'How I Met Your Mother' star Josh Radnor admits cast is not as close anymore
The gang in How I Met Your Mother is not as close as they used to be, the sitcom's star Josh Radnor admitted.
In an interview on the Half the Picture podcast, the actor, who played hopeless romantic Ted Mosby, shared that he doesn't meet as much with his former co-stars Neil Patrick Harris, who played playboy Barney Stinson; Cobie Smulders, who starred as sarcastic journalist Robin Scherbatsky; Jason Segel, who stepped into the shoes of Ted's best friend Marshall Eriksen, and Alyson Hannigan, who brought Lily Aldrin, Marshall's partner, to life.
Podcast host Billy Barnell asked Radnor if they were still close-knit, having starred in the sitcom for nine seasons.
"No. Not even a little bit," Radnor said, adding that he didn't mean it in a "dramatic way."
The 52-year-old star also shared that he recently spoke with Harris in an episode of the How We Made Your Mother podcast.
"He and I had a really interesting conversation about some of the tension we had on set that was like fascinating and kind of healing."
Meanwhile, Radnor and Segel sometimes send each other texts. "But I haven't seen him in a really long time," he confessed.
As for Smulders, she was also a guest on Radnor's podcast with HIMYM co-creator Craig Thomas, but it was mostly via Zoom.
Radnor also last saw Hannigan at his wedding in 2024 to Jordana Jacobs.
"It's like college where you have this very intense time together, and 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," he said.
Apart from that, the distance between them plays a factor. Harris lives in New York, while the other three are based in California.
"People really want to believe that [Neil, Jason, and I] are like hitting bars in New York City together. They really want to believe that," Radnor continued, noting that their relationships were more like family than friends. "[You] don't get to choose your family. We were cast; we didn't choose each other. Family dynamics come out to play when you're in an environment like that for so long."
Nevertheless, Radnor emphasized that he has love for his castmates. "But it's not an active love... Acting is a lot of little love affairs you have and move on."
HIMYM followed Ted recounting his love life and shenanigans with friends to his kids, Penny and Luke. It ran from 2005 to 2014.