‘A Series of Unfortunate Events’ Cast News: Neil Patrick Harris Talks Taking Over Villainous Count Olaf Role Made Famous by Jim Carrey

‘A Series of Unfortunate Events’ is set to feature Neil Patrick Harris as the evil Count Olaf, a role made famous by Jim Carrey in the original film adaptation of Daniel Handler’s children’s novels of the same name.  

According to ET, Harris is set to take over the role of the villainous Count Olaf in the upcoming Netflix web television series ‘A Series of Unfortunate Events’, a role made famous on the big screen by comedian and actor Jim Carrey on the 2004 dark comedy film of the same name.

Harris admitted in a featurette, "I was excited by the conceit… I'd never seen the movie, so I was pretty new to it all." The 43-year old actor, producer, and comedian was first seen as Olaf in the newly released trailer for the television series. It featured the antagonist’s first ever meeting with the Baudelaire siblings.

He continued, "What's fun about it is, being an actor, I get to play a new character in each book or in each two episodes of the show… What's doubly fun about it is that I'm actually playing Olaf playing a character, which has been a bit confusing mentally if I'm being honest."

Count Olaf, a man who alleged that he was a distant relative of the Baudelaires, is fixated with the family’s inheritance and has followed them obsessively. He is notorious for numerous counts of arson and was suspected by Violet and Klaus to be the one behind the fire that ravaged their home, killing their parents Bertrand and Beatrice.

Violet, Klaus, and Sunny were placed under the protective custody of their nefarious “relative” but the children attempt daring escapes just to leave his clutches. Unfortunately, Olaf orchestrates elaborate disasters whenever the children try to get away. The children eventually discover a secret society called VFD with ties to Olaf and their parents.

According to Rolling Stone, the upcoming Netflix series’ cast also includes Warburton as Lemony Snickett, Malina Weissman, Louis Hynes and Presley Smith as the Baudelaire children, Joan Cusack as Justice Strauss, Catherine O'Hara as Dr. Georgina Orwell, Aasif Mandvi as Uncle Monty, Don Johnson as Sir, and Alfre Woodard as Aunt Josephine.

 ‘A Series of Unfortunate Events’ is an upcoming drama television series developed by Mark Hudis for Netflix. It will debut its eight episodes on January 13, 2017 on Netflix.