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. 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

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, and had a featured role in the 2014 film Dance Off. 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.

Culinary career

While living in Los Angeles, Burtka took a hiatus from acting full-time to become a professional chef. 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". Burtka's cookbook, Life is a Party, a collection of recipes and tips on entertaining, was published in April 2019.

Personal life

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. Burtka has been in a relationship with Neil Patrick Harris since April 2004. In October 2010 they became parents to twins, Harper and Gideon, 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. They married in Italy in September 2014. As of 2023, the family live in East Hampton, NY.

Filmography

Film

Television