1. Barney Stinson
A character so legen, wait for it, dary that he gets his own category. There are not enough superlatives for Neil Patrick Harris; give the guy a medal, erect a statue in his honour. He is an all singing, all dancing, Tony award winning, and former Doogie Howser M.D. kind of guy. A character that in another actors hands could easily have ended up two-dimensional and gimmicky is one of the strongest things about the show. Neil Patrick Harris is a scene stealing tour de force and again the shows great writing is highlighted through the lens of Barney Stinson, with witty lines played against more emotive stories, like the search for his real father. As the role has developed from outright slapstick to integral part of the show, Barney Stinson has remained hilarious but has also grown believably as a person.