This Character List is a basic listing of all the characters that have appeared in the sitcom How I Met Your Mother, with links to each character's personal page.
Cast
| Ted Mosby | Josh Radnor | ||||||||
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| Marshall Eriksen | Jason Segel | ||||||||
| Lily Aldrin | Alyson Hannigan | ||||||||
| Robin Scherbatsky | Cobie Smulders | ||||||||
| Barney Stinson | Neil Patrick Harris | ||||||||
| Future Ted | Bob Saget (voice, uncredited) | ||||||||
| Tracy Mosby (after reveal) | Cristin Milioti | ||||||||
| Recurring Secondary Characters | ||||||||||
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Himself |
Himself |
Himself | ||||||||
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Bob Odenkirk |
Bob Odenkirk |
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Bryan Callen |
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Joe Manganiello |
Joe Manganiello |
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Joe Nieves | ||||||||||
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Rachel Bilson | ||||||||||
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Virginia Williams |
Virginia Williams |
Virginia Williams | ||||||||
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Will Sasso |
Will Sasso |
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Taran Killam |
Taran Killam | |||||||||
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Kyle MacLachlan | ||||||||||
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Bryan Cranston | ||||||||||
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Wayne Brady |
Wayne Brady | |||||||||
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Suzie Plakson |
Suzie Plakson | |||||||||
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Kal Penn | ||||||||||
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Megan Mullally (voice only) |
Frances Conroy | |||||||||
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Ned Rolsma |
Ned Rolsma, |
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Robert Michael Ryan |
Blake Bertrand (young) |
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Bill Fagerbakke | ||||||||||
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Michael Trucco |
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Nazanin Boniadi | ||||||||||
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Alexis Denisof | ||||||||||
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David Burtka |
David Burtka | |||||||||
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Sarah Chalke | ||||||||||
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Matt Boren |
Matt Boren |
Matt Boren | ||||||||
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Ashley Williams | ||||||||||
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Charlene Amoia |
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Cristine Rose |
Cristine Rose | |||||||||
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Himself | ||||||||||
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Jennifer Morrison | ||||||||||
Main Characters
The main characters are the five main members of the gang that appear in (almost) every episode, along with Tracy Mosby, who was revealed in the Season 8 finale.
- Ted Mosby - Josh Radnor
- Marshall Eriksen - Jason Segel
- Lily Aldrin - Alyson Hannigan
- Robin Scherbatsky - Cobie Smulders
- Barney Stinson - Neil Patrick Harris
- Future Ted - Bob Saget (voice)
- The Mother - Cristin Milioti (as of Season 9)
Recurring Secondary Characters
A recurring secondary character is one that appears in multiple episodes (usually sequential with quite a bit of dialogue or a big story part).
- Luke Mosby
- Penny Mosby
- Arthur Hobbs - Marshall's boss at certain points in the story, he is often seen screaming at his employees which managed to make Marshall cry once.
- Bilson - An employee at GNB that fired Ted twice.
- Brad Morris - A friend of Marshall's from Columbia Law School.
- Carl MacLaren - A bartender who works at MacLaren's Pub.
- Don Frank - Robins new co-anchor on Come On, Get Up New York! in Season 5. One of the most serious of Robin's relationships, Robin was devastated when he left her for a better job which Robin rejected to stay with him.
- George Van Smoot - Also known as The Captain, is the ex-husband of Zoey Pierson and Lily's employer in Season 8.
- James Stinson - Barney's older brother. His mother is also Loretta Stinson. He is gay and marries Tom, they also adopt a boy Eli Stinson and later a girl Sadie.
- Jeanette Peterson - Ted's last love interest before meeting the mother.
- Judy Eriksen - Marshall, Marcus and Marvin Jr.'s mother.
- Kevin Venkataraghavan - Robin's boyfriend throughout most of Season 7.
- Loretta Stinson - Barney Stinson and James Stinson's mother.
- Marcus Eriksen - Brother of Marvin Jr. and Marshall.
- Marvin Eriksen Jr. - Brother of Marcus and Marshall.
- Marvin Eriksen Sr. - Marshall, Marcus and Marvin Jr.'s father.
- Marvin W. Eriksen - Marshall and Lily's son.
- Mickey Aldrin - Lily's father. In 1985, he separated from his wife, Janice Aldrin for a long time.
- Mike - The cameraman at Robin's morning show Come On, Get Up New York!. He was also a cameraman at Metro News 1 when Robin worked there.
- Nick Podarutti - Robin's boyfriend in the beginning of Season 8. He was her "secret crush" since Season 2.
- Nora - One of Robin's co-workers at World Wide News and Barney's ex-girlfriend.
- Patrice - One of Robin's co-workers at World Wide News.
- Quinn Garvey - Barney's girlfriend and later fiancée in Season 7. They broke up when they realised they had trust issues.
- Ranjit Singh - A New York taxi driver and occasional limo driver of Bangladeshi heritage. He is on friendly terms with all of the gang members.
- Robin Scherbatsky Sr. - Katie and Robin Scherbatsky's father.
- Sandy Rivers - An anchor at Metro News 1 before he moved on to a job at CNN. He now works at World Wide News with Robin.
- Scooter - Lily's boyfriend in high school. He still has a huge crush on Lily.
- Stella Zinman - Ted Mosby's romantic interest throughout most of Season 3 and the beginning of Season 4. They get engaged in Season 4 but she leaves Ted on their wedding day for her ex-boyfriend Tony.
- Stuart Bowers - Husband of Claudia, they have been friends of the gang before 2005.
- Victoria - A pastry chef who dates Ted for several episodes in the first season. Ted and Vicroria try long distance because she went to Germany for a dessert scholarship, but they eventually break up.
- Wendy - A regular waitress at MacLaren's Pub.
- Zoey Pierson - George Van Smoot's ex-wife and Ted Mosby's ex-girlfriend.
- Virginia Mosby - Ted's mom. She marries Clint.
Occasional Guest Characters
An occasional guest character is one that usually appears more than once but less than 5 episodes (They normally have fairly small parts).
- Abby - The receptionist at Stella's office. She is very naive and sensitive. She has a huge crush on Ted and she slept with Barney.
- Adam Punciarello - (a.k.a. Punchy) Ted's best friend in high school. When him and Ted meet they experience associative regression (a.k.a revert-igo). Ted was the best man at his wedding.
- Alan Thicke - Canadian actor, worked with Robin during her time as Robin Sparkles.
- Alex Trebek - He hosts "Million Dollar Coin Toss". He also appears on Robin Sparkles Underneath the Tunes
- Alfred Mosby - He is Ted Mosby's father. He married Virginia, Ted's mother, in his youth, but they later got divorced, after being separated for two years.
- Anna - One of the girls Barney slept with. She made the site, "Ted Mosby is a jerk.com", because Barney slept with her using Ted's name.
- Becky - She was Robin's co-anchor at Come On, Get Up New York! after Don left. Her perky attitude overshadows Robin.
- Betty - A student in Ted's Architecture class.
- Cindy - Ex-girlfriend of Ted, and roommate to his future wife.
- Claudia Grice - Wife of Stuart, she has been friends with the gang since before 2005.
- Clint - Virginia's current husband.
- Coat Check Girl - A girl who works at the club, Okay.
- Curt Irons - Robin's co-anchor at Come On, Get Up New York!
- Doctor Sonya - Lily's obstetrician in Season 7.
- Derek - Ex-boyfriend of Robin's. He is described as being rich, successful and handsome, and able to reel in ten chicks hotter than Robin.
- Doug - A child in Lily's class, Robin also dated his dad.
- Doug Martin - An occasional bartender at MacLaren's Pub.
- Eli Stinson - Adopted son of James Stinson and his husband Tom.
- Gael - Robin's short-term boyfriend and "rebound guy" after she broke up with Ted.
- Garrison Cootes - Marshall's boss at Honeywell & Cootes.
- Grandma Lois - Lily's maternal grandmother.
- Hammond Druthers - The boss and co-worker at the architectural firm Ted worked at. He was the kind of boss that everyone hated, arrogant and a pain in the ass.
- Janice Aldrin - Lily's mother. In 1985, she separated from her husband, Mickey Aldrin for a long time.
- Jerome Whittaker - Barney's biological father.
- Jerome "J.J." Whittaker, Jr. - Barney's half-brother.
- Kara - Brad's ex-girlfriend.
- Karen - Ted's on-again-off-again girlfriend throughout high school and college.
- Kelly - Punchy's fiancé.
- Klaus - Victoria's ex fiancée.
- Lucy Zinman - Daughter of Tony Grafanello and Stella Zinman.
- Max - An old law school friend of Marshall's who dated Robin briefly.
- Meg - A girl that Barney slept with in the apartment Marshall and Lily were going to buy.
- Morris Aldrin - Lily's grandfather, Mickey Aldrin's father.
- Mrs. Matsen - Ted's old lady neighbor.
- Natalie - A girl Ted originally dated three years before the pilot episode. Natalie collects sock monkeys and likes to listen to Belle and Sebastian during intimate moments by tea candle light.
- Nate Scooberman - Dated Robin in early 2011. The gang noted that he has a lot of dog-erisms.
- Randy Wharmpess - One of Barney and Marshall's co-workers. After getting fired on purpose Randy became a brewer.
- Rita Aldrin - Lily's grandmother, Mickey Aldrin's mother.
- Sam Gibbs - Father of James Stinson.
- Simon Tremblay - Robin's first boyfriend. He's Canadian.
- Tim Gunn - Barney's emergency tailor.
- Tony Grafanello - Stella Zinman's husband and Lucy's father.
- Trudy - A one-night-stand of Ted.
- Tugboat - Arthur Hobbs dog, which his wife get custody of after the divorce.
Guest Characters
These characters only appear once.
- Amanda - She is a chef which later dates Ted, who Lily calls one of Ted's "Random Skanks".
- Amy - A tattooed girl Ted hooks up with. She convinces him to get a tattoo, causing him to visit Stella's tattoo removal clinic.
- Anna - A co-worker of Robin
- Anita - She is an author and wrote the book "Of Course You're Still Single, Take a Look at Yourself You Dumb Slut".
- Ashley Eriksen - Wife of Marvin Eriksen Jr. and the mother of Martin Eriksen.
- Bev - Robin's co-worker
- Blah Blah - Her actual name is Carol, and she and Ted met on World of Warcraft.
- Becca De Lucci - In jail. Described by Barney as a "perfect relationship".
- Bob Barker - Best known for hosting The Price Is Right. Barney at one stage thought Bob was his dad.
- Car Guy - the guy who owns the car with the annoying alarm.
- Carlos - A guest at some parties Ted threw.
- Carly Whittaker - The daughter of Jerome Whittaker, older sister of J.J Whittaker and half-sister of Barney Stinson.
- Casey - Cindy's wife.
- Cathy - One of Ted's ex-girlfriends, she talks "a lot".
- Cheryl Whittaker - Jerome Whittaker's wife and J.J Whittaker and Carly Whittaker's mother.
- Chloe - A girl Marshall took on a date while he was broken up with Lily.
- Cook Pu - A student in Ted's architecture class. When Ted read the name on the signup sheet, he thought it was fake, said it was stupid, and repeated the name.
- Douglas - An employee at GNB.
- Daryl LaCoutre - Marshall and Lily's acquaintance from Wesleyan, who become obsessed with them after playing a game of hackysack in their freshman year.
- Dr. Kirby - A cardiologist, who the gang gets checked by after Marshall's dad dies of a heart attack
- Dr. Sarah O'Brien - A dermatologist, who has a 9.6 compatibility rate with Ted, according to Love Solutions.
- Ellen Pierce - Manager of Love Solutions, who is later fired
- Falguni - Wife of Ranjit.
- Fantasy Guy - His co-workers gave him the nickname due to his love of the fantasy genre. He is an employee at GNB.
- Food Guy - An employee at GNB who works in Account Services. He got his nickname because he always has food.
- George - A guy Robin dated.
- Heather Mosby - Ted's younger sister.
- Henrietta - A woman who was infatuated with Ted, but Ted didn't feel the same way.
- Holli - Went on a date with Ted once.
- Holly - Went on a date with Ted once.
- Honey - Zoey Pierson's cousin. She is very gullible and gets taken advantage of often.
- Jefferson Coatsworth - The interviewer of Nicholson, Hewitt and West.
- Jen - Went on two blind dates with Ted, 7 years apart.
- Jenkins - An employee at GNB who works in the legal department. She had a crush on Marshall.
- Jenny - A girl Marshall flirts with when he and Lily were broken up. Barney steals her phone number from Marshall.
- Jessica Glitter - Canadian New York Rangers organist, and, along with Robin, she starred in a Canadian kids show "Space Teens" in the 90's.
- Karina - New, hot bartender working at MacLaren's.
- Katie Scherbatsky - Robin's younger sister.
- Korean Elvis - A Korean version of Elvis.
- Kyle - Katie Scherbatsky's ex-boyfriend.
- Leslie - James and Barney's cousin.
- Liddy - Barney and Robin's wedding planner.
- Lizbeth - A girl that Ted went on a single date with.
- Maggie Wilks - Ted's ultimate girl next door. She attended Wesleyan University with Ted, Marshall and Lily.
- Margaret - The woman Barney hires to play his fiancé and later his wife Betty.
- Marissa Heller - Former resident of The apartment.
- Mary - A paralegal who lives in Barney's building.
- Martin Eriksen - Son of Ashley and Marvin Erisken Jr.
- Marybeth - Ted's friendly coworker.
- Matt Blitz - The original "Blitz" who went to Wesleyan University in the 60's.
- Maury Povich - An American television talk show host.
- McCraken - The manager of Laser Tag.
- Meeker - Marshall's ex-co-worker at GNB and the future husband of Wendy.
- Michael Sasser - Lily's high school classmate.
- Michelle - Lily's high school friend.
- Mike - Robin's boyfriend, seen in Slutty Pumpkin.
- Milt - A homeless man from whom Ted must buy back Marshall's charts after the group threw them away.
- Mitch - He is the Naked Man.
- Molly - Ted's first sexual partner.
- Mr. Flanigan - Barney's former magic teacher.
- Mrs. Buckminster - Marshall and Lily's dream nanny.
- Nora Zinman - Stella Zinman's sister.
- PJ - Ted's assistant who worked with him for a short time when Ted first attempted to start his own architecture firm, Mosbius Designs.
- Penelope - Ph. D student, studying Native American Culture who taught Ted to do a rain dance.
- Pete Durkenson - Marshall's friend.
- Professor Lewis - One of Marshall's law school professors at Columbia.
- Professor Vinick - One of Ted's professors at Wesleyan.
- Regis Philbin - Former host of Million Dollar Coin Toss.
- Rhonda French - Loretta's friend, Barney lost his virginity to her.
- Robyn - A girl that Ted went on a single date with.
- Royce - A woman dating Ted when he first saw "The Wedding Bride".
- Sascha - An airport security officer who detains Barney and Ted.
- Shannon - Barney's first girlfriend that dumped him for a suited-up businessman.
- Shin-Ya - A student in the class Robin 101 with Barney.
- Stacey Gusar - A girl that both Barney and Ted dated.
- Stacy - Ted's extremely religious cousin.
- Stan - A night security guard.
- Steve Biel - Porn star who performed under the name Ted Mosby.
- Steve Henry - Attended Wesleyan University with Ted and Marshall, where they became good friends. He is cursed with the "Blitz".
- Strawberry - One of Ted's short-term girlfriends. Lily calls her one of his "Random Skanks".
- Tiffany - Ted was "on the hook" for Tiffany, for quite a while.
- Tom - James Stinson's husband.
- Toy Guy - An employee at GNB who works in human resources. He got his nickname because he plays with toys when he works.
- Treasure - The stripper that Barney hired for Marshall's bachelor party.
- Tracy - Known by the stage name Amber, is an employee at the Lusty Leopard.
- Trey Platt - A minister who terrorized Marshall.
- Uta - Klaus's sister.
- Vicky - A girl Ted credits with getting him back in the game after being left at the altar.
- Works With Carlos Girl - A guest at a party Ted threw.
- Yasmin - Carl's Lebanese girlfriend.
- YouTube Clip Guy - An employee at GNB.