harris had trouble 'British-izing' his voice for 'It's a Sin'
When it comes to the actual show, however, Harris makes a big impression the first time he's onscreen - most notably with a prim and proper English accent that is a far cry from the New Mexico native's offscreen accent.
The actor told Insider that he enlisted the help of a dialect coach.
"The point of the accent, at least for an American, is to have it not be very noticeable and just be part of your character. So I didn't want it to be too affected," Harris said. "But there are certain syllables and consonants that Americans have trouble 'British-izing.' So I got some assistance on that."
The actor, who is now surely an expert in accents after his role as the nefarious Count Olaf in the Netflix adaption of "A Series of Unfortunate Events," cited James Bond actor David Niven as a particular inspiration for his voice.
"A Savile Row bespoke tailor implies to me a lot of elocution and specificity so I wanted it to be crisp. And David Niven had a cool mustache, too."
Harris wanted to work with intimacy coordinators on the show, but didn't get to
Along with providing a much-needed source of LGBTQ+ representation onscreen, the show has been praised for it's realistic and genuine depiction of sex scenes between its gay characters, which are not in short supply.
Leading actor Olly Alexander spoke about one of his sex scenes in the show, noting that the scene was coordinated by intimacy coordinators like a "dance."
But Harris told Insider he was "remiss" that he "didn't get to film any sex scenes" himself as he would have liked to work with the intimacy coordinators on the show.
"What you see on camera being steamy, I think when they were actually filming was probably remarkably less so. So my hats are off to the actors, especially Olly, for making it look as tantalizing as it did."
While "It's a Sin" is offering escapism from our current 2021 woes, so, too, is Harris' partnership with Baileys. Thanks to their Light Breaks campaign, intended to encourage people to spend time with their friends, Baileys teamed with Cocktail Courier, who are offering "custom light break packages" to send to a friend.
"It allows people to think about someone besides themselves and to send them something to make them smile and have a light break moment of their own," Harris added.
HBO Max's "It's a Sin," already out in the UK to rave reviews, will hit the US on February 18.
Watch the trailer for "It's a Sin" below: