Neil Patrick Harris Reveals The Amazing Weekly Salary He Earned While Working On How I Met Your Mother

Neil Patrick Harris has shared just how much he made playing Barney Stinson on How I Met Your Mother.

The numbers are pretty astonishing. Being an actor can be tough, especially when you face long periods without work. 

But landing a big role in Hollywood can change that, making it possible to earn enough to not have to work again. 

That’s something many of us can only dream about.

Neil Patrick Harris, who was one of the top stars on the CBS sitcom, is a great example of this. 

The actor, now 51, played the role of the charming womanizer Barney Stinson throughout all nine seasons of the show. 

He even made a guest appearance on the spin-off, How I Met Your Father.

Because of the show’s popularity and longevity, it turned out to be a very lucrative opportunity for Harris. 

He revealed just how impressive his pay-per-week was. During an interview with The Howard Stern Show in 2014, he mentioned that he was 'well paid' in the later seasons.

When Stern asked if he was pleased with his earnings, a surprised Harris responded: "Are you kidding? Yes I was happy with that."

So, if you’re curious, by the end of his time on the show, Harris was making $250,000 per week.

Despite this, Stern was skeptical. He noted that while the amount sounded 'extraordinary' compared to other industries, it didn’t seem like a huge sum for a lead actor.

How I Met Your Mother was on air for nine seasons. Monty Brinton/CBS via Getty Images

It's also important to consider that during the later seasons, the main cast likely received additional money from royalties and syndication, which would have increased Harris’ total earnings.

No matter how you look at it, that’s still a huge amount of money.

Harris also gave more details on how the cast’s salaries were handled. He mentioned that his main co-stars were all making the same amount.

"We'd gotten eight seasons out of it... this was an extra season, a fantastic final lap and why shouldn't we be reaping the benefits of that," Harris said. 

"And I feel like everyone has proven their worth on the show, everyone is providing and deserves to get paid well."

The actor seemed more than happy with his earnings from the show. Michael Desmond/CBS via Getty Images

When compared to other hit shows, the salaries for How I Met Your Mother cast were relatively modest.

For instance, the stars of The Big Bang Theory, Kaley Cuoco, Jim Parsons, and Johnny Galecki reportedly earned $1 million per episode for their final season in 2019. 

This was also the reported rate for the cast of Friends.

Later, the stars of Game of Thrones - Emilia Clarke, Kit Harington, Lena Headey, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, and Peter Dinklage earned even more, with reports suggesting they made $1.2 million per episode for the show’s eighth season.