Neil Patrick Harris Takes the Blame For Breaking HIMYM Cast – Sort Of
The actor has admitted that he hasn't always been in solidarity with his co-stars.
Summary
- How I Met Your Mother remains one of the best CBS sitcoms of all time.
- The show's star landed a lucrative contract in the middle of HIMYM's run.
- The actor says it was a natural thing to do in the industry.
- Harris eventually redeemed himself.
Although we are on the brink of 2024, it seems there are few sitcoms whose popularity with audiences can match that of 1990s and 2000s classics like Frasier, Friends, and Seinfeld. Sure, CBS's hits The Big Bang Theory and Young Sheldon boast large and loyal fandoms, but these shows have nothing on the network's past flagship comedy, How I Met Your Mother.
Premiering in 2005, HIMYM was an instant hit, going into syndication by Season 4. In total, How I Met Your Mother ran for nine seasons and inspired a Hulu spin-off, How I Met You Your Father, starring Hilary Duff and Kim Cattrall. The original sitcom, in turn, had its own star-studded ensemble cast, led by Josh Radnor, Jason Segel, Cobie Smulders and Neil Patrick Harris, who portrayed a tight-knit group of friends. In reality, however, the relationships between the stars weren't so friendly.
Harris Had a Bigger Salary
According to Neil Patrick Harris, who played the ultimate HIMYM macho, Barry Stinson, there was never any real conflict between the sitcom's stars. At least he has fond memories of the show, its cast and director Pamela Fryman, and his role.
Although HIMYM was a 'proper ensemble' cast for the entire nine seasons and all of the stars were paid $250,000 per episode by the end of the show, the actor admitted to making more than his co-stars in the middle of the sitcom's run.
'It [was] weird negotiation time when all of a sudden it's season 4 to 5 and now we're in syndication so everyone starts asking for more money and everyone gathers together internally and decides, "Do we wanna go individually and try to make our own deals or do we wanna go unified as a cast and all go together?"' Neil Patrick Harris shared in a recent interview.
Personal Priorities
Apparently, the actor opted for the former and, unlike his HIMYM co-stars, got a higher salary deal. While there was no animosity between the show's cast members, they weren't so united anymore.
'I wasn't an a***ole, I just felt like… It seemed like we all had individual careers that we had nurtured up into that point, and so when you end up with an agent, and a manager, and an attorney that you've, like, you have relationships with them, and they're hardcore fighting for you financially, for your future, that to have solidarity with someone who has done less [doesn't make sense],' Harris commented on his decision.
'It wasn't like I was trying to take someone else's money, I just wanted my team to fight as hard as they could for me, for my next season's work.'
Ultimately, the actor earned redemption in the eyes of his co-stars when he agreed to take a pay cut so that How I Met Your Mother Season 9 could be produced and the rest of the cast could receive their fair share of the profits. All's well that ends well, it seems.
Source: YouTube.