How I Met Your Mother/Characters

Main Characters

Ted Mosby

"I thought you said it was going to be a piece of cake. I remember, because you were eating a piece of cake at the time, and you said, 'My class is going to be this.'"

Played by: Josh Radnor
Future Ted narrated by: Bob Saget

The main character and narrator, a thirty-something architect professor of architecture (and later an architect again) at Columbia with an excessively romantic disposition, looking for love in New York.

• Adorkable
• All Love Is Unrequited
• Beard of Sorrow: Grew one after breaking up with Robin. He is implied to do this every time a major relationship ends.
• Berserk Button: Ted is an extremely proud New Yorker and an extremely proud non-New Jerseyan. How proud, you ask? When Ted runs into Stella after she leaves him at the altar, the tipping point at which Ted decides to chew her out is not the fact that she left him in the first place--it's the fact that Stella refused to move to New York and expected Ted to move to New Jersey to be with her, but moves to Tony's place in New York once he and Stella get back together with no fuss.
• Camp Straight: Don thought Ted was gay for months.
• Cool Teacher
• Deadpan Snarker
• The Determinator: While Ted generally shows signs of this, the entirety of the season 1 finale is Ted embodying this Trope, to the point that he somehow defies logic itself and makes it rain: "It is meant to be, and you know why? Because I MEAN it to be!"
• Dogged Nice Guy
• Douche With A Heart Of Gold
• Embarrassing Middle Name: His full name is Theodore Evelyn Mosby
• Even the Guys Want Him: Marshall & Barney had an argument over which one of them Ted has gay dreams about; it devolved into this.

Marshall: Ted and I have a history! I could do things to him that would blow his m... ...Why do we keep trying to have sex with Ted?
Barney: I don't know; it's weird.

• First-Person Smartass: Future!Ted has elements of this.
• Generation Xerox: Outside of storytelling ability and willingness to talk, Ted and his father, along with their respective relationships with Robin and Mrs. Mosby, are eerily similar.
• Hollywood Dateless
• Hot for Student
• Irony: Out of the gang, he's the one who really wants to get married. However, his two best bros get married before he does, meaning he's the last one out of the gang to get marrried.
• Insufferable Genius: Even his friends find his ratiocination annoying.
• Love Hurts: Multiple times!
• Not Even Bothering with the Accent: When he and Barney pretend to be Southern tourists to pick up girls.
• Only Sane Man: Subverted all to hell, as while Ted may seem like a sensible guy, he does crazy things in the name of love.
  • Just in the name of love? He's perfectly happy going along with Marshall's and especially Barney's crazy ideas, and he even comes up with some insane schemes himself.
• Pungeon Master
• Screw Destiny: Ted knew that he and Robin probably would break up if they got together, but he never gave up until they started dating.
  • You Can't Fight Fate: Eventually, they both accept it won't work and break up.
• Straight Man
• Team Dad
• Unreliable Narrator: Future!Ted
• Will They or Won't They?: This was Ted and Robin for the whole of the first season and part of seasons 4 and 7.
• Yank the Dog's Chain: It's not enough that Stella left Ted at the altar for him, but Tony then proceeds to write The Wedding Bride, which features a heavily Flanderized Jerkass Expy of Ted as the villain.
  • On the other hand, we never did find out what Ted said to him to get Tony to marry Stella. Maybe he said something to make a) Tony start crying and b) gave him the motivation to write a movie featuring Ted like that.
• Tall, Dark and Handsome

Marshall Eriksen

"The only people in the universe who haven't seen Star Wars are the characters in Star Wars. And that's cause they lived 'em, Ted! That's cause they lived the Star Wars!"

Played by: Jason Segel

Ted's former college roommate and best friend, a sweet-tempered goofball who makes his way through law school and eventually takes the Bar during the course of the series. In the pilot, he becomes engaged to his girlfriend Lily. They get married later and are currently trying to have a child.

• Agent Mulder
• Badass Bookworm
• Bad Liar
• Beta Couple
• Big Eater
• The Big Guy: At 6"4", he's the tallest of his friends, but the shortest in his family.
• Bunny Ears Lawyer
• Crouching Moron, Hidden Badass ir as Barney says it "Goofy and Burdened with Wit"
• Deadpan Snarker
• Disappeared Dad: His father died in season 6.
• Ditzy Genius
• Guile Hero: There are hints that Marshall is far more sly and cunning that he acts. Note that he's often the first that seems to cotton on and predict Lily or Barney's gambits. Not to mention he played a pretty hardcore and Badass Paranoia Gambit on Barney with the "Slap Bet" and has manipulated Barney before with more efficiency than most
• Grammar Nazi: With the difference between affect and effect, at least.
• Happily Married: To Lily.
• Heroes Want Redheads: Something he inherited from his father.
• Huge Guy, Tiny Girl
• Informed Flaw: In "Jenkins", the gang consider Marshall a "reacher" to Lily's "settler" in which he would never get anybody better then Lily. Since when this is mention, Marshall is working as a lawyer to a big company and is a fun Nice Guy and with Lily at worst being a tad bit manipulative and has credit card issues, this is hard to believe.
• Punch Clock Villain: He sometimes sees himself as this on account of: his love of the environment, and who he works for (At least when he worked at GNB).
• Let's Get Dangerous: Turns out the fights he had with his brothers are all true.
  • COCOA BREAK!
• Obfuscating Stupidity: He may seem like a big goof most of the time (well, he is), but the minute he steps into lawyer!mode? Don't mess with him.
• Real Men Wear Pink: He loves girly/coupley things like those frilly pink "girl" drinks (which he never orders because of the double standard) and brunch.
• Shipper on Deck: Marshall thinks Barney and Robin are perfect for each other. And has commented that he likes the idea of Barney and Ted.
• Sickeningly Sweethearts
• Wide-Eyed Idealist

Lily Aldrin

"Today, I yelled at a little girl for painting a rainbow."

—Played by Alyson Hannigan.

An artist and kindergarten teacher with a slightly rebellious streak, who is nevertheless deeply committed to Marshall. Together they represent the voice of stable, adult relationships in the series, as the resident Beta Couple.

• Ambiguously Bi: Happily Married to Marshall (who is very much male), but it is heavily implied she's attracted to female friend Robin.
• Beta Couple
• Bitch in Sheep's Clothing
• Calling Your Bathroom Breaks: "That reminds me, I have to pee."
• The Chessmaster
• Not So Covert Pervert: She tries to get Barney's porn collection off Ted, she is curious to watch a sex tape Barney had made, and she stares at Robin's breasts, in the space of two episodes. Others have her wanting Marshall to not cross his legs because he's not wearing any pants and mentions erotic dreams with Robin, Mila Kunis, Bill Cosby, Ranjit, George Washington and various other people. Of course her actress is pretty well known for playing these roles.
• Cradle of Loneliness: Does this with a pillow dressed in Marshall's clothes while he's away.
• Deadpan Snarker
• Fiery Redhead
• Happily Married: To Marshall.
• Hot Mom
• Huge Guy, Tiny Girl
• The Ladette: Not as much as Robin, but she's a perpetual winner of drinking contests and hotdog eating competitions and she won't let you forget that - it's in her resume!
• Large Ham
• Les Yay: There are numerous hints of her having a crush on Robin.
• Like Parent, Like Spouse: Lily and Marshall's mom. Both are feisty, red-headed Team Moms.
• Misplaced Kindergarten Teacher: Lily does teach kindergarten, but in the brief time she tried other jobs, she tended to try and deal with workplace conflicts in the same manner and with the same reasoning as she had with children.
• Parental Issues: With her father, at first.
• Redheaded Hero
• Ship Tease: Has quite a bit of this with Barney. Of course, it will never happen.
• Shipper on Deck: Lily really wants Barney and Robin together ...at first. She has also commented that Barney and Ted would be good together.
• Sickeningly Sweethearts
• Tsundere: Type B.
• When All You Have Is a Hammer: See Misplaced Kindergarten Teacher; she tries to solve all conflicts using kindergarten-teacher logic. Not just in her other jobs, but in personal relationships quite often.

Barney Stinson

"Legen—wait for it—DARY!"

—Played by: Neil Patrick Harris

The unrepentant bachelor who offers a counterpoint to Lily and Marshall's monogamous bliss. Barney is a business executive who works a high paying desk job, does exactly what he wants all of the time, makes it a point not to sleep with the same girl twice, and makes no apologies for what he is.

• Adult Child: From time to time.
• Ambiguously Evil: Harris has described his character as "Darth Vader with a tie".
• Attention Whore
• Blond Guys Are Evil: Currently.
• Casanova
• Camp Straight
• Catch Phrase: Multiple.
• Cloudcuckoolander: On occasion.
• Completely Missing the Point: Pick an episode. More than likely, Barney does this at some point in that episode.
  • Challenge Accepted!
• Corrupt Corporate Executive: Heavily implied to be one of these.
• Deadpan Snarker
• Disappeared Dad: Until season 6.
• Embarrassing Nickname Swarley. Swar-wait for it...-ley. Swarls Barkley. Any variation of Swarley, actually.
• The Friend Nobody Likes: Lampshaded at first, subverted as time goes on.
• Hair of Gold: Used to be this, before his girlfriend left him for a suit-wearing womanizer. and he decided to become one himself.
• Heroic Comedic Sociopath
• Hidden Depths: Can speak Chinese and is a very good, albeit compulsive, gambler.
• I Just Want to Have Friends: Type B.
• Jerkass: Even he isn't sure why they hang out with him.
  • Jerk with a Heart of Gold / Jerk with a Heart of Jerk: Bounces back and forth.
• Ladykiller in Love: With Robin, Nora and Quinn.
• Large Ham
• Limited Wardrobe: Is almost never seen without a suit.
  • Sort of. In a number of episodes he is shown to have massive amounts of clothes. Only they're all suits.
• Lovable Sex Maniac
• Magnificent Bastard: This is now Canon having been state almost word for word by Marshal in the season 7 episode 'Ducky Tie'.
• A Man Is Not a Virgin: He's even played by the trope namer.
• Mr. Fanservice
• Race Fetish: His Establishing Character Moment is announcing to Ted that he's moved on from half-Asian girls, and is now going after Lebanese girls. He also has said that his "type" is "Asian, with some boob."
• Rooting for the Empire: Apparently does this for The Karate Kid, Die Hard, The Breakfast Club, and The Terminator, probably others as well. Possibly a reflection of his day job.
• Self-Imposed Challenge
• Serious Business: Nothing suits him like a suit!
• Sharp-Dressed Man
• Ship Tease: Barney has expressed considerable attraction to Lily, and there's the inevitable chemistry matchmakers always seem to strike with their clients, but Barney and Lily will never go beyond a fantasy.
• Shipper on Deck: According to him, "The world needs Marshall and Lily together!"
• The Unfettered
• Token Evil Teammate: "At one point, I'm pretty sure I sold a woman."
• Wacky Guy
• "Well Done, Son" Guy
• Wide-Eyed Idealist: Formerly. Still shows signs such as believing Bob Barker is his father well into adulthood.
• What Exactly Is His Job?: Whenever someone asks he simply brushes them off with a condescending chuckle and a "Please."
• You Are What You Hate: Played for Laughs when Robin discovers he is 25% Canadian.

Robin Scherbatsky

"Let's go to the mall! *forced chuckle* Today!"

—Played by: Cobie Smulders

Former Canadian teen pop star turned reporter for a crappy news station and later to a researcher for a more respected one, she's got a fun mix of geeky/guyness to her. Ted falls in love with her at first sight, but it's not meant to be. She ends up a member of the gang (and Lily's best friend) anyway. She slept with Barney once, which seems to have given him a case of feelings for her, and she seems to reciprocate. They get together (then break up). Then get married (then divorce). And finally she ends up with Ted after he recovers from the death of The Mother.

• Abusive Parents: Robin's father is extremely dismissive towards Robin as she was not the son he wanted.
• Agent Scully
• Badass: So much, it's kind of a running gag.
• Canada, Eh?
• Deadpan Snarker
• Eighties Hair: In her music videos as Robin Sparkles in the 90's, no less, because the 80's hit Canada late!
• Embarrassing Middle Name/Gender Blender Name/Tomboyish Name: Robin Charles Scherbatsky, Jr. (Her father was in denial because he wanted a son.)
• Eskimos Aren't Real: Robin believed that the North Pole and reindeer were made up.
• Even the Girls Want Her: It's been hinted a lot that Lily has a crush on her.

"Robin Scherbatsky is many things: friend; confidant; occasional guest star in some confusing dreams that remind me a woman's sexuality is a moving target, but she is no crazy, jealous stalker-bitch."

• Everything's Better With Robin Sparkles
• Hilariously Abusive Childhood: Slightly. She does seem to have gained some serious emotional scars.
• Hot Scoop
• Idol Singer
• Kent Brockman News: Another running gag.
• The Ladette: Likes hockey, guns, cigars, scotch...
• Law of Inverse Fertility: Gets hit with this hard when she realizes that she will never be able to be a mother, even if it wasn't in her immediate plan.
• Les Yay: After hearing that Lily had wished to have a lesbian experience, Robin leans down and kisses her on the lips.
• Master of the Mixed Message: With Ted, and then later with Barney.
• Meganekko: Starting in season six, Robin, played by the already ridiculously hot Cobie Smulders, actually managed to get even hotter by donning a pair of glasses.
• Ms. Fanservice: There are a lot of eye-catching moments.
• Music Video: Two, heinously awful and amusing.
• Naive Newcomer
• Old Shame: Robin Sparkles.
• Raised as the Opposite Gender: Until she kissed a boy.
• Robot Buddy: In both Let's Go To The Mall and Sandcastles In The Sand. It was her sidekick.
• Running Gag: Sometimes whenever the gang tells her something about herself that is absolutely obvious, she laughs hysterically while denying it, followed by a quick "Shut Up!".
• Shipper on Deck: After she breaks up with Barney, Robin ships Barney and Nora.
  • Matchmaker Crush: Until she realized that she still has feelings for him.
• Sweet Polly Oliver / Bifauxnen: In her backstory.
• Tall, Dark and Bishoujo
• The Stoic: She really was hurt after Barney went after all those chicks shortly after their break-up. She's just good at holding it in.
• Sugar and Ice Personality: She keeps her feelings hidden most of the time because of her childhood, but has proven numerous times that she has a warm and caring side.
• Tsundere
• "Well Done, Daughter" Chick: Specifically cited by Ted as the one thing Robin really wants -- approval from Dad.
• Will They or Won't They?: With Ted in season 1 and with Barney in seasons 3, 4 and 7.
• Yet Another Baby Panda: Much of her career.

Other Characters

The Mother (Tracy McConnell)

"Kids, I'm gonna tell you an incredible story. The story of how I met your mother."

Played by: Cristin Milioti

The woman about whom Future Ted is telling a story to his kids about. Little is known about her, other than that she owned a yellow umbrella and that she was in the class Ted's seen teaching at the end of season four. Glimpsed in part several times during the course of the series, and finally revealed in the last episode of the series.

• Hot for Teacher: Although Ted had the wrong classroom, so she's not actually his student.
• Last Girl Wins: Or so one imagines. Ultimately averted: Tracy is dead by the time Future!Ted tells his story -- and he gets together with Robin after he comes to term with her passing.
• No Name Given
• She Who Must Not Be Seen: If she is present in any given shot (and considering the fact that the series creators have stated that they've already shot footage they won't use until the final season, it's probably not totally out of the question to assume they've cast a steady actress for the role and have used her), she's never pointed out, not even subtly. The only thing we've explicitly seen of her is an ankle. And the back of her hat-covered head in No Pressure.
• Single Woman Seeks Good Man
• The Un-Reveal

"Luke and Leia" Mosby

"Leia" played by: Lyndsy Fonseca
"Luke" played by: David Henrie

Ted's son and daughter living in the year 2030. Currently he's subjecting them to a lengthy and needlessly detailed tale of how he met their mother.

• Completely Missing the Point: After Future!Ted tells them the story of when he dated an ex, who he had previously dumped on her birthday, via an answering machine message while her friends and family hid in her house for a surprise party, convinced her that he'd changed in order to get a second chance, only to break up with her on her birthday AGAIN, only this time in person... Which led to her kicking Ted's ass. All Ted's kids took from this story is that their dad got beat up by a girl.
• Deadpan Snarker: When they could still comment on Ted's stories anyway. Probably got it from dad.
• No Name Given: Though Ted has repeatedly expressed the desire to name them Luke and Leia
• Not Allowed to Grow Up: Forced on the producers because of the expected length of the show's run compared to the Framing Device that it's all being told to the narrator's children in a much shorter period of time. The production team solved the dilemma by using Stock Footage of the children -- usually the same second-season shot, but also filming a Reaction Shot during Season 2 for use when Future!Ted finally finishes his story.
• Shout-Out Theme Naming
• Who Names Their Kid "Dude"?

Ranjit

"HELLOOOOO!"

—Played by: Marshall Manesh

The gang's favorite cab/limo/anything driver. Meets the main five for the first time in the pilot episode, and after driving them around a few times eventually becomes friends with them to the point of knowing many personal details about their lives.

• Beware the Nice Ones: "Ted, I don't want you to see me pissed!"
• Catch Phrase: "Hellooooooo!" and "To the [vehicle]!"
• One-Scene Wonder

Carl MacLaren

"I can trust you guys!"

—Played by: Joe Nieves

The owner of the bar the core five frequently go to. He has known the gang at least since 2001 and seems to be relatively close to them.

• Deadpan Snarker
• Limited Wardrobe: Always wear Black
• Only Sane Man: in The Pineapple Incident, when Ted gets hilariously drunk.

Wendy

"I-It's a tie..."

—Played by: Charlene Amoia

The most prominent waitress at MacLaren's Bar. Like Carl, she seems to be relatively close to the main five and even had a short fling with Barney.

• The Chew Toy: She seems to get hurt a lot at MacLaren's, often because of the gang.
• Clingy Jealous Girl: Subverted - Barney sees her as this during their short fling, because he's Barney. She simply thinks they're actually boyfriend and girlfriend, and acts accordingly.
• Deadpan Snarker: On occasion
• Everyone Calls Her Barkeep: Subverted. Everyone knows her by her first name, but she's always called "Wendy the Waitress".
• Happily Married: In Ted's 2021 flashback, she's married to an ex-coworker of Marshall's, and they run into Ted while on their second honeymoon in Hong Kong.
• Nice Girl
• Wide-Eyed Idealist

Victoria

Played by: Ashley Williams

Victoria is the first serious girlfriend Ted gets in the series. She shows up in mid-season one and stays around for most of the remaining episodes of the season until she gets a baking scholarship in Germany.

• Put on a Bus
• Romantic False Lead: Subverted. The writers initially wrote her as this, but she that didn't stop her from becoming a beloved character among the fandom.
• Sickeningly Sweethearts: To the point that Marshall and Lily are jealous of how lovey-dovey she and Ted are.
• Sixth Ranger
• The Bus Came Back

Scooter

Played by: David Burtka

Scooter is Lily's ex-boyfriend. Their parents are friends and the two of them dated throughout their teenage years, but Lily broke things off when she went to college. To this day, he's still trying--and failing--to win her back.

• All Love Is Unrequited
• Butt Monkey
• Determinator: Never gives up on Lily, no matter how many times she tells him she doesn't want anything to do with him.
• Puppy Dog Eyes
• Stalker with a Crush
• Unknown Rival: To Marshall.
• Unlucky Childhood Friend

Brad

Played by: Joe Manganiello

Brad is one of Marshall's friends from law school. He's introduced in the second season and becomes friends with the rest of the gang.

• Cloudcuckoolander
• Estrogen Brigade Bait
• Genius Ditz: Even more of a ditz than Marshall. Still passed the bar on his first attempt.
• Ho Yay: With Marshall, especially in "World's Greatest Couple".
• Sixth Ranger: Whenever he shows up.

Stella Zinman

Played by: Sarah Chalke

Stella is a dermatologist who Ted visits for the purpose of removing his lower-back tattoo and becomes his main love interest throughout seasons three and four and almost marries him. She has a daughter named Lucy and has an unresolved relationship with Tony, her ex-boyfriend and father of her daughter.

• Actor Allusion: Stella's a doctor played by Sarah Chalke.
• Easily Forgiven: Averted hard. When she comes back for an episode, no one forgives her for leaving Ted on their wedding day.
• Fauxshadow: In season 3's St. Patrick's Day episode, narrator!Ted states that the mother was at the same party he and Barney went to, but that they didn't meet her then. Stella mentions offhand that she was at a party on St. Paddy's.
• Hospital Hottie
• Hot Mom
• Kick the Dog: She leaves Ted at the altar in "Shelter Island", leaving him nothing but a letter and is then seen making up with Tony.
  • Not to mention her part in the making of "The Wedding Bride," which made everyone hate Ted's character and humiliating Ted.
• Love Epiphany: Realizes she's not over her ex-boyfriend on the same day she's supposed to marry Ted.
• Put on a Bus
• Sixth Ranger

Tony Grafanello

Played by: Jason Jones

Stella's ex-boyfriend and Lucy's father. Is jealous of Ted and Stella's relationship, as he never got over her, but is shown to feel guilty for getting back together with her on the same day she and Ted were supposed to get married.

• Jerk with a Heart of Gold: He feels so bad about Stella & Ted breaking up that he arranges for Ted to get his teaching job at Columbia.
  • Eventually becomes a Jerkass, after he writes The Wedding Bride.

Don

Played by: Benjamin Koldyke

Don is introduced as Robin's new love interest after she and Barney break up and "the guy she's supposed to marry". He left after accepting the same job opportunity that Robin turned down in order to be with him.

• Character Shilling: One episode after he's shown to be a jackass and loser, he hangs out with the gang offscreen and the gang simply starts talking about how perfect he is. It's rather jarring.
• Creator's Pet: See above.
• Irony: The only reason that Don got a shot at his dream job is that Robin gave up that same opportunity.
• Jerkass: Being apathetic about his job regardless of who else that interferes with? Pulling the Naked Man on Robin after trying to make amends for his behaviour? Leaving Robin for a job that Robin turned down so she could stay with him? Yeah, this guy fits here.
• Put on a Bus
• Romantic False Lead

George van Smoot, aka, The Captain

Played by: Kyle Mac Lachlan

Zoey's ex-husband.

• Awesome McCoolname: Named himself The Captain because he believes a real man can do that.
• Large Ham
• Nightmare Fuel Station Attendant: Plays up his creepiness because he's shy.
• Sophisticated As Hell

I daresay Scylla and Charibdis could not have torn us asunder: we had great big boners for each other.

Stuart and Claudia

Stuart played by: Matt Boren
Claudia played by: Virginia Williams

Friends of the gang. Introduced in season 1, appeared sporadically throughout and had a baby in season 6.

• The Alcoholic: How Stuart copes.
• Aw, Look -- They Really Do Love Each Other: At Marshall's bachelor party, Stuart uses all the tired cliches of marriage being a ball and chain, the end of freedom, etc. and pretty much confirms it's because his own marriage isn't going so well. As the party goes from bad to worse, he states that he misses Claudia.
• Ugly Guy, Hot Wife: To be fair, Claudia is a bit of a shrew.
• Wedding Episode: Pretty much the reason for their appearance on the show, to have a wedding.

James Stinson

Lily: Remember that time you two scored a brother-sister combo?
Barney: She was a little bit country.

James: He was a lot into black guys.

—Played by: Wayne Brady

Barney's gay half-brother. Not a jerk like Barney.

• The Cast Showoff: He is Wayne Brady after all.
• Happily Married
• Hard Gay: As a young man.
• Ladykiller in Love: Happened to him in the backstory for his introduction episode.
• Magical Negro: Essentially plays this role in "The Rebound Girl".
• Nice Guy
• Sibling Yin-Yang
• Invisible to Gaydar

Kevin

Played by Kal Penn

Robin's court-ordered therapist after she had assaulted another woman. He stopped being Robin's therapist because he was attracted to her and they ended up dating.

• Nice Guy
• Only Sane Man: Literally. As a professional therapist, he can point out all the specific psychological ways the Five-Man Band is so completely messed up.

Patrice

Robin's co-worker. She doesn't like her.

• Ascended Extra: Introduced as a background character in reaction shots. Gradually comes into more focus.
• Butt Monkey

"NOBODY ASKED YOU, PATRICE!"
"DAMN IT PATRICE, STOP SMOTHERING ME!"
"PATRICE IRONS MY PANTS WRONG!"

• Sitcom Arch Nemesis