You could be talking about any one of three members of the ensemble "How I Met Your Mother" cast, but the answer would be no each time.

Most likely you're thinking of Neil Patrick Harris, and it's an understandable mistake.

Like Harris, "Malcolm in the Middle" actor Christopher Masterson, who played Francis on that series in all of its seven hit seasons, got his start as a TV child star.

Harris, now a respected stage-and-screen man who hosts major award shows and has earned a few statues of his own, started out as young Dr. Doogie on the quirky TV family dramedy "Doogie Howser, M.D."

And out of all the "How I Met Your Mother" stars, Harris shares the most resemblance with Masterson.

But sadly Masterson hasn't seen the same grown-up success that Harris has.

He did a few one-off TV roles while "Malcolm" was on the air, and has done only two big-screen films since.

Granted, both were lead roles. He starred as a lovelorn recent grad who finds adventure in Central America in the 2008 indie pic "The Art of Travel," which he co-produced.

The next year he stepped it up with the sex comedy "Made for Each Other," which he starred in, co-produced and served as the second-unit director.

The other "Mother" stars, Josh Radnor and Jason Segel, arrived on the scene more or less fully formed. Radnor didn't land his first acting gig until the age of 26 - on the short-lived and mostly forgotten series "Welcome to New York" - while Segel burst onto the screen at age 19 with a regular role in the star-making (though not terribly popular at the time) series "Freaks and Geeks."

Have a question? E-mail us at questions@tvtabloid.com. Please include your name and town. Personal replies will not be provided.