‘WE’RE TOTALLY IN THE DARK!’
We get the goss from the cast of How I Met Your Father, now streaming on Disney+
Like its predecessor, How I Met Your Father has captured viewers’ intrigue by dropping clues about each character that will ultimately lead to the show’s endgame – the revelation about who Sophie ends up with. But do the cast of the show have any insights into who it might be?
“I wish we did, but we’re in the dark!” insists Hilary Duff, 35, who plays lead character Sophie. “It has to be Jesse, right? No, I don’t think the writers know and they’ve kept so many options open for future seasons.”
Chris Lowell, who plays Jesse, says it would “simplify the story” if they did know it’s his character, but like the rest of the audience, he’s happy to keep exploring it.
“Truly, none of us know,” the 38-year-old says. “And that makes it a lot easier because we can’t spoil anything! For the first season, we sniffed around for clues in the scripts, but it became so clear the writers are playing a long game, so we’ve thrown it out the window. It’s fun to learn in real time.”
That’s not to say they haven’t tried to guess. Tom Ainsley, who plays Charlie, and Suraj Sharma, who plays Sid, spent a night investigating the clues.
“After wrapping season two, we had a few beverages to celebrate and spent 90 minutes in the car park, drunk out of our minds, trying to figure it out,” says Tom, 31.
Suraj, 29, adds that they had “many theories”, yet they’re none the wiser now. “It’s incredibly frustrating!” he jokes.
The spin-off of How I Met Your Mother, which ran from 2005 to 2014, is still in its early years, but it’s found its feet as it heads into the second season. Sophie – whose “future self” is played by Sex And The City star Kim Cattrall – is facing the fallout of sabotaging her relationship with Jesse while attempting to build her career.
Whether they circle back to each other remains to be seen, but in the meantime, a new love interest emerges in the form of another Sex And The City star, John Corbett.
Hilary worked with John on Younger. The ties prompt
a question: Would she join the SATC universe by appearing in the spin-off series And Just Like That?
“How have they not called me?!” Hilary jokes. “I’m basically one step away – call me! I don’t think we’re manifesting it hard enough!”
John isn’t the only A-lister to join the series. Gossip Girl’s
Leighton Meester returns as Meredith, while Grammy winner Meghan Trainor and original How I Met Your Mother star Neil Patrick Harris have cameos. For the cast, it’s a sign the show is working.
“We’re so excited people are saying yes to this,” says Tien Tran, 35, who plays Jesse’s adopted sister Ellen. “These are comedy icons that I’ve followed, so it’s wonderful to learn from them.”
While the cast is careful not to reveal any spoilers, they do know how fortunate they are to be returning for another season.
“We all went into this never having done a sitcom before, but the way the show has been received is a huge boost of confidence,” Chris says.
Hilary, whose singing and acting career began as a teenager two decades ago, says she’s fully aware of her success and doesn’t take it for granted.
“I’ve been on three very loved shows now – Lizzie McGuire, Younger and How I Met Your Father,” she says. “It’s so cool and I’m so lucky to be here. I work really hard, but opportunities present themselves on days when you don’t think the phone will ring. This industry can take a turn quickly – for good and bad – and things aren’t permanent, but it’s so interesting and exciting to be in.”