Chris Elliott says when he was asked to play Lily's estranged father on 'How I Met Your Mother', he immediately knew who his inspiration would be.
"When I was shooting it, the whole Balloon Boy thing was going on, so I was imagining that father. I think if that's what he was into, he would've sent her off in a balloon!"
"That's the kind of dad he was when she was growing up — a guy obsessed with invention," Elliott tells TV Guide.
But Mickey isn't obsessed with storm-chasing or helium balloons, he would rather be known for creating the next big board game.
"He's sort of been obsessed with that his whole life and probably did not have the best relationship with Lily growing up because of that. She probably didn't want him to bring any games," he explains as to why he wasn't invited to Lily and Marshall's wedding.
Elliott says he's a big fan of the show and its creators. He adds the episode in which Barney thinks Bob Barker is his father "was the funniest I'd ever seen."
"Carter and Craig have been able to take that late-night-comedy humor and inject it into sitcom characters that you believe. I get to be in these surreal flashbacks that are really fun for me to do, but at the same time, I also have to act and be the believable dad in a couple of moments, so it's fun to go back and forth."
"My show, Get a Life, was, like, all surreal and you never believed the relationships. But on Mother, you believe, but they can also go wherever they want with these flashbacks, which I think is brilliant. I love the concept of this show."
He's only signed on for one episode but hopes his character will return now that he's been introduced.
"They're all so great and so in sync with each other. For that reason alone, I want to go back."
Chris Elliott says when he was asked to play Lily's estranged father on 'How I Met Your Mother', he immediately knew who his inspiration would be.
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