David Burtka

David Burtka is an American actor and chef known for his recurring role as Scooter on How I Met Your Mother (2005) and for stage work including Broadway's Gypsy (2003) and It Shoulda Been You (2015), directed by David Hyde Pierce. He has been in a relationship with Neil Patrick Harris since 2004; the couple married in Italy in September 2014, and they have twins, Harper and Gideon, born via surrogate in 2010. Burtka trained as a chef at Le Cordon Bleu and later authored the cookbook Life Is a Party (2019), followed by Both Sides of the Glass (2025), co-written with Harris. Openly gay throughout his career, Burtka has spoken about balancing acting, cooking, and family life with his husband.