10 TV Sidekicks Who Were Way Better Than Their Stars

7. Barney Stinson - How I Met Your Mother

An argument can be made that all of the supporting characters on How I Met Your Mother are better and more likable than the one who is spewing this unbelievably long tale of romance to his poor children who can't possibly be interested. But Barney in particular is an especially fun and compelling character. Could this show possibly work if it focused on Barney Stinson all the time? Good God, no. That would be awful. But as a person who just shows up out of the blue to say something offensive or invite them all out to laser tag, he's perfect. Especially during the earlier seasons, Barney was a very difficult person to wrap your mind around. So many aspects of his life and his past were shrouded in mystery (hell, a running joke on the show is that no one knows what Barney actually does for a living), you couldn't help but wonder how he became this ridiculous human that he is on the show. And the beauty of this character is that when he started to become super popular and could have just become louder and bigger, Neil Patrick Harris's deft portrayal of more emotional scenes made Barney still feel fresh and engaging.