Here's Where You've Seen The How I Met Your Father Cast Before
There's a reason most of them look so familiar.
You may not see any of the original How I Met Your Mother cast in Hulu’s rebooted How I Met Your Father, but you’ll *definitely* spot a ton of familiar faces all the same. The new series is packed with TV royalty, including millennial faves like Hilary Duff, Kim Cattrall, and Josh Peck. As you get more and more invested in the new group of 30-something buddies navigating dating life in New York City, you might find yourself curious about where you recognize them from. These TV shows and movies starring the How I Met Your Father cast are the perfect reminders of why they seem so familiar.
Much like the original HIMYM followed Ted Mosby’s search for his one true soulmate, the Hulu reboot is centered on Sophie trying to find the man who will one day end up being the father of her child. While the premise is very familiar, the characters aren’t. Although there are several throwback references to the original sitcom, none of the original show’s stars make a return for the new series. Instead, a new group of six friends hang out, joke, date, and commiserate in their home bar of Pemberton’s.
You’ll definitely know some of the most iconic shows these HIMYF actors have starred in before, but some of their past shows and movies may surprise you.
1. Hilary Duff in Lizzie McGuire
Duh! In the eyes of an entire generation, Hilary Duff played one of the most iconic TV characters ever in Lizzie McGuire. But of course, her Disney beginnings aren’t all she’s known for. Duff also gave fans some very memorable early 2000s movies like A Cinderella Story and Raise Your Voice, before her most recent starring role in the TV Land series Younger. Interestingly enough, she’s acted alongside two of her HIMYF costars before: She appeared with Josh Peck in the 2009 dramedy What Goes Up, and also had a memorable guest starring role on Leighton Meester’s breakout series, Gossip Girl.
2. Christopher Lowell in Veronica Mars
Fans of teen shows will definitely recognize Sophie’s goofy, kind maybe-love interest Jesse as another goofy, kind maybe-love interest: Piz from Veronica Mars. Lowell also had a memorable turn on the Grey’s Anatomy spinoff Private Practice as the nurse Dell, and more recently starred as Bash in Netflix’s Glow. He’s been in some big movies as well, including The Help and Promising Young Woman.
3. Francia Raisa in Life-Size 2
Raisa is bringing the snark as Sophie’s bestie Valentina on HIMYF, and it’s not the first time she played besties with a millennial icon. Raisa starred with Tyra Banks in 2018’s Life-Size 2, a long awaited sequel to the Lindsay Lohan film that premiered nearly two decades earlier. Her first big role was on Freeform (then ABC Family) as a series regular on The Secret Life of the American Teenager, and she currently stars on the network’s Black-ish spinoff, Grown-ish. Outside of her acting roles, Raise is perhaps best known for donating a kidney to her friend, Selena Gomez, in 2017.
4. Suraj Sharma in Life of Pi
Jesse’s bestie, Sid, is all about his career as the owner of Pemberton’s, but in reality, Suraj Sharma fell into the acting world by accident. His first ever acting job was the starring role in the Oscar-winning 2012 drama The Life of Pi, and he revealed to NPR he kind of stumbled into the part, having gone to the audition solely to support his brother. Since then, Sharma has starred in hit dramas like Homeland and God Friended Me before landing How I Met Your Father.
5. Tom Ainsley in The Royals
Playing the endearingly naive Charlie is Tom Ainsley’s first series regular role. He’s not new to TV, though — he had a memorable arc on E!’s regal soap opera, The Royals, as well as a guest part on the similarly noble-focused French drama, Versailles. Actually, Ainsley’s past roles are a perfect fit for Charlie’s backstory on HIMYF, since the character begins the series by breaking away from his ultra-wealthy European family to start a new life in America.
6. Tien Tran in South Side
HIMYF is also the first main TV role for Tien Tran, who plays the oddball Ellen. Tran has had quick appearances on buzzy comedy shows before, including South Side, Space Force, and Work in Progress, the latter of which she also served as a staff writer. She also appeared in a major horror movie recently, popping up in the 2021 Candyman sequel.
7. Kim Cattrall in SATC
The grown-up version of Sophie narrating How I Met Your Father is very familiar. Cattrall may not have reprised her role as Samantha in the And Just Like That sequel series to SATC, but she definitely gave fans another helping of her signature sass in HIMYF.
8. Josh Peck in Drake & Josh
Hilary Duff isn’t the only kids’ TV icon who’s all grown up in How I Met Your Father. Nickelodeon star Josh Peck plays Sophie’s love interest Drew in the new series. Peck is best known for making an entire generation laugh in comedy shows like The Amanda Show and Drake & Josh.
9. Daniel Augustin in Grey’s Anatomy
Ian may have jetted off to Australia in the series premiere of How I Met Your Father, but he’s a frontrunner to wind up as the show’s eponymous father, which means fans could be seeing actor Daniel Augustin again. Augustin has helmed a couple TV shows before, including OWN’s David Makes Man and Cake: The Series. One of his biggest guest starring roles came in 2021, when he played worried father Chris Beaton on an emotional episode of Grey’s Anatomy.
10. Leighton Meester in Gossip Girl
You may have missed Leighton Meester’s cameo in the series premiere of How I Met Your Father, but you’ll definitely recognize her when she comes back into her ex Jesse’s life as the show progresses. Of course, Meester is best known for starring as Blair Waldorf in the original Gossip Girl. She also had a guest starring role in Veronica Mars, although it was before her HIMYF costar Lowell had joined the show as Piz.
New episode of How I Met Your Father drop every Tuesday on Hulu.
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