Neil Patrick Harris to Host the Video Game Awards; John Cleese, Daniel Craig, Judi Dench Among Nominees

Neil Patrick Harris will host the 8th annual Video Game Awards (VGAs), to be presented on December 11. The ceremony, which will feature a performance by the rock band My Chemical Romance, will be broadcast on Spike TV 8pm ET/5pm PT.

Other presenters and attendees are scheduled to include Danny Devito, Kaitlin Olson, and Rob McElhenney, as well as director Guilermo Del Toro. Additional guest appearances will be announced shortly.

Harris is also one of the VGA nominees this year in the Best Performance by a Human Male category for his work as Peter Parker / Spider-Man in Red Dead Redemption. The other nominees are John Cleese, Daniel Craig, Nathan Fillion, Gary Oldman, Martin Sheen, and Sam Worthington. Actresses who have been nominated in the Best Performance by a Human Female include Dame Judi Dench and Kristen Bell.

In addition to the presentation of the VGAs, the show will feature 13 world premieres of games scheduled for release in 2011 and beyond.

Harris’ stage credits include Assassins, Rent, Sweeney Todd and All My Sons, and he directed the Hollywood Bowl concert staging of Rent earlier this year. He won 2010 Emmy Awards for hosting the 2009 Tony Awards, and for his guest starring role on Glee. He was also nominated for his work on CBS’ How I Met Your Mother.