How I Met Your Mother Cast Then and Now: Photos of the Stars

The cast of How I Met Your Mother has gone through some legen (wait for it) dary transformations since the show ended 10 years ago! HIMYM first premiered in 2005 and aired for nine seasons, with Josh Radnor in the lead role as hopeless romantic Ted Mosby telling his future kids the story of how he met their mother in New York City. Ted’s stories always featured hilarious antics with his friends Robin (Cobie Smulders), Barney (Neil Patrick Harris), Marshall (Jason Segel) and Lily (Alyson Hannigan).

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Though HIMYM concluded in 2014, it remains widely popular today and returned to Netflix for streaming in June 2024. In honor of the show’s return, fans can look back at the How I Met Your Mother cast and see how they’ve changed from then to now.

Josh Radnor (Ted Mosby)

Josh sported a clean-shaven look for all nine seasons of HIMYM, but he’s embracing a scruffier and gray-haired look as he approaches his 50s. The actor has also been channeling his musical side with his folk duo, Radnor and Lee, since 2016, and he found real-life love with psychologist Jordana Jacobs. The two tied the knot in January 2024.

Cobie Smulders (Robin Scherbatsky)

Cobie played Ted’s first love interest on the show and one of his best friends, Robin. She hasn’t changed much through the years, but the Marvel actress opened up about her secret battle with ovarian cancer, which began at age 25, in a 2015 interview with Women’s Health.

“I had tumors on both ovaries, and the cancer had spread into my lymph nodes and surrounding tissues,” she told the publication, explaining that she had multiple surgeries. “I don’t think I’ll ever feel like I’m cancer-free. Now that I’m five years out, I’m trying to think of it as a positive thing and what can I learn from it. And if I can create more awareness, I’ll do it.”

Neil Patrick Harris (Barney Stinson)

Neil played Ted’s womanizer pal Barney on HIMYM. The Gone Girl actor has aged like a fine wine, and he revealed in a 2022 interview with Out magazine that he planned to embrace the “lines on my face” and “wrinkles around my eyes.”

“I honestly feel better than I’ve felt in my whole life,” Neil said. “As I’m aging, I’m feeling like I am more and more comfortable in my skin and my posture and my body. I feel like I’m in the best shape of my life, but in more practical terms — as opposed to ‘gym body’ for others.”

Jason Segel (Marshall Eriksen)

Jason starred in How I Met Your Mother as Ted’s college best friend Marshall. The Shrinking star has gone through various physical changes through the years. In 2013, he told Us Weekly that he was “living healthy, exercising and eating right.”

“This time when I take my shirt off, I’ve made a promise to myself, it doesn’t have to be funny,” he added, referring to his role in Forgetting Sarah Marshall.

Jason earned his first Golden Globe and Emmy nominations for AppleTV+’s Shrinking, and he’s been dating So You Think You Can Dance alum Kayla Randomski since late 2023.

Alyson Hannigan (Lily Aldrin)

Alyson played Marshall’s college sweetheart-turned-wife and Ted’s close friend Lily in HIMYM. The Penn & Teller: Fool Us host appeared on Dancing With the Stars season 32 in 2023 and shared an incredible before-and-after post on Instagram.

“I lost 20 pounds of both weight and emotional baggage during my time on @dancingwiththestars. I can’t thank @sashafarber1 enough for helping me shed my insecurities and getting me to the confident and strong place I am today!” she captioned the post.

Cristin Milioti (Tracy McConnell/The Mother)

Cristin appeared at the end of season 8 and season 9 of How I Met Your Mother as Tracy McConnell, also known to fans as The Mother — Ted’s wife and the mother of his kids. Physically, she’s hardly changed at all since 2014. However, she had some notable career moves after HIMYM, such as roles in the 2020 film Palm Springs and Peacock’s series The Resort in 2022.

Bob Saget (Narrator Ted)

Bob’s voice appeared in HIMYM as older Ted narrating stories to his children. The beloved comedian reprised his Full House role as Danny Tanner in Netflix’s Fuller House, which first premiered in 2016. Unfortunately, Bob died at 65 years old in Orlando, Florida, in January 2022. He was found in his hotel room, and a medical examiner later confirmed that his death was a result of “blunt head trauma.”