--- title: Series of Unfortunate Events: Neil Patrick Harris Interview description: The star returns to television as Count Olaf in a Netflix adaptation of Lemony Snicket’s children’s books, A Series of Unfortunate Events canonical: https://time.com/4633471/a-series-of-unfortunate-events-netflix-neil-patrick-harris/ author: Eliana Dockterman article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2017-01-13T15:26:20.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-06-24T06:56:55.527Z article:section: Entertainment og:title: Neil Patrick Harris on How A Series of Unfortunate Events Is Like The Muppets og:description: NPH is back on TV with a new Netflix series og:url: https://time.com/4633471/a-series-of-unfortunate-events-netflix-neil-patrick-harris/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc562744b18fc78d5/6988b56286f68e5e9b6e321d/gettyimages-631509452.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: "Lemony Snicket's A Series Of Unfortunate Events" Screening og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Neil Patrick Harris on How A Series of Unfortunate Events Is Like The Muppets twitter:description: NPH is back on TV with a new Netflix series twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc562744b18fc78d5/6988b56286f68e5e9b6e321d/gettyimages-631509452.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Neil Patrick Harris on How _A Series of Unfortunate Events_ Is Like _The Muppets_ ## Video: This Video Is No Longer Available [Watch (HLS stream): This Video Is No Longer Available](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/fKodeUO6.m3u8) (0:10)  _Published 2026-06-23. NPH is back on TV with a new Netflix series_  by [Eliana Dockterman](https://time.com/author/eliana-dockterman/)  ## Eliana Dockterman Correspondent Jan 13, 2017 3:26 PM UTC  by [Eliana Dockterman](https://time.com/author/eliana-dockterman/)  ## Eliana Dockterman Correspondent Jan 13, 2017 3:26 PM UTC After forays into film (_Gone Girl_), theater (_Hedwig and the Angry Inch_) and hosting (_Best Time Ever_), [_How I Met Your Mother_](http://time.com/4533546/how-i-met-your-mother-reunion-jason-segel/) star [Neil Patrick Harris](http://time.com/4630094/neil-patrick-harris-james-corden-sing/) returns to serialized television. He plays Count Olaf, a man scheming after three orphans’ vast fortune, in a new Netflix adaptation of Lemony Snicket’s delightfully macabre children’s books,[ _A Series of Unfortunate Events_](http://time.com/4592213/netflix-a-series-of-unfortunate-events-trailer/). A far cry from _HIMYM_‘s genial playboy Barney, the new character afforded Harris the opportunity to don myriad disguises—the villain adopts many personas as he stalks the Baudelaire orphans—and practice his maniacal laugh. **TIME: You hadn’t read the books before. What made you want to do the series?** Harris: I was looking forward to acting as a character again and not as myself. I’d spent a large chunk of the year before on a variety show, _Best Time Ever,_ that was all-encompassing. I was proud of it, but it was exhausting. I was just anxious to get back to acting. **How is this version different from the film adaptation starring Jim Carrey?** Daniel Handler \[who uses the pen name Lemony Snicket\] and Barry \[Sonnenfeld, the director\] were both involved with the movie that came out, gosh, 13 years ago? And they both left for creative reasons before it was completed. So in many ways, I feel like this is a redemption tale for the two of them. **Since** **_How I Met Your Mother,_** **you’ve taken on some villainous roles:** **_Gone Girl,_** **_American Horror Story_** **and now this. How does Olaf compare evilness-wise?** He’s probably the most dastardly, but he’s villainous in a family-friendly way. So he can be over-the-top terrible. You don’t have to spend a lot of time with motivation or backstory. There’s an absurdist freedom to Olaf. **Any theories as to why kids love this kind of darkness?** I think kids are fascinated by the morbid. I know my kids are. Harper, our daughter, likes us to tell her scary stories. I’m thinking back now to Grimm’s fairy tales. Kids are told a lot how to behave well, so I think creatively it’s fun to indulge in the sinister. **You’re a big fan of Jim Henson, and it’s striking that both** **_The Muppets_** **and** **_A Series of Unfortunate Events_** **are children’s tales that also wink at adults.** Totally. Over the holiday, we were playing the “Who would you want to have a conversation with, living or dead?” game. I said Jim Henson. Something like _Sesame Street_ or _The Muppet Show_ was brilliant because it plays on two levels: it teaches you the alphabet and then makes a joke for the parents. The kids know it’s there but don’t quite get it. Now that I’m a parent, I really value that. This shows does that too. **Do you have a favorite vocabulary word, in the spirit of** **_Unfortunate Events_** **?** Um, awesometown. Is that a word? A place which you would strive to go. Oh, actually, splediferous. I think that’s a word. 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