Neil Patrick Harris, best known as the cherubic child prodigy in the 1989-93 sitcom "Doogie Howser, M.D.," takes a scalpel to his clean-cut image in the West Coast production of the Tony-winning musical "Rent." "Physically I've changed a lot, " says Harris, 24, who bleached his hair to play a grungy East Village filmmaker. "I'm a blond now, and I may keep it. It's fun to have bleach-blond hair and funky clothes, to strut around and play the part offstage as well." The show is playing in La Jolla, Calif., before its Los Angeles run starting Sept. 19. "Since it's La Jolla, it's mostly older, wealthy, conservative people, which is not our target audience," he says. "So I'm one of the hippest guys in La Jolla. Then again, I don't know how much that says."

People Weekly: August 18, 1997