Neil Patrick Harris Addresses Rumors of His HIMYM Character Returning

Is Barney Stinson about to make a comeback??

Is out TV legend Neil Patrick Harris set to make his return to the How I Met Your Mother cinematic universe? 

In a recent discussion with Hilary Duff, who is currently starring in HIMYM's LGBTQ-inclusive Hulu sequel series How I Met Your Father, Harris addressed the possibility of putting back on his trademark suit and stepping back into the shoes of serial playboy and notorious womanizer Barney Stinson, a role that Harris played from 2005-2014 during the show's original run on CBS. (And arguably, one of NPH's most well-known roles to date in his acting career so far.) 

"As for coming on your show (insert joke here), I worry," Harris told Duff in his weekly newsletter Wondercade. "Barney’s antics, his overt delusions of grandeur, would likely get everyone in trouble. So, unless he’s changed his ways or joined a nunnery (insert an insert joke here), not sure if it’s in anyone’s best interest."

"I’m not sure how you feel about this, but I’m pretty sure Barney would...be in jail in 2022," Duff agreed. "Since we’re living in the world of females coming into power, I’m assuming that’s why they made [Barney-esque character Valentina] a woman!"

While an NPH cameo on Hulu's How I Met Your Father probably won't be happening in the near future, the show stands on its own in terms of representation, with a diverse cast that includes an out, lesbian main character named Ellen!

"What's making our show really special is that we're covering all the ground of sexuality and gender and race and topics that are in the forefront right now and that are kind of getting their moment to be," Duff told Out recently. "All of those topics need more attention right now and we're getting to play with that on-screen, and it's been so fun." 

"It is so refreshing to get to be able to see a friend group that is very reflective of what we in our own lives experience every day," queer actress Tien Tran, who plays the show's lesbian character Ellen, a newly single woman who is also on the search for her special someone, added. "Ellen is so special because, you know, as someone who is queer, to get to play a queer character who is just one of the friends, who doesn't have to teach anyone anything, who doesn't have to go through some sort of traumatic coming out...those stories are so important. But I also think it's so exciting to just normalize the fact that this woman is trying to figure out how to date and has an amazing friend group that is trying to support her in all her weird ways. And it's not because she's gay, it's because she's like a weirdo that says whatever thing comes to her mind. So I think it's just very exciting that they all get to exist without questioning or challenging each other's identities in a way that doesn't feel fraught." 

How I Met Your Father is currently streaming on Hulu, with new episodes dropping weekly on Tuesdays.

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Neil Patrick Harris Addresses Rumors of His HIMYM Character Returning to TV