David Burtka
Burtka in 2012
Born
David Michael Burtka

(1975-05-29) May 29, 1975 (age 48)
Dearborn, Michigan, U.S.
EducationUniversity of Michigan (BFA)
Occupations
Years active
  • 1999–present (actor)
  • 2009–present (chef)
Spouse
​
(m. 2014)​
Children2

David Michael Burtka (born May 29, 1975) is an American actor and chef.

Early life

Burtka was born in Dearborn, Michigan, the son of Deborah A. Zajas (died 2008) and Daniel Burtka. He is of Polish descent.[1][2] He grew up in Canton, Michigan, and graduated from Salem High School in 1993. He trained in acting at Interlochen Center for the Arts, obtained his Bachelor of Fine Arts from the University of Michigan and had further training at the William Esper Studios.

Acting career

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Burtka made his television debut in 2002 with a guest role on The West Wing. This was followed by guest appearances on Crossing Jordan.

Burtka made his Broadway debut as Tulsa in the 2003 revival of Gypsy, which starred Bernadette Peters. He played The Boy in the American premiere of Edward Albee's The Play About the Baby, for which he won the 2001 Clarence Derwent Award for most promising male performer.

In 2004, Burtka originated the role of Matt in the musical The Opposite of Sex and reprised the role in the work's East Coast premiere in the summer of 2006.

Burtka appeared in seven episodes of How I Met Your Mother, playing "Scooter", the former high school boyfriend of Lily Aldrin (Alyson Hannigan). Burtka made a cameo appearance, in A Very Harold & Kumar 3D Christmas, as himself, opposite Neil Patrick Harris.

Burtka starred in Osiris Entertainment's 2013 film Annie and the Gypsy,[3] and had a featured role in the 2014 film Dance Off. [4]

In 2015, Burtka returned to Broadway in a musical comedy, directed by David Hyde Pierce and entitled It Shoulda Been You. An Off-Broadway revival of Yasmina Reza's God of Carnage at Theatre Row in NYC featuring Burtka began previews on April 18, 2023, and opened on April 27, 2023. Burtka starred along with Carey Cox, Gabe Fazio and Christiane Noll.[5]

Culinary career

While living in Los Angeles, Burtka took a hiatus from acting full-time to become a professional chef.[6] He graduated from Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts Pasadena in the summer of 2009; afterwards, he began running a Los Angeles catering company, "Gourmet MD".[7] Burtka's cookbook, Life is a Party, a collection of recipes and tips on entertaining, was published in April 2019.[8]

Personal life

Burtka with his husband, Neil Patrick Harris, in September 2011.

Burtka was in a relationship with Lane Janger in the early 2000s, around the time Janger was expecting twins via surrogacy. Although not the biological or legal father of the children, Burtka helped raise them during his relationship with Janger, and has remained close to them after he and Janger split.[9][10]

Burtka has been in a relationship with Neil Patrick Harris since April 2004.[11] In October 2010 they became parents to twins, Harper and Gideon,[12] who were born via a surrogate mother.

Following the passage of the Marriage Equality Act in New York on June 24, 2011, Burtka and Harris announced their engagement, stating that they had proposed to each other five years earlier but had kept the engagement secret until same-sex marriage became legal in their state.[13] They married in Italy in September 2014.[14] As of 2023, the family live in East Hampton, NY.[15]

Filmography

Film

Year Title Role Notes
1999 24 Nights Toby
2007 Worldly Possession Andrew Bates Television film
2007 Open House Husband Short film
2007 Army Guy Keith Short film
2011 A Very Harold & Kumar 3D Christmas Himself
2011 Gaysharktank.com Short film
2012 Annie and the Gypsy Martin
2013 The Gay Christian Mingle Short film
2014 Dance-Off JT
2020 Cicada Bo

Television

Year Title Role Notes
2002 The West Wing Intern Bruce Episode: "The Black Vera Wang"
2005 Crossing Jordan Craig Heeley Episode: "Total Recall"
2007 CSI: NY David King Episode: "Down the Rabbit Hole"
2013 Iron Chef America Himself Episode: "Zakarian vs. Chiarello: Scotch"
2012 Neil's Puppet Dreams Himself Episodes: "Dream Bump"
"Bollywood"
2006–14 How I Met Your Mother Scooter 7 episodes
2014 RuPaul's Drag Race Himself (guest judge) Episode: "Drag My Wedding"
2015 Beat Bobby Flay Himself (guest judge) Episode: "No Training Wheels"
2015 American Horror Story: Freak Show Michael Beck Episode: "Curtain Call"
2018 A Series of Unfortunate Events Mr. Willums Episodes: "The Carnivorous Carnival: Part 1"
"The Carnivorous Carnival: Part 2"
2020 Home Movie: The Princess Bride Princess Buttercup Episode: "Chapter Five: Life Is Pain"[16]
2022 Uncoupled Jerry Episode: "Chapter 6"
2023 Drag Me to Dinner Himself (judge) 10 episodes

See also

References

  1. ^ "Obituary » Michigan Death Notices » from Michigan.com . . ". michigan.com. Archived from the original on November 29, 2014. Retrieved April 24, 2015.
  2. ^ Administrator. "Famous Polish Americans". polishyoungstown.com. Retrieved April 24, 2015.
  3. ^ "Annie and the Gypsy". Archived from the original on September 8, 2014. Retrieved February 8, 2013.
  4. ^ "Platinum the Dance Movie (2014)". IMDb. Retrieved April 14, 2020.
  5. ^ "David Burtka to Lead Off-Broadway 'God of Carnage' Revival (EXCLUSIVE)". March 16, 2023.
  6. ^ Neil Patrick Harris talks Thanksgiving on The Late Late Show. Retrieved November 16, 2011 – via YouTube.
  7. ^ Quimblerly, Anne (June 12, 2023). "Things You Probably Didn't Know About Out Actor and Chef David Burtka". Instinct. Retrieved November 4, 2023.
  8. ^ Vora, Shivani (June 14, 2019). "How Neil Patrick Harris and David Burtka Spend Their Sundays". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved June 16, 2019.
  9. ^ "David Burtka on Twitter". Twitter. Retrieved April 24, 2015.
  10. ^ Dulin, Dann. "David Burtka: Cover Story". April 5, 2014. aumag.org. Retrieved May 11, 2018.
  11. ^ Beeck, Ellen. "Neil Patrick Harris and David Burtka's Relationship Timeline". People. Retrieved November 4, 2023.
  12. ^ "Neil Patrick Harris Welcomes 'Happy, Healthy' Twins". People. October 15, 2010. Retrieved October 15, 2010.
  13. ^ Published Saturday, June 25, 2011, 1:42pm EDT (June 25, 2011). "Neil Patrick Harris announces secret engagement". Digitalspy.com. Retrieved November 16, 2011.((cite web)): CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  14. ^ Beeck, Ellen. "Neil Patrick Harris and David Burtka's Relationship Timeline". People. Retrieved November 4, 2023.
  15. ^ Wilkins, Bridie (February 19, 2021). "Neil Patrick Harris and David Burtka's $5.5million estate is another world – see inside". Hello!. Retrieved November 4, 2023.
  16. ^ Breznican, Anthony (June 26, 2020). "Watch the Celebrity-Filled Fan-Film Version of The Princess Bride". Vanity Fair. Retrieved June 26, 2020.

External links

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