Out actor Neil Patrick Harris is afraid that casting celebrities like Britney Spears in so-called "stunt casting" for his show How I Met Your Mother may hurt the show in the long run.

"I'm in the minority that our show does not need stunt casting in order to succeed," Harris said during a break from taping the CBS sitcom.

"I worry that if they start `Will and Grace'-ing us too much, that the show will suffer. And we're all really proud of the content of the show. I mean, viewership is not our game. It's the network and the studio's game, you know. It's the promotion department's game," Harris told The Associated Press.

Spears' appearance gave the show a huge boost in ratings, with 1 million extra viewers tuning into the show for the Britney episode, but Harris is afraid the show may be selling out.

"We wish we weren't opposite an awkward reality dancing competition," he said. "But we have no say about that. I just am a real fan of our content. I think we have a great show going, and I hope it's not screwed up by the desire for 700,000 more viewers."

Here's a clip from Britney's performance on How I Met Your Mother:

Last update: 04-11-2008 11:43