10 Awful Movies How I Met Your Mother Actors Want Us To Forget

10. The Smurfs

How I Met Your Mother’s secret weapon was the revitalised Neil Patrick Harris. Finally shedding the shackles of his Doogie Howser childhood, he was a revalation as the catchphrase laden womaniser Barney Stinson. An actor with rare energy, it’s no surprise that he’s had perhaps the finest career post-sitcom.

His obvious passion for performing may explain his decision to take the live action lead in the excerable The Smurfs (and its sequel - a glutton for punishment, this one). He plays Patrick Winslow, a New Yorker and expectant father whose life is turned upside down by the arrival of a load of charmless CGI Smurfs.

The dynamic Harris is tasked with standing around and looking dismayed as as-yet unrendered blue gnomes tear around his apartment, causing havoc, and ultimately teaching him a lesson about fatherhood or some such saccharine slop.

He’s absolutely fine in the part, and one would hope the paycheque was hefty enough, but this is a blip on an otherwise excellent second act of a career. Perhaps he did it to entertain his own kids - we can’t imagine even they got much out of this, though.