Summary

• Cast of How I Met Your Mother started in their 20s and 30s like their characters - relatability was key.
• Josh Radnor was older than Ted when show began - Radnor was 32 to Ted's supposed 27.
• Cobie Smulders was only 23 when series began - youth and talent brought a fresh perspective.

How I Met Your Mother ended in 2014, but how old was the cast of How I Met Your Mother when the show started and how old were they when it finally aired its finale? At the heart of the story is the narrator, Ted Mosby, who is telling his kids in the future – the year 2030, to be exact - the story of how he met their mother. Along the way, plenty of women were introduced, with the audience always wondering who might end up as the mysterious mother. The mystery was fun but the cast was why viewers kept coming back.

The actors who starred in How I Met Your Mother were all in their 20s and 30s with established careers, matching the characters on the show. The cast of How I Met Your Mother led viewers through multiple seasons of hilarious escapades and heartbreaking moments, and while the How I Met Your Mother finale remains controversial, the show had enough goodwill thanks to its highly likable cast to remain a beloved sitcom for fans to look back on years after its final moments.

Josh Radnor Was 31 Years Old

He Turns 50 In 2024

Josh Radnor was 31 when the show premiered in 2005, which is older than his character was supposed to be: Ted was said to have been born in 1978, which would have made him 27 when the show started. This four-year age difference was easy to pull off for How I Met Your Mother and Radnor since he always looked younger than his real age.

That means while Ted would be 42 today, Radnor is actually 46, born in 1974.

Josh Radnor turns 50 in 2024, as his birthdate was July 29, 1974. With a four-year age difference, Ted would be in his mid-40s if the show was still around in 2024. Given that Ted was nearing his 30s at the beginning of the series, it makes sense that he was anxious to find love. Sadly, he had trouble finding it, even though he was a hopeless romantic at times. Interestingly, it also took Radnor a long time to find love - even longer than Ted. Josh Radnor married Jordana Jacobs on January 6, 2024.

Jason Segel Was 25 Years Old

He Turns 44 In 2024

Since Marshall and Ted went to college together, it makes sense that their characters would be the same age when the show began, at 27. In actuality, Segel was younger than his character at just 25. This was the opposite of Josh Radnor, and Segel is six years younger than his co-star, but still a fresh face in Hollywood and on national television. Jason Segel, born in 1980, just turned 44 in 2024, while Marshall has already crossed the mid-way point of his 40s.

His character Marshall, just like his college buddy Ted, was around 36 when the show ended. Both Marshall and the actor who played him enjoyed great success before they even turned 40. When How I Met Your Mother ended, Marshall accepted a judgeship and set off on a very honorable career. Meanwhile, Segel continues his career as a successful actor while also serving as an accomplished screenwriter and producer, with Segel's most recent show being Shrinking on Apple TV+.

Cobie Smulders Was 23 Years Old

She Turns 42 In 2024

The Canadian actor, who often poked fun at her Canadian roots in the show since her character was also Canadian, was only 23 when the series began. Her character, meanwhile, a focused career woman all the way through, was supposed to be a bit older at 25. This puts Robin two years younger than both Ted and Marshall, while Smulders is almost a decade younger than Josh Radnor, and two years younger than Segel. Smulders, born in 1982, turns 43 in 2024.

Before Smulders ever reached her 40s, she had already made a name for herself outside How I Met Your Mother. Her biggest role came when she joined the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) in the role of agent Maria Hill, with her first appearance coming in The Avengers in 2012, appearing in several films as well as guest appearing on the series Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and finally ending her time there in 2023's Secret Invasion​​​​​​. She was also in Jack Reacher: Never Go Back and starred in the 2019 TV series Stumptown.

Neil Patrick Harris Was 32 Years Old

He Turns 51 In 2024

Harris was already 32 when he began playing the boyish, sleazy womanizer in a suit.

One of the older actors on the show, Neil Patrick Harris' character Barney Stinson was supposed to be older than the others at 29. Harris, meanwhile, was already 32 when he began playing the boyish, sleazy womanizer in a suit. This made him one year older than Josh Radnor and his character a good seven years older than the main friends on How I Met Your Mother.

Neil Patrick Harris turns 51 years old in 2024, and he has enjoyed tremendous success since How I Met Your Mother, which marked a return to the spotlight for this former child star who had been known for decades as his first most popular character, Doogie Howser, M.D. Along with appearing as Count Olaf in Netflix's A Series of Unfortunate Events, Harris has appeared in the movie Gone Girl, starred on Broadway, hosted countless awards shows, and more. He also returned for two episodes of How I Met Your Father in 2023.

Alyson Hannigan Was 31 Years Old

She Turns 50 In 2024

Lily Aldrin also went to college with Marshall and Ted, so the character was also 27 when the show started. Alyson Hannigan is a bit older and was actually 31 when the show began. As the quirky Lily, she and Marshall easily made up the most likable couple on the series and the one that proved to be relationship goals for Ted, Robin, and Barney. Hannigan first gained fame for her starring role in the American Pie films as well as Buffy the Vampire Slayer, where she played the witch, Willow.

Hannigan turned 50 in 2024. This makes her six years older than Segel and the same age as Radnor. Hannigan married actor Alexis Denisof, who actually had a recurring role on How I Met Your Mother as Robin's obnoxious co-anchor and one-time boyfriend, Sandy Rivers. When it comes to her career, Hannigan has only taken on small roles since the show went off the air, often in hosting roles on reality shows. In 2023, she returned to the spotlight as a contestant on Dancing with the Stars.

Lyndsey Fonseca Was 18 Years Old

She Turns 37 In 2024

While the character of Penny Mosby wasn't a main one on the show, she and her brother were pivotal to the story, and actually appeared in every episode from the very beginning. Viewers saw them glued to their chairs, listening while listening to their dad regale stories about his youth. When the series began, both kids were teenagers. Fonseca was 18, and she would have been that same age at the end as well, since reportedly, all scenes with the kids were filmed in advance.

The show's creators never knew how long the show would last, and they wanted to make sure all the scenes with the kids didn't change when it came to their appearance and age. Fonseca turned 37 in 2024, which is interestingly only six years younger than Smulders. She had some major roles as an actor herself, including Dylan on Desperate Housewives, Katie on Kick-Ass, Angie Martinelli on Marvel's Agent Carter, and Alex on Nikita. She has since developed a career as a television film actress.

David Henrie Was 16 Years Old

He Turns 35 In 2024

Henrie was just 16 when he took on the role of Ted Mosby's future son Luke in the year 2030. And this was one of Henrie's most notable acting roles until he branched out to act in the kids' show Wizards of Waverly Place and starred in the movies Little Boy and Walt Before Mickey. Much like his o-screen sister, all Luke's scenes were shot when he was 16 because the show creators didn't know how many seasons the show would last, and they needed him to look the same age throughout the series.

David Henrie turns 34 in 2024. Henrie has a big role coming up where he will play Ronald Reagan in a movie called Reagan, which also has Dennis Quaid starring as the President as well. He also starred in the Tubi Original Series Underdeveloped as a character ironically named Ted. In another bit of irony, while his on-screen father Ted didn't get married until he was in his 30s and actor Josh Radnor waited until he was almost 50, Henrie has been married since he was 27 and has three children.

Marshall Manesh Was 55 Years Old

He Turns 74 In 2024

It's not clear how old Ranjit, Barney's dutiful personal taxi/limo driver, was on the show.

It's not clear how old Ranjit, Barney's dutiful personal taxi/limo driver, was on the show but he was definitely an older man, likely in his 50s. The actor who played him was actually 55 years old when he took on the role. Manesh turns 74 in 2024. Ranjit provided a lot of comic relief on the series. He was an impartial party who Barney could turn to for advice. And eventually, the others turned to him, too. Sometimes, Ranjit would join them for drinks, making him not just a driver but a confidante and friend.

Manesh was also a late start as an actor. His first major Hollywood movie role was in James Cameron's movie True Lies in 1994, a movie that starred Arnold Schwarzenegger and Jamie Lee Curtis. He went on to appear in Barb Wire (with Pamela Anderson), Kazaam (with Shaquille O'Neal), The Big Lebowski, Hidalgo, Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End, and Seeking a Friend for the End of the World. His last movie or TV role came in 2018, and it seems that he has retired.