Neil Patrick Harris Pulled Off A Hilarious Lie To Get Out Of Jury Duty

Neil Patrick Harris wiggled his way out of jury duty this week – all thanks to his “famous” family tree.

On “The Late Late Show with James Corden,” this week, the “A Series of Unfortunate Events” star admitted that he went to farcical lengths to avoid his civic duty.

Neil first received his jury letter in the mail last year – but he took it more as a suggestion than an order.

“I assumed when you get the thing that says you have to go, they send that to everybody, like spam,” he joked. “And that they just hope that people end up going.”

Neil did have a good reason to skip out – he was filming his Netflix series in Canada. But once he returned to the states, the mail kept coming.

“They sent me an actual summons: I will go to jail unless I actually do this,” he explained.

This time, former “How I Met Your Mother” funnyman showed up for the jury selection process. But as luck would have it, he had another obligation in the way of the trial date – his trip to the “Late Late Show.”

“They said, ‘Well, that’s a problem, because this is a professional opportunity, and you can’t use work as an excuse. You can only use family situations as an excuse,'” Neil recalled. “And he said, ‘Do you have any family that’s going to be in Los Angeles while you’re there?'”

The 45-year-old didn’t miss a beat. “Yes, James Corden is my second cousin,” he fibbed.

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James burst into laughter as Neil recounted his lie – which, surprisingly enough, worked like magic.

“[The lawyer] said, ‘Great, you’re free to go,'” he said.

While his scheme was a success, he had another excuse that didn’t make the cut.

“I had put it off for breastfeeding,” new mom Chelsea Peretti told James and Neil of her own recent experience avoiding jury duty.

“I tried that! It didn’t work,” the “Gone Girl” actor deadpanned.