Premise: Neil Patrick Harris . On television , he is known for playing the title character on Doogie Howser , M.D. ( 1989 -- 1993 ) , Barney Stinson on How I Met Your Mother ( 2005 -- 2014 , for which he was nominated for four Emmy Awards ) , and Count Olaf on A Series of Unfortunate Events ( 2017 onward ) . Harris is also known for his role as the title character in Joss Whedon 's musical Dr. Horrible 's Sing-Along Blog ( 2008 ) and a fictional version of himself in the Harold & Kumar film series ( 2004 -- 2011 ) . In 2014 , he starred in the title role in Hedwig and the Angry Inch on Broadway , for which he won the 2014 Tony Award for Best Leading Actor in a Musical .
Hypothesis: Neil Patrick Harris only plays supporting roles.
Label: CONTRADICTION