Which actor portrayed Barney's father Jerome Whittaker?

John Lithgow portrayed Barney Stinson's father, Jerome “Jerry” Whittaker, on How I Met Your Mother.

Jerome enters Barney's life after years of absence. Barney had been raised by his mother, Loretta, and grew up believing or hoping for a different kind of father figure. When Jerome returns, Barney initially struggles with the fact that his father has built a conventional family life and is not the larger-than-life character Barney imagined.

Lithgow's performance gives Jerome a mixture of warmth, awkwardness, and emotional restraint. The father-son storyline appears prominently in season 6 and returns later, allowing the series to explore Barney's insecurity beneath his confident womanizing persona. The character is also known as Jerry, although the quiz's full name is Jerome Whittaker.

The distractors include other notable performers from the show: Michael Gross played Ted's father, Bob Odenkirk played Arthur Hobbs, and Ben Vereen played Sam Gibbs. None played Barney's father.