Neil Patrick Harris, who starred as Barney Stinson in the smash-hit sitcom How I Met Your Mother, has opened up about his character’s “toxic” traits in an interview with The Times.

The 53-year-old became a household name after playing a rich womaniser in the CBS show, which was nominated for 28 Emmy Awards during its 2005-2014 run.

Fans have gone so far as to call his on-screen persona “an extreme womaniser, chronic liar and toxic manipulator”.

Speaking to The Times, Harris was asked about the “toxic” traits of his character.

Pointing out that the show’s entire story is narrated by the show’s protagonist Ted Mosby (played by Josh Radnor and Bob Saget), the sometime magician said: “None of the behaviours [in the show] are, you know, certified, or even true.

“So I had the freedom to be much more lascivious, much more ridiculous and overt than I imagine Barney probably actually was.”

He added that Barney “was always the devil on Ted’s shoulder”.

Earlier this year, Harris said in an episode of the behind-the-scenes podcast How We Made Your Mother that he’d often felt “insecure” playing the swaggering part and was worried he didn’t “nail” his scenes.

But, he added, “that insecurity absolutely played into the bravado” required.

“I’ve always felt Barney was kind of broken,” he explained.

“He wore armour. The suit was armour. He hid sincerity and vulnerability behind bravado because that’s how he survived.”

Neil also previously discussed reprising his role with Hilary Duff, who starred in spinoff How I Met Your Father, suggesting he wouldn’t play Barney again unless he seriously changed his ways.

“Barney’s antics, his overt delusions of grandeur, would likely get everyone in trouble. So, unless he’s changed his ways or joined a nunnery (insert an insert joke here), not sure if it’s in anyone’s best interest,” he said in his Wondercade newsletter, to which Hilary replied: “I’m pretty sure Barney would… be in jail in 2022.”