What The Cast Of How I Met Your Mother Is Doing Now
From 2005 to 2014, audiences were blessed with arguably one of the greatest sitcoms of all time: How I Met Your Mother. Often compared to Friends, which wrapped the year before HIMYM aired, the show centers on a core group of five friends living in New York City: Ted Mosby, Marshall Ericksen, Lily Aldrin, Robin Scherbatsky, and Barney Stinson. Narrated by a future version of Ted, the story unfolds through a series of flashbacks as Ted tells his children how he met their mother. Along the way, he shares the hi-jinks he and his friends get up to over the years.
The show boasted some major star power and, after it wrapped, its stars went on to star in major movie franchises, popular TV series, and Broadway shows. As much as fans might miss HIMYM, at least we can still see our favorite actors doing what they love. Here's what the cast of How I Met Your Mother is up to today.
Josh Radnor is ready to forget his time on How I Met Your Mother
While How I Met Your Mother featured an ensemble cast, Ted Mosby was the main character. The whole series is told from his point of view, after all, and it's his search for a wife that drives the story. Josh Radnor played the role brilliantly and, while he loved the show too, now that it's over he just wants you to get over it.
"It's a weird thing, when you haven't done something in almost four years," he told GQ in 2018. "But people will still come up to me and say, 'I just watched the series for the eighth time, all the way through.' And I'm like, That's too much. You've gotta move on. ...I don't mean to diminish it or say it was juvenile — but it definitely feels like it was in the past."
Radnor has definitely moved on in his career since HIMYM with roles on Mercy Street, Rise, and The Hunt. He also makes up one half of the musical duo Radnor & Lee. As far as Radnor is concerned, Ted is "just... one thing in the biography."
Since How I Met Your Mother wrapped, Jason Segel is going behind the camera
In spite of rumors that Jason Segel, who played Marshall Eriksen, would be exiting the series early to focus on his budding film career, Segel continued to play Marshall through the final episode. He's only had a few roles since How I Met Your Mother wrapped, including film roles in Sex Tape and The End of the Tour. Segel has also focused on producing, writing, and directing — he's done all of the above for Dispatches from Elsewhere, a television series slated to debut in 2020. The actor is also a New York Times bestselling author, having penned young adult novels including Nightmares! and Otherworld.
Segel still stays in touch with his HIMYM cast mates. "We all text each other on our birthdays and things like that," he told The New York Times. "We were on that show for nine years. We watched each other get married and have kids and go through health scares and all the things that happen over a decade. I realized at one point, this is the longest I've known any group of people besides my family. There's something that lasts forever about that."
After wrapping How I Met Your Mother, Cobie Smulders achieved her lifelong dream
Who can forget Canadian teen pop idol turned news broadcaster Robin Scherbatsky? It might have been a few years since Cobie Smulders played the character, but we still haven't gotten "Let's Go to the Mall" out of our heads. Since her How I Met Your Mother Days, Smulders has been seen on Netflix, notably on Friends From College and A Series of Unfortunate Events. Marvel fans will also recognize her as Maria Hill, a supporting character in the MCU franchise.
The star also made her Broadway debut in 2017 in the show Present Laughter, fulfilling a lifelong goal. "I've been wanting to do theater since I came out of the womb, really," Smulders told NYC Monthly. "I started in theater in high school and after high school in very budgeted spaces around Vancouver where there are black box theaters with fold-out seats and stuff. And I moved to LA and always got hired for film and TV."
Neil Patrick Harris maintained his momentum since How I Met Your Mother ended
One of the most unforgettable characters on the show was the larger-than-life Barney Stinson, played by former child star Neil Patrick Harris. Barney's antics are a huge part of what made the show so memorable, along with his suits. Harris' long career dates back to the late 1980s. Rising to fame as the titular teenage doctor on Doogie Howser, M.D., NPH was a seasoned veteran by the time How I Met Your Mother debuted in 2005. His career since the show ended has been no less impressive than we would expect. The same year that HIMYM wrapped, Harris starred in the comedy A Million Ways to Die in the West and dramatic thriller Gone Girl.
Another notable role that let him exercise his comedic chops was on Netflix's adaptation of A Series of Unfortunate Events where he joined fellow HIMYM alum Cobie Smulders playing Count Olaf. The over-the-top role is one Harris was born to play, and he knows it. "It's certainly in my wheelhouse," he told Variety. "And the wheels have more spokes than I anticipated."
Since her How I Met Your Mother days, Alyson Hannigan has played lots of moms
Buffy the Vampire Slayer alum Alyson Hannigan was one of the biggest names attached to How I Met Your Mother when the show premiered. Already a star in her own right, she had plenty of practice portraying a beloved television character. The star was also recognizable from her role in the American Pie film franchise.
Since her days on HIMYM, Hannigan has branched out a little bit. In addition to continuing to act in films like 2016's The First Wives Club, she also became the host of Penn & Teller: Fool Us from 2016 to 2019. Some of Hannigan's most recent roles involve playing moms, like in 2019's live action Kim Possible movie and in the TV show Fancy Nancy, which is fitting since motherhood is a major part of her life. "My kids are very proud of me," she told SheKnows, saying that she has her kids in mind when she considers a role. "I feel like, definitely, everything changed when I became a mother... I absolutely think of my kids when I read something."
Since How I Met Your Mother ended, Cristin Milioti works hard not to be typecast
While she only appeared in the show's final episodes, Tracy McConnell was one of the show's most critical characters. Don't recognize that name? How about The Girl With the Yellow Umbrella? If that's still not ringing any bells, Cristin Milioti played the crucial character of the mother who Ted finally meets and marries in the final season of the show.
What's Milioti been up to since that controversial series finale? The actress starred on A to Z the same year the show wrapped and had an arc on The Mindy Project the following year. She also appeared in an episode of Black Mirror. Milioti has worked hard to avoid being typecast and likes to shake things up. "Variety definitely attracts me," she told Rolling Stone about her career. "I try to do things that are as different as possible. I look to play real, complex people, which is not always made available. I've had the good fortune to be very discerning in what I work on, and discerning about the people I work with."
Lyndsy Fonseca went from Ted's daughter to a mother herself
While Lyndsy Fonseca didn't have a major role on the show, she did have an important one. She played Ted's daughter, whose name was finally revealed as Penny towards the end of the series, on How I Met Your Mother. Along with her brother, Luke, Penny hears how her parents met in a long series of flashbacks told by Ted. Fonseca's role in the show actually wrapped long before the finale. Footage of Fonseca and the actor who played her brother, David Henrie, was filmed well in advance, not long after the pilot aired. This means she knew how the show ended for nearly a decade and kept that jaw-dropping plot twist at the end a secret for all those years.
Since How I Met Your Mother wrapped, Fonseca has been staying busy with film and television roles including parts on Agent Carter and RePlay. She hasn't just been focusing on her career, though. Fonseca married fellow actor Noah Bean in October 2016. In February, 2018, the daughter became a mother herself, announcing she had given birth to a daughter, Greta Lilia Bean.
David Henrie kept the secret How I Met Your Mother ending to himself for years
David Henrie played Ted's son, Luke, on How I Met Your Mother. His scenes were all filmed at the beginning of the show, so his involvement wrapped up long before the show's 2014 finale. He's kept pretty active since then with several roles in films, including Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2, Walt Before Mickey, and Max & Me.
Henrie's personal life has also been pretty busy. The actor married beauty queen Maria Cahill in 2017 and they welcomed their first child in 2019. It hasn't all been smooth sailing, though. In 2018, Henrie was arrested for bringing a loaded handgun to Los Angeles International Airport. Henrie later apologized for the incident, saying he "unintentionally" brought the gun, which is legally registered in his name, to the airport. "I am so sorry for any trouble it caused but I am appreciative of TSA's efforts in implementing the safety laws that are in place to protect our beautiful country," he wrote in a tweet. "More than anything I am humiliated and embarrassed that this even happened."
Wayne Brady was a Hollywood legend before and after HIMYM
Wayne Brady is a Hollywood legend. The actor had a recurring role as Barney Stinson's brother, James, on How I Met Your Mother, but it was just one role in a prolific career. Since HIMYM wrapped, Brady has had many roles, appearing on several shows including Real Husbands of Hollywood, Colony, and The Bold and the Beautiful. He's also done some voiceover work, notably voicing Clover on Sofia the First. The actor also served as the host of Let's Make a Deal from 2009 to 2019.
In 2019, the four time Emmy winner was nominated for three more Emmy awards: best game show host (for Let's Make a Deal), best game show (for Let's Make a Deal, which he produced) and best guest performer (for The Bold and the Beautiful), making history. "I think I'm the first cat that's been nominated for an Emmy as an actor during the day and as the host of a game show, and as a producer on a game show that's been nominated," he told The Hollywood Reporter. "Yay, me!"
Joe Manganiello went from memorable guest star on HIMYM to marrying Sofia Vergara
Joe Manganiello's recurring character, Brad, only appeared in seven episodes of How I Met Your Mother, but his star power and good looks make him one of the show's most memorable guests. Since HIMYM wrapped, Manganiello has been busy, well, being Joe Manganiello, one of the biggest names in the industry. He appeared in Magic Mike in 2012, the same year that he appeared in his last episode of HIMYM. He also starred in the film's 2015 sequel, Magic Mike XXL and played hunky werewolf Alcide Herveaux on True Blood from 2010 to 2014.
In his personal life, Manganiello has been married to Sofia Vergara since 2015 and is just as swoon worthy in real life as he is on screen. He explained his values to Men's Health, saying "You protect, number one, and take care of women, children, animals, the planet. You tell the truth. If I hurt somebody, I apologize immediately. Also, I hold the door open for my wife, and that will never f***ing change."
After her arc on How I Met Your Mother, Sarah Chalke shifted to animated series
Fans may have hated Sarah Chalke's character, Stella Zinman, after she left Ted at the altar, but she was still a bright part of the show. She departed the series after their disastrous breakup, but Chalke's career remained pretty busy. She reprised her role of Andrea on the 2018 revival of Roseanne and its spin-off, The Conners. She also did a lot of voiceover work with roles on Paradise PD, American Dad, and Rick & Morty.
"It's a very loose, creative, fun way to work," she told Momtastic about working on animated shows. "When you're shooting on a show and have to do another take there are, like, 100 different people who are doing it with you. But with animation you can try it ten different ways. It's also a great job as a mom because you can be pregnant or you can be in sweatpants with no makeup, it doesn't matter. You just go in for an hour or two and then you're done."
Becki Newton continues to look for flawed characters
While the love affair between Quinn and Barney didn't work out, fans never forgot the iron-willed character who made Barney (mostly) break his womanizing streak. Actress Becki Newton's arc on the series wrapped in 2013, a year before the HIMYM finale, but since then, she's taken on several roles, appearing in The Goodwin Games the year she left HIMYM. Newton also had roles in other TV shows, including Weird Loners, Tell Me a Story, and Divorce.
Newton first rose to fame on the show Ugly Betty, and has spent most of her career on TV with a handful of film roles. Her favorite characters to play aren't the bubbly girl-next-door types you might expect from the stunning blonde, but rather those who struggle and are flawed. "The messiness of someone makes them more real to me," she told BuzzFeed. "It's not how nice and sweet they are, it's how much they fumble."
She added, "When I watch television or read scripts, the ones that mess up and try to cover it up badly, I find them endearing, because I think we all go through that. Some of us are just more successful at covering up our neuroses."
After Kal Penn's Kevin failed to sweep Robin off her feet, the actor branched out to documentary film
For a few episodes, it seemed like Kal Penn's character, Kevin, was going to sweep Robin off her feet. Their relationship didn't work out, but Kevin still became an unforgettable part of the HIMYM story. Penn's career since exiting the show in 2012 has been on fire. He's had more than a dozen TV and film roles, notably appearing in sitcoms New Girl and The Big Bang Theory.
Penn has also branched out as the host of documentary series This Giant Beast That is the Global Economy, which explores the dark side of capitalism. Penn's adventures on the show have helped him learn about everything from diamond smuggling to money laundering. Penn told The Guardian that he saw firsthand how companies exploit the poor for profit through his work on the show. "We're a country that locks up kids for possessing small bits of marijuana for years, and we're allowing the financial industry to write their own rules," he said. "It's insane."
Jennifer Morrison went from Ted's enemy slash girlfriend to Once Upon a Time star
Jennifer Morrison was already a well known TV mainstay when she started her arc as Zoey, Ted's enemy and then girlfriend, on How I Met Your Mother from 2010 to 2011. She also appeared in an episode in the show's final season. Before she became yet another red herring in the story of how Ted met his wife, Morrison had a starring role on House. The same year that her HIMYM storyline wrapped, Morrison was catapulted to even greater fame with her role as Emma Swan on the hit fairy tale series Once Upon a Time.
Morrison exited Once Upon a Time in 2017, after the show's sixth season, hoping that she had helped pave the way for other strong, empowered women in TV and film. "I'm really hoping that in the next five or six years, as things that are in development start to get made, that we start to see more of those female superheroes, we get to see more of those strong, smart women who might be real people," she told Entertainment Weekly.
Morrison has appeared in a few films since then, including in Superfly, All Creatures Here Below, and The Report.