Neil Patrick Harris Stole An Iconic Prop From HIMYM Set
A year after "Friends" wrapped up, "How I Met Your Mother" debuted to fill the "Friends"-shaped hole in the lives of sitcom fans. "How I Met Your Mother" (or "HIMYM" to fans) has a similar premise as its sitcom predecessor: Five friends in their late twenties live in the Big Apple, and try to figure out their professional and personal lives.
For 9 seasons, the show enthralled its viewers, who anxiously waited to find out who would be the wife of Ted Mosby, and the titular "mother." Ted finally — and rather anticlimactically — revealed the identity of his wife at the end, which caused mixed reactions with audiences. But despite some of its problematic takes and formulaic aspects, the show worked and created a passionate fanbase that has continued long after it went off the air. In fact, we now have a spin-off in the form of Hulu's "How I Met Your Father," which debuted in 2022.
Of the memorable five characters in the "How I Met Your Mother" ensemble, Barney Stinson stands out for many fans. Played by Neil Patrick Harris, Barney was known for his comic timing and his inappropriate stance on dating and women. His iconic line "it's going to be legen — wait for it — dary" is still quoted by fans. Barney is known for his quippy one-liners, as well as his love of props that he uses in elaborate schemes to manipulate people and get what he wants. There's one prop in particular that's famously associated with Barney, and you'll be happy to find out that Harris got to keep it after "How I Met Your Mother" ended.
Harris kept Barney's playbook and a prop from McLaren's Bar
In famous franchises, props can hold incredible emotional significance for characters, viewers, and even the actors themselves. For example, it's not too surprising to learn that Daniel Radcliffe kept Harry Potter's glasses at the end of eight "Harry Potter" films (via Heart).
"How I Met Your Mother" is a particularly prop-heavy show and features objects that have a special place on the series, like the yellow umbrella or the blue French horn. For Harris, one of those things was Barney's playbook. The serial-dater Barney always has some tactic up his sleeve to pick up women, so he creates a playbook for his "bros," which details all of his schemes. As infamous as it becomes, the playbook holds great significance for Barney. So, he hands it down to the next generation of bros in the last season, albeit written on napkins. According to Yahoo TV, Harris kept The Playbook as a memento after the show ended.
That's not all. Harris also got to keep the tabletop from the booth at McLaren's Bar, where the gang usually sat. Many of the cast and crew members carved their names on it, which made it even more special. In an interview with Yahoo TV, the show's co-creator Craig Thomas said, "It feels right for one of the actors to get the tabletop, since they spent more hours looking at it than anyone else." Along with Harris, other actors got their hands on popular props tied to their characters — Cobie Smulders kept the Robin Sparkles denim jacket and Alyson Hannigan snagged the little red British phone booth — so fans can rest easier knowing that each actor has kept a piece of "How I Met Your Mother" with them.