Celebrity Neil Patrick Harris Is Set to Star in Netflix’s A Series of Unfortunate Events By Olivia Bahou Olivia Bahou Facebook Olivia Solomon is a New York-based writer and editor who covers all things fashion, lifestyle, celebrity, and pop culture. She was previously the Assistant Digital Editor for InStyle, and her work has appeared in many national publications. InStyle's editorial guidelines Updated on March 15, 2016 @ 10:45AM Pin Share Tweet Email Photo: Andrew Toth/Getty Images This is far from unfortunate! Following nine hilarious seasons as womanizer Barney Stinson on How I Met Your Mother, Neil Patrick Harris is returning to a TV series in a very different role: The actor was just cast as the sinister Count Olaf in Netflix’s adaptation of Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events, Deadline reports. Harris will play the villainous count, who stands in the way of orphaned children Violet, Klaus, and Sunny Baudelaire as they try to uncover the truth behind their parents’ deaths. He joins Rules of Engagement alum Patrick Warburton, whose deep baritone will voice the title character and narrator Lemony Snicket, in the cast, according to The Hollywood Reporter. While Harris's role is significantly darker than his HIMYM character, the versatile actor has proven that he can take on anything, from a skeevy millionaire in Gone Girl to a twisted ventriloquist on American Horror Story: Freak Show. Neil Patrick Harris's Twins Channel Eloise with an Adorable Day at the Plaza Hotel What'll happen when Harris once again crosses over to the dark side? We can't wait to find out—after all, he’s an expert in playing the character we love to hate.