Josh Radnor has revealed that he is no longer particularly close to his former How I Met Your Mother co-stars, despite the sitcom's cast spending nearly a decade together on screen.
The actor, who played Ted Mosby throughout all nine seasons of the hit CBS comedy, opened up about his relationship with Alyson Hannigan, Neil Patrick Harris, Jason Segel and Cobie Smulders during an appearance on the Half the Picture podcast.
When host Billy Barnell asked whether the five stars were still as close as they had been while working on the series, Radnor gave a blunt answer.
'No, no, not even a little bit,' he said.
Despite the surprising admission, Radnor made clear that there is no major feud or falling-out behind the distance between the former co-stars. Instead, he compared their relationship to friendships formed during university, where people can become incredibly close before eventually moving on with their separate lives.
Josh Radnor Still Has Deep Love for His Co-Stars
Radnor stressed that his comments should not be interpreted as criticism of his former castmates.
The actor said he still has what he described as 'quite deep and rich and probably everlasting' love for the people he worked alongside for almost a decade. However, he admitted that the affection is no longer something they actively maintain through regular contact.
He revealed that he occasionally exchanges messages with Jason Segel when something reminds them of a funny moment from the set, although he has not seen the actor in a long time.
Radnor has also remained in contact with Cobie Smulders, partly through his podcast, How We Made Your Mother. Smulders has appeared on the programme twice, meaning much of their recent interaction has taken place over Zoom.
Alyson Hannigan, meanwhile, attended Radnor's 2024 wedding to Jordana Jacobs. However, Radnor said he does not believe he has seen her since the ceremony.
The actor also recently had Neil Patrick Harris on his podcast, where the pair discussed some of the tensions they experienced while filming How I Met Your Mother. Radnor described the conversation as fascinating and somewhat healing.
Fans Still Imagine the Cast Together
Radnor acknowledged that fans may find his comments surprising because How I Met Your Mother was built around a group of friends who appeared inseparable throughout the series. He said there is a 'yearning' among viewers to believe that he, Harris and Segel are still regularly spending time together in New York City.
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'I think there's a yearning, especially when a show is so centred around friendship,' Radnor explained, adding that people 'really wanna believe' the actors are still meeting up and going to bars together.
Instead, Radnor described his relationship with the cast as being more like family than friendship. He explained that the actors did not choose one another, but were brought together for an unusually intense period of their lives.
'You don't get to choose your family. We were cast. We didn't choose each other,' he said.
'Acting Is a Lot of Little Love Affairs That You Have'
His comments offer a more realistic picture of what happens to television casts after a long-running series ends. While the actors can share an experience that permanently connects them, that does not necessarily mean they remain in each other's daily lives.
Radnor summed up the experience by comparing acting to a series of intense relationships, saying: 'Acting is a lot of little love affairs that you have, and then you move on.'
The cast may no longer be the inseparable group that fans remember from How I Met Your Mother, but Radnor's comments suggest that the bond created during the show's nine-season run has not disappeared entirely.
