Neil Patrick Harris cast in mystery role on Doctor Who

How I Met Your Mother star Neil Patrick Harris is set to meet a certain two-hearted, time-traveling alien. The BBC announced today that the actor has joined the cast of Doctor Who and is currently filming scenes which will screen in 2023 as part of the show's 60th anniversary.

"It's my huge honor to open our studio doors for the mighty Neil Patrick Harris…but who, why, what is he playing? You'll just have to wait," said Doctor Who showrunner Russell T. Davies in a statement. "But I promise you, the stuff we're shooting now is off the scale. Doctor beware!"

Harris previously appeared on the TV show It's a Sin, which was written and created by Davies.

It is rare but not unknown for well-known American actors to make guest appearances on the British science fiction show. Shameless star Justin Chatwin appeared on 2016's special Christmas episode while Goran Višnjić portrayed Nikola Tesla on a 2020 episode.

The news about Harris is the latest in a slew of recent Doctor Who casting announcements. In May, it was was revealed this that Davies had picked Sex Education actor Ncuti Gatwa to play the Doctor after the series' current star, Jodie Whittaker, departs later this year. Later that month, the BBC revealed that former Doctor Who stars David Tennant and Catherine Tate will return to the show next year and that Heartstopper cast member Yasmin Finney is also joining the series.

Last year, Whittaker spoke with EW about shooting the scene in which her Thirteenth Doctor regenerates into the the new version of the character.

"It was singularly the most emotional day on set I think I've ever had," she said. "It's a really bizarre feeling, because it's the best time I've ever had on a job, and I made the decision to leave it, so it's a really strange thing to do to yourself. It feels like you're giving yourself stitches — like, 'Why have you done it?' But… it felt right. It was a wonderfully-celebratory-slash-grief-ridden day that I could spend with the family that I'd made. I suppose the best thing about it is that the episodes are still on. So until they're off, I don't have to really get my head around the fact that it's not my part!"

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Related content:

• Sex Education's Ncuti Gatwa to replace Jodie Whittaker as star of Doctor Who
• Doctor Who vet Russell T. Davies returns as showrunner 12 years after his departure
• Why It's a Sin didn't show that final death: 'I know a good twist when I see it'