Are Jason Segel And Neil Patrick Harris From HIMYM Friends In Real Life?
Actors Jason Segel ("Forgetting Sarah Marshall") and Neil Patrick Harris (Netflix's "Uncoupled") worked together for nearly a decade on the hit CBS sitcom "How I Met Your Mother." The series — framed as a father telling the story of meeting the mother of his children — followed a group of friends trying to find love and happiness in New York City.
Harris played Barney Stinson (whose scenes on "How I Met Your Mother" sometimes go too far), a well-dressed womanizer who was every bit as sarcastic as he was outrageously sensitive. Almost in direct opposition to this example of toxic masculinity was Segel's Marshall Eriksen, a kind, gentle, loving partner to Lily Aldrin (Alyson Hannigan) and a loyal friend to Ted Mosby (Josh Radnor). Of course, the two are different from their characters in real life — for example, Harris, a proud member of the LGBTQ+ community, has been with his husband for 18 years. Understandably, fans may wonder how Harris and Segel got along in real-life, considering their on-screen relationship had plenty of highs and lows.
Bros that belt together, stay together
By Neil Patrick Harris' account, the pair are friends "for life." The 49-year-old actor said as much in his recent WIRED Autocomplete Interview, which sees Harris answering questions derived from the web's top searches about him. When going through results starting with "Is Neil Patrick Harris ...," his friendship with Jason Segel is questioned. After pretending to waffle for the sake of brevity, Harris calls Segel "adorable" and "a really lovely guy" before doing an impression of his co-star's humble disposition.
Harris goes on to cement their friendship by recalling the duo's penchant for singing duets from the Broadway classic "Les Misérables." The pair have publicly belted "The Confrontation" — an infamously melodramatic and intense musical showdown between the show's outlaw hero and his policeman adversary — on numerous occasions.
For his part, Segel hasn't spoken much about his relationship with any of his "How I Met Your Mother" co-stars, aside from his crucial friendship with his on-screen love interest Alyson Hannigan (via Huffington Post). Segel's on-set banter with Harris has been documented, with the two sharing a cheeky moment while filming (per YouTube). It's also worth noting that when Harris was inducted into the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2011, Segel personally unveiled the star alongside "Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog" creator Joss Whedon. Though they may not see each other as much as they used to, a decade-long working relationship usually doesn't dissolve instantly.