“How I Met Your Mother” Star Josh Radnor Gets Candid About Cast Relationships

No matter what anyone thought about the controversial ending, “How I Met Your Mother” was one of the most successful sitcoms of the last twenty years. While the show’s success helped establish many cast members’ careers and make their characters household names, it did not create lasting off-screen friendships among the cast.

Star of the show, Josh Radnor (Ted Mosby), has offered a candid perspective on his relationships with his former “How I Met Your Mother” co-stars, revealing that the close friendships depicted on the show did not necessarily continue in the same way after the series ended. Although Radnor attests that he still has affection for his former castmates, he admits that their continued connection is not what fans hoped for.

Josh Radnor’s Current Standing with His Former Co-Stars

Radnor discussed the subject when asked during an interview on “Half the Picture” podcast if he was as close with his co-stars as he was when making the show a decade ago.

“No. Not even a little bit.”

Before things could be grossly taken out of context, Radnor quickly clarified that he didn’t mean his comments negatively, since there was never a major falling-out behind the scenes, as on other notable sitcoms. Instead, Radnor’s words were meant to portray a realistic and, frankly, relatable situation that many people experience in life.

“I have love for all these people. It’s like college 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 day because you’ve seen each other every day for so long. And then it just disperses, and you just go out and live your life.”

When asked for further details about his current standing with his former co-stars, Radnor explained that he has remained in occasional contact with Jason Segel (Marshall Eriksen), sending each other text messages when something reminded them of their good times on the show. However, their communication is a far cry from the bond the two shared on-screen as best friends for ages. His interactions with Alyson Hannigan (Lily Aldrin) have also been rare; he noted that the last time he saw her was at his wedding in early 2024.

As for Cobie Smulders (Robin Scherbatsky) and Neil Patrick Harris (Barney Stinson), Radnor revealed his recent interactions with them have both come from his podcast, which he hosts with “How I Met Your Mother” series co-creator Craig Thomas. The conversation with Harris in particular apparently allowed the two actors to revisit some of their experiences working together on the hit CBS sitcom.

Radnor described their discussion of going back through the show as really interesting, especially since they were able to tackle some of the tension they experienced on set, noting that the entire experience offered a sort of healing he had not expected.

Why “How I Met Your Mother” Fans Might Be Disappointed

Radnor was fully aware of the wishes certain fans had for him and the cast, but he had bad news about those wishes.

While some fans hoped the real-life cast members’ relationships would mirror those of the characters they played, that is often not the case, and Radnor made sure to acknowledge this. He noted that, despite playing such a tight-knit group of friends, he, Neil, and Jason were not “hitting bars in New York City together,” even though the audience yearned for it. Still, he added that the bonds they formed were there despite not seeing his co-stars as often as people would have assumed.

“I think it’s a little more like family than friends in that you don’t get to choose your family. We were cast. We didn’t choose each other. And family dynamics come out to play when you’re in 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 love affairs that you have, and then you move on.”

While the “How I Met Your Mother” cast may no longer spend their days together, Radnor’s remarks suggest that the memories and affection developed during the show’s lengthy run remain meaningful.