An unforgettable actor who is known for his wonderful work on stage, his teenage stardom with Doogie Howser, M.D., and an incredible host (winning four Emmy Awards for his work hosting the Tony Awards), Neil Patrick Harris has somehow managed to turn his charm into taking on the roles of some wickedly fun, gleeful scumbags onscreen.

Harris has returned to the screen this year with a new charismatic character, the 2022 series Uncoupled, in which he plays a recently single gay man entering the dating scene in Manhattan. Harris admitted to Netflix Tudum that he was sold on the first scene and appreciated his character’s personal story as well as the “light comedy” aspect of the show. Uncoupled explores the reality of dating for older gay men in a way that no other series has done before. Harris’s character in this show isn’t quite so ruthless as some of his previous roles in which he often hurts feelings (or people) to get what he wants.

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Neil Patrick Harris’ Most Famous Career Shift

     20th Television

But how did Neil Patrick Harris get into playing these scumbag characters? Harris tells Britt Ashley of The Back Label that after his role in Doogie Howser M.D. he was invited to a party with Bob Saget when he turned 18. According to the article, at this party, Saget was wearing nothing but ladies’ panties on his head. Harris says that, “Bob Saget was the ultimate bro and [his] inspiration for Barney Stinson.”

After the 2004 appearance of Harris playing a hilariously destructive version of himself in Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle, he took on the role of the womanizing Barney Stinson in How I Met Your Mother, and both audiences and screenwriters recognized Harris’ skill at portraying self-absorbed scumbags, and the actor embraced this praise.

Barney ended up being the most popular character on How I Met Your Mother and one of the funniest in modern sitcom history, which, according to Harris, is due to Barney’s “extreme” personality. Barney is an interesting character — he has the scumbag elements of a big finance bro and someone who talks down to women and beds new ones daily, but he has a loyalty, childishness, and repressed insecurity that makes him endearing. Harris is perfect here, managing to turn what could be a grotesque caricature into an almost lovable playboy. In a discussion with Let’s Expresso, Harris tells Tanya Sachdev that he and Barney are similar in that they are “sardonic and always looking for a joke,” which might explain his gravitation towards other similar roles.

Here is a look at Neil Patrick Harris’ history of somehow playing a scumbag with charm.

Neil Patrick Harris Debuts His Scumbag Alter Ego With Harold and Kumar

     Warner Bros. Pictures

Alongside his part in the famous series How I Met Your Mother, Neil Patrick Harris plays a similar stripper-loving partier in the Harold and Kumar movies. Funnily enough, this fictionalized version of Neil Patrick Harris was written into the first movie, Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle, without Harris knowing. According to a CBR article by Melisa Clark, Harris heard about this fictionalized version of himself through a friend and then jumped at the chance to actually star in the movie. Harris plays a similarly sex-driven character alongside Harold and Kumar, who in the first movie embark on an adventure to the White Castle restaurant after smoking weed. Their journey is made more difficult by a drugged-up Neil Patrick Harris stealing their car and then using the backseat for “lovemaking.”

Related Link: Neil Patrick Harris to Play Villain in Doctor Who 60th Anniversary Special

Harris specifically requested that the writers change nothing about his character and went ahead with making the subsequent Harold and Kumar films. The first movie, released in 2004, might be responsible for Harris’ part in How I Met Your Mother and his later appearance in Seth MacFarland’s A Million Ways to Die in the West. In A Million Ways to Die in the West, Neil Patrick Harris plays Foy, the obnoxious boyfriend of Louise, the protagonist’s ex-girlfriend. In the film, Harris is particularly recognizable for his handlebar mustache and brings along his trademark, humorous charm.

Neil Patrick Harris Plays the Bad Guy in A Series of Unfortunate Events

     Netflix

When Netflix announced its new show A Series of Unfortunate Events, it was the perfect opportunity for Neil Patrick Harris to experiment with playing a villain. While Harris had pretty much mastered the everyday scumbag in How I Met Your Mother and the 2014 film Gone Girl, Olaf was more of a challenge for him to play. Harris tells Time that there is an “absurdist freedom” to Olaf and that he particularly enjoyed the theatrical elements of the show, especially changing in and out of disguises. Count Olaf, determined to get his hands on the fortune of the Baudelaire children, dresses up as several different adults to try to fool anyone in charge of the Baudelaires. According to Indiewire, Barry Sonnenfeld says that Harris is extraordinary in the series and that “no matter who he’s playing, you see Olaf underneath.”

Sonnenfeld seems to be onto something with Neil Patrick Harris’ role in A Series of Unfortunate Events. Beneath all of his characters, there is always the charm of Harris playing a tiny bit of himself. As of 2022, Screen Rant has announced that Harris will be playing another villainous role in the 60th Anniversary special of Doctor Who alongside the returning David Tenant.

While Neil Patrick Harris has a skill for playing scumbags, there’s no doubt he has immense flexibility for portraying softer characters, such as in his new Netflix series Uncoupling. Harris tells USA Today that the role is refreshing since he is playing someone entirely new, a “profoundly lonely” but still funny character. The first season of Uncoupling is available for streaming on Netflix.