10 Best Performances In How I Met Your Mother
6. John Lithgow - Jerome Whittaker
John Lithgow is the best actor who ever appeared on How I Met Your Mother, and the performance he gives is easily the best of the show's recurring cast.
The Oscar-nominee and two-time Tony winner stars as Jerome Whittaker, the estranged father of Barney and the ex of Loretta Stinson. A former rock and roll roadie, he has since settled down with a new family and works as a driving instructor, much to his son's chagrin.
Making for a complex character, Jerome is not meant to be likable - at least at first. He abandoned his son, never reached out to him, and set up house with a new family away from his old life, leaving Barney endlessly wondering where he came from and what happened to his father. In many ways, Jerome is the reason Barney is the way he is.
But with Lithgow, he manages to be understandable, even endearing. He's funny, fine with who he is, and ultimately means well, wanting to make things right. You need look no further than season six's Legendaddy to see how great a performance the veteran actor pulls off on the show. It would have been a darker place without him.