For nine seasons, audiences tuned in to watch the close-knit gang on CBS’s hit sitcom How I Met Your Mother. But while onscreen chemistry suggested an unbreakable real-life bond, actor Josh Radnor is opening up about where the cast stands today—and why growing apart is simply a natural part of adult life.
Appearing on the Half the Picture podcast, the 52-year-old actor, who played hopeless romantic Ted Mosby throughout the show’s run, reflected candidly on his relationships with former co-stars Neil Patrick Harris, Jason Segel, Cobie Smulders, and Alyson Hannigan. When host Billy Barnell asked if the group remains as tight-knit as they appeared on screen, Radnor offered a refreshingly honest assessment:
“No, not even a little bit. I don’t mean that in any dramatic way. It’s just, we had Neil on the podcast, and he and I had a really interesting conversation about some of the tension we had on set that was fascinating and kind of healing.”
“Jason and I send each other texts every once in a while when something reminds us of something funny on set, but I haven’t seen him in a really long time. Cobie, we had on the show twice. So I’ve seen her mostly on Zoom, and I, you know, I have love for all these people. And [Alyson Hannigan] was at my wedding, but I haven’t seen her, I don’t think, since.”
Comparing the filming experience to a high-intensity college era, Radnor explained how natural distance forms once an intense chapter wraps:
“Where you have this very intense time together, and you think you’re going to be, you can’t imagine not seeing each other every other day because you’ve seen each other every other day for so long. And then you just, it just disperses and you just go out and live your life. You know, Neil lives in New York, but I think the other three live in California mostly. So, I just, yeah, I’m living my life.”
“You don’t get to choose your family. We were cast. We didn’t choose each other. And the family dynamics come out to play when you’re in, you know, an environment like that for so long. But you also have love that is quite deep and rich and probably everlasting, but it’s not an active love. Acting is like a lot of love affairs that you have, and then you move on, you know?”
