Neil Patrick Harris - aka How I Met Your Mother's Barney - to host the 2015 Oscars

The 41-year-old actor currently stars in thriller Gone Girl

Neil Patrick Harris has said that a kiss from Burt Reynolds in late 80s show B. L. Stryker made him realise he was gay (Getty)

Neil Patrick Harris will host the 2015 Oscars, it has been announced.

The 41-year-old will lead the 87th Academy Awards ceremony in Hollywood in February, where movies including The Imitation Game and The Theory of Everything are expected to vie for the film industry's most prized accolades.

David Fincher's Gone Girl, in which Harris plays a former boyfriend of the main character, could also be nominated.

Harris, who is best known for playing Barney Stinson in the sitcom How I Met Your Mother, has also hosted television's Emmy Awards and the Tony Awards for theatre.

Neil Patrick Harris plays Amy Dunne's creepy ex-boyfriend in 'Gone Girl' (YouTube)

The news came a day after he released his memoir, Choose Your Own Autobiography, where he talked about coming to terms with his sexuality.

It was while acting beside Burt Reynolds in late 1980s detective drama B.L. Stryker that Harris realised he was gay.

In his book he writes: “As a joke at the end of one take, Burt leans over and kisses you square on the mouth.

Post by The Academy.

“The crew thinks this is very funny, but it makes you uncomfortable. Uncomfortable and, it will ultimately turn out, gay. Burt Reynolds' kiss makes you gay.”

He married his partner David Burtka in September and they became parents to twins Gideon and Harper in 2010.

Past hosts of the Oscars include Ellen DeGeneres, Family Guy creator Seth MacFarlane, Hugh Jackman and Billy Crystal.