Ted Mosby's two kids played an integral role in How I Met Your Mother despite the limited appearances by the actors Lyndsy Fonseca and David Henrie. The two actors played Penny and Luke, respectively, for all nine seasons of the CBS sitcom. The pair were major elements of the show's storytelling plot device as an older version of Ted was telling his kids a long tale about how he met their mom. While sharing the story in 2030, the show primarily documented Ted's life between 2005 and 2013, the year Ted finally met Tracy McConnell.
Penny and Luke were featured from time to time during Future Ted's narration throughout the series. In some cases, the teens would ask questions or react to certain revelations about their parents and the gang that included Marshall Eriksen, Lily Aldrin, Robin Scherbatsky, and Barney Stinson. The history of Penny and Luke's names also came into play, which marked a touching callback to Ted and Tracy's relationship. Versions of the kids weren't directly shown in the primary storyline until the How I Met Your Mother series finale. The episode heavily relied on flash-forwards, giving the show a chance to feature Penny and Luke as babies and young kids.
The finale also revealed that Tracy had passed away six years before Ted started sharing the journey of meeting Tracy. The last sequence featuring Fonseca and Henrie was actually filmed eight years before the episode aired. While the cast and crew weren't sure how long How I Met Your Mother would last, series creators Carter Bays and Craig Thomas came up with options to prepare for an ending well in advance. After signing an NDA, Fonseca and Henrie filmed the How I Met Your Mother series finale ending scene in which Ted's kids encourage him to go back to "Aunt Robin." It was unclear at the time if that was the direction the show would go in. Granted, to avoid any aging issues, most of the two actors' scenes were filmed before 2007, but they remained busy in the entertainment industry. Here's what they've done since.
What Lyndsy Fonseca Has Done Since How I Met Your Mother
Before portraying Penny Mosby, Lyndsy Fonseca was best known for her role as Colleen Carlton on The Young and the Restless. When she finished her stint on the sitcom, the actress appeared in shows like Big Love and Desperate Housewives before taking a lead role in Nikita. As for movies, Fonseca also notably appeared in Hot Tub Time Machine and the Kick-Ass franchise as Katie Deauxma. More recently, she worked on Marvel's Agent Carter, Grandfathered, and 9-1-1: Lone Star. The 34-year-old will soon be seen in Turner & Hooch, a Disney+ series based on the 1989 comedy film.
What David Henrie Has Done Since How I Met Your Mother
Following David Henrie's portrayal as Luke Mosby for How I Met Your Mother stock footage, he played Justin Russo in Wizards of Waverly Place. Due to his presence on the Disney Channel, the actor also appeared in other network titles like The Suite Life on Deck, Dadnapped, Wizards of Waverly Place: The Movie, and Jonas. After appearing as himself in a 2013 episode of Arrested Development, Henrie started to switch his focus to movies. The actor then landed roles in films like Grown Ups 2, Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2, and Walt Before Mickey. In 2020, the 31-year-old wrote and directed This Is the Year, and he will soon be portraying young Ronald Reagan in the 2022 movie Reagan.