A Woman with a Full Cart Cut Ahead of an Elderly Lady at the Supermarket – Then Her Smug Smile Disappeared at Checkout
Sep 02, 2026
Josh Radnor | Source: Getty Images
What Josh Radnor Loved (and Didn't) About Playing Ted Mosby in 'How I Met Your Mother'
Sep 02, 202607:00 A.M.
Josh Radnor spent close to a decade playing Ted Mosby, a character he now describes as "annoying" at times, but one he still loves, flaws and all these years later.
Advertisement
Josh Radnor played Ted Mosby for nine seasons, 208 episodes to be exact. So it's no surprise his feelings about the character have changed a lot since the show ended in 2014.
Josh Radnor as Ted Mosby in "How I Met Your Mother" in March 2013 | Source: Getty Images
After close to a decade playing Ted, Radnor wanted nothing to do with anything resembling the hopeless romantic character. "I was really looking for roles that just felt really different… that were not lovesick guys in New York City looking for wives," he told The Hollywood Reporter in February 2025.
According to Radnor, when potential projects came along, he would use a “How I Met Your Mother” algorithm to make sure it was nowhere near the show’s tone.
Josh Radnor in an episode of "How I Met Your Mother," September 2013 | Source: Getty Images
Advertisement
That search led him to Broadway, where he played a shady character in "Disgraced," and to the PBS show "Mercy Street," where he portrayed a Civil War surgeon battling substance dependence.
But no matter how far Radnor moved away from Ted, the role will always be part of his conversations. On the August 16 episode of the “Half the Picture” podcast, Radnor opened up about his thoughts on the character in hindsight.
te
He described Ted as a "younger, slightly annoying brother." Someone he loves. Someone he wants good things for. And also someone he sometimes just wants to shake and ask, "Why would you do that?" Radnor also admitted some of Ted's behavior toward women hasn't aged well, at times teetering into "stalking" territory.
Advertisement
But Ted wasn't all bad. What Radnor loved most, and still does, was the friend Ted was. "I think he would drop anything for his friends," he said, adding, “That was a part I really loved playing of him, this loyal friend.”
The cast of "How I Met Your Mother": Josh Radnor, Cobie Smulders, Neil Patrick Harris, Jason Segel, and Alyson Hannigan | Source: Getty Images
Younger brother. Annoying at times. Loyal to the end. Turns out that's not such a bad way to be remembered.
Advertisement
