Being part of the supporting cast isn’t all that bad. Just ask Neil Patrick Harris, better known as womanizing Altrucell employee, Barney Stinson, on CBS’ How I Met Your Mother. According to Harris, he did not have any problem signing up for the supporting role.
“[In] the pilot, he got straight-razor shaved and went laser tagging and smoked cigars and he’s very boisterous and outgoing and with catch phrases all over the place from the get-go. So I think he was kind of the Fonzie guy in the pilot,” Harris told the Deseret Morning News. “I love it. It’s great… A supporting role on this gives you a life. You’re not working every day and every scene all the time and feeling beat up about it. We have a really nice work schedule.”
Neil Patrick Harris knows he has come a long way from playing a teenage doctor on Doogie Howser, M.D., and is constantly reminded when eager fans of How I Met Your Mother approach him.
“It was weird growing in the business from my early days,” Neil Patrick Harris said. “People sort of looked and sort of pointed and sort of acknowledged that I was this little kid actor.
“And now I’m grown up and people come and actually talk about specifics of the show — their favorite episode. ‘When are you going to get slapped again?’ ‘Dude, I suited up.’ So that makes me feel like they’re not only enjoying the show but actually watching it.”
How I Met Your Mother debuted on CBS in 2005. It is a love story in reverse, showcasing the lead character’s journey to finding his ultimate partner, as well as his relationship with his friends. Harris’ Barney is the most obnoxious in the group, but his fun-loving personality is what makes him a likable character.
“What I love about Barney and what I think makes him acceptable is he’s always kind of fun and having a good time,” Neil Patrick Harris told Deseret Morning News. “He’ll put Ted (Josh Radnor) into precarious situations. But then they’re laughing about it…. And that’s Barney’s mentality. He likes to create crazy situations and then sit back and watch it all go down.”
Moreover, Harris’ Barney isn’t totally heartless and anti-romantic, as evidenced by the time he kept stealing girls from Marshall (Jason Segel) so that his friend could get back together with his real love, Lily (Alyson Hannigan).
“It would be hard to have Barney be devilish and legitimately like a bad person,” he said.
How I Met Your Mother will return for its third season on Monday, September 24, though Harris, who is nominated for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series, said he doesn’t know much about how the stories will unfold this season.
“I’m in the dark as much as you guys are with what’s happening show-wise. We get a script the day before the table read, and I get to read it and see what great hilarious stuff I get to say. What better job is there than that?” he said.
-Lisa Claustro, BuddyTV Staff Columnist
Source: Deseret Morning News
(Image Courtesy of CBS)
Staff Columnist, BuddyTV
