Thought you were a super fan? Here are 10 facts you probably still didn’t know about hit comedy How I Met Your Mother.
Jim Parsons auditioned to play Barney
He didn’t get the part as it went to Neil Patrick Harris, meaning he was free to play Sheldon in Big Bang Theory instead!
Alyson Hannigan struggled with Jason Segel’s smoking
Hannigan (Lily) thought that kissing Segel (Marshall) was like “kissing an ashtray”. He managed to quit for a year before starting up again due to stress.
Ted’s kids knew all along how he met their mother
Lyndsy Fonseca (Penny and David Henrie (Luke) shot all their scenes during season one because Henrie was going through puberty. This meant they knew for nine years how the series was going to end and had to sign a confidentiality agreement which they both honoured.
The bar was named after a member of the crew
Carl MacLaren, was an Associate Producer on the show and the gang’s favourite bar is named after him.
The cast got to keep some of the props
Josh Radnor got to keep the blue French horn and the creators and director kept to the iconic yellow umbrellas. Neil Patrick Harris actually got to keep the gang’s booth at MacLaren’s and the original Playbook.
The Cast’s partner appear in the show
The main cast’s partners all appear in the show. Sandy Rivers (the slimey news anchor), for example, is played by Alyson Hannigan’s husband Alexis Denisof.
Neil Patrick Harris made $210,000 per episode.
This is double what the rest of the cast earned, despite his co-stars being successful actors prior to the show.
Conan O’Brien has a cameo
O’Brien plays an extra in Season 7 episode ‘No Pressure’. He won the cameo at a charity auction and insisted on being an extra despite the writers pushing to give him a character with lines.
MacLaren’s is based on McGee’s
Although the bar in the show doesn’t exist, it’s based on McGee’s Irish bar in New York, so you can still visit.
Fans petitioned to change the ending
Although many people were happy to see Ted finally go after Robin, many fans felt cheated and petitioned for Robin and Barney to stay together and the mother not to die. They basically wanted the whole ending redone.
