Don't Expect Neil Patrick Harris to Cameo on 'The Young & The Restless' Any Time Soon

[Brian Damage]

It's fair to say Neil Patrick Harris and Eric Braeden won't be exchanging gifts this holiday season. The How I Met Your Mother star blasted the Young and the Restless veteran on Twitter today for allegedly failing to honor a commitment to appear on the CBS sitcom. "Eric Braeden is a D-Bag," Harris tweeted. "He agreed to a cameo as Robin's dad, then last night he bailed, saying the part wasn't 'substantial' enough." In a follow-up tweet, Harris announced that the role had been recast with Twin Peaks and Reaper alum Ray Wise. "[Ray] is a fantastic actor who makes any part 'substantial'. Super excited to welcome him to the family!" Braeden first appeared as Robin's alpha male dad in November 2008. In an interview with TVGuide.com at the time, the 69-year-old actor said he had to be talked into doing HIMYM by his agents and family. "I didn't want to do it, to be quite frank with you," he said. "I have had a longstanding antipathy toward guest-starring on nighttime television because I'd done that an enormous amount in the '60s and '70s. I was infuriated by the singular decision by a former head of Universal Studios to lower guest-star salaries by 75 percent — from $7,500 per show to $2,500. At that time, Universal was the only game in town. So I swore I would not do that again." However, he said he ended up enjoying the experience "tremendously," calling the cast one of "the most wonderful groups of people I have ever met. It was the warmest set I've been on since Mary Tyler Moore." Calls to Braeden's rep have not yet been returned.

http://www.deadline.com/2010/12/neil...ce/#more-91581