How We Met Cobie Smulders

Summary

How We Made Your Mother: Episode - How We Met Cobie Smulders

Hosts: Josh Radnor and Craig Thomas
Guest: Cobie Smulders
Release Date: May 19, 2025

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1. Introduction and Special Announcement (02:21 - 05:00)

The episode kicks off with hosts Josh Radnor and Craig Thomas warmly welcoming their special guest, Cobie Smulders, best known for her role as Robin Scherbatsky in the beloved sitcom "How I Met Your Mother" (HIMYM). They express their excitement about having Cobie join them to delve deeper into the show's enduring legacy and her pivotal role within it.

Notable Quote:

• Josh Radnor (05:03): "So we're discussing this TV show that we made together for many, many years. It was called How I Met Your Mother."

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2. The Enduring Legacy of HIMYM (05:00 - 10:44)

Josh and Craig explore the lasting impact of HIMYM, acknowledging its ongoing popularity and the show's ability to resonate with multiple generations. They discuss how the series continues to attract new fans, highlighting its relatable characters and universal themes of love, friendship, and personal growth.

Notable Quote:

• Craig Thomas (07:49): "I think it's multi-generational. And I think that, you know, I don't know what the secret sauce is that you and Carter did... but I just feel it's such a wonderful ... It's a gift that keeps on giving."

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3. The Casting Journey and Meeting Cobie Smulders (10:44 - 22:22)

The conversation shifts to the casting process, where Craig reminisces about auditioning for HIMYM and how Cobie was selected for the role of Robin. They share anecdotes about their initial interactions, the chemistry they felt from the start, and the collaborative environment fostered by the writing team.

Notable Quotes:

• Craig Thomas (15:50): "I remember auditioning for this Zack Morris show... and then got a call from about Megan and stuff and went in and read and then I said, you know, I'm testing for this other show."
• Cobie Smulders (18:43): "I felt like we had to build up to it, and I'm glad that we're here now, because I've been waiting for 20 minutes to put it out to you."

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4. Character Development and Robin Scherbatsky's Evolution (22:22 - 39:49)

Josh and Craig delve into the multifaceted nature of Robin's character, discussing how Cobie infused her own traits into Robin and how the character evolved over nine seasons. They highlight Robin's journey from a strong, independent woman to a more vulnerable and relatable character, emphasizing her complexities and growth.

Notable Quotes:

• Cobie Smulders (26:00): "Robin reminds me that I can be vulnerable and strong at the same time. That I can love others, but also love myself."
• Craig Thomas (28:42): "It's such a gift because you don't... you're doing a project that, that's, that's that long running."

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5. On-Set Chemistry and Authentic Friendships (39:49 - 58:31)

The hosts and Cobie discuss the authentic friendships formed on set, attributing much of the show's success to the genuine camaraderie among the cast and crew. They share funny behind-the-scenes moments, such as impromptu jokes and blooper reels, that captured the real bond they shared, making the show feel like an extension of their own friendships.

Notable Quotes:

• Cobie Smulders (54:36): "We wouldn't not use those takes. We would sometimes use those moments because you guys were unafraid of laughing at each other."
• Craig Thomas (55:53): "It was such an amazing time and just... revisiting all these memories, you know, of times gone by... it's a wonderful journey."

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6. Personal Reflections on the Show's Impact (58:31 - 73:06)

Josh and Craig reflect on how working on HIMYM shaped their personal lives and careers. They discuss the challenges and rewards of committing to a long-running series, the emotional investment involved, and the deep connections they formed both on and off the screen. Cobie adds her perspective on the mutual growth experienced by the cast and the support they provided each other throughout the show's tenure.

Notable Quotes:

• Josh Radnor (64:50): "We were all living... It was like a lifetime."
• Cobie Smulders (69:24): "We have gone through some... we all went through some journeys and some."

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7. Future Projects and Personal Endeavors (73:06 - 82:34)

Cobie introduces her debut novel, "That's Not How It Happened," highlighting its inspiration drawn from her personal experiences as a mother of a child with a rare genetic syndrome. She mentions the collaborative audiobook featuring voices from the HIMYM cast, including Josh and Craig. The conversation also touches on their ongoing efforts to support congenital heart disease research, emphasizing the show's legacy beyond entertainment.

Notable Quotes:

• Cobie Smulders (76:01): "It is my favorite thing I've ever written besides How I Met Your Mother."
• Josh Radnor (81:12): "Like, you had to hear it if you're not hearing what you need to hear, you have to be the one to share it."

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8. Closing Remarks and Future Episodes (82:34 - End)

The episode concludes with heartfelt thanks exchanged among Josh, Craig, and Cobie. They express their gratitude for the memories created during the show's run and look forward to future collaborations. Cobie reiterates her appreciation for the podcast and hints at upcoming episodes that will delve into specific HIMYM episodes, continuing the exploration of the show's deep-seated themes and character arcs.

Notable Quotes:

• Cobie Smulders (81:50): "It's inspired by my son... I hope that's what it does."
• Josh Radnor (73:06): "What a gift. How lucky were slash are we."

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Key Takeaways

• Authentic Collaboration: The genuine friendships and on-set chemistry among the cast significantly contributed to the show's success and enduring legacy.
• Character Depth: Robin Scherbatsky's character evolved from a strong, independent woman to a multi-dimensional person, reflecting Cobie's insights and personal growth.
• Legacy and Impact: HIMYM continues to resonate with audiences across generations, thanks to its relatable themes and well-developed characters.
• Future Endeavors: Cobie Smulders is venturing into writing with her debut novel, while the hosts continue to explore and honor the show's influence through their podcast.

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Note: This summary excludes advertisements, intros, outros, and non-content sections, focusing solely on the substantive discussions and insights shared during the episode.

Transcript

[Josh Radnor]

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[Craig Thomas]

This episode is brought to you by State Farm. Knowing you could be saving money for the things you really want is a great feeling. Talk to a State Farm agent today to learn how you can choose to bundle and save with the personal price plan. Like a good neighbor, State Farm is there. Prices are based on rating plans that vary by state. Coverage options are selected by the customer. Availability, amount of discounts and savings and eligibility vary by state.

[Josh Radnor]

Before we start today's very special episode, we want to announce that we have merch. We are starting off with two designs. The first is a college lettering style T shirt and hoodie inspired by our upcoming live recording at Wesleyan University. The second is our podcast logo, also on a T shirt and hoodie.

[Cobie Smulders]

And 10% of the profits of all our merchandise goes to our permanent campaign how youw Make a Difference. Supporting Congenital Heart Disease research, helping kids like my own son. So thank you all for that.

[Josh Radnor]

And kids, let me tell you the incredible story of how we met our friends at Amplifier who are partnering with us to get this fantastic how we made your mother merch to you while raising money for this great cause. Yes, Amplifier is helping us do something good by offering quimium fans something great. So if you're a business with big orders to fulfill and not just print on demand items but really anything Yellow umbrella, blue crunch horn, a pineapple, anything. Amplifier is there to help growing consumer brands and influencers create a unique experience for their customers during the fulfillment process. The link to their site is in our show notes and if you name drop How We Made youe Motherfucker, you'll get special pricing for your emerging brands program. Future you will thank past you for choosing Amplifier.

[Cobie Smulders]

To get your HWIM merch, please go to howyoumadeyourmother.com and click on Store where you'll be taken to our Shopify store. Or you can go directly to www.howyougetyourmerch.com.

[Josh Radnor]

And now let's get started.

[Cobie Smulders]

My name is Briana and I'm from Naples, Florida.

[Craig Thomas]

Hi, I'm Harrison and I'm from the United Kingdom.

[Cobie Smulders]

I'm from Brazil and I'm from Colomb.

[Craig Thomas]

Hi, I'm Marike from the Netherlands and.

[Josh Radnor]

I'm from Iowa, Rhode Island, Connecticut.

[Craig Thomas]

From Dallas, Texas.

[Josh Radnor]

Portland, Oregon.

[Craig Thomas]

I am from Bulgaria.

[Josh Radnor]

From India. I'm from Chile and I'm from Estonia. This is Selma from Bosnia and Herzegovina.

[Craig Thomas]

From Australia.

[Josh Radnor]

Hi. Here's Maya from Poland.

[Cobie Smulders]

I'm Charlotte from England.

[Craig Thomas]

And Robin Shabatsky is my favorite fictional character of all time. And she's genuinely my favorite character in television history.

[Josh Radnor]

Absolutely my favorite character of all time.

[Craig Thomas]

Robin Scherbatsky means everything to me. To me, Robin Htbatsky means strength and confidence.

[Cobie Smulders]

Strong, independent, and didn't follow the usual.

[Craig Thomas]

Expectations of what a woman should be like.

[Josh Radnor]

Both a Canadian pop star and gun toting, cigar smoking New Yorker, Robbie meets courage.

[Cobie Smulders]

She's talent. She's amazing.

[Josh Radnor]

She represents strength, courage and ambition.

[Craig Thomas]

Such a badass. She stays focused on her goals and knows what she wants out of life.

[Cobie Smulders]

What she means the most is that you can be hilarious and hella hot.

[Craig Thomas]

Why I love Robin because Robin is Robin.

[Josh Radnor]

Robyn does not need anyone and she likes having her own space, her own dessert. Strong enough to walk away when it's right for her.

[Cobie Smulders]

Robin reminds me that I can be vulnerable and strong at the same time. That I can love others, but also love myself. I love how she can hold her.

[Craig Thomas]

Friends accountable and can also step aside.

[Cobie Smulders]

And let them figure it out for themselves. Seeing a woman on TV who wasn't.

[Josh Radnor]

Afraid to be different made me feel like I wasn't alone.

[Craig Thomas]

I've gone through some really rough times in my life being autistic, but Robyn has been the one shining light that guided me through. I would love to take a second.

[Josh Radnor]

To appreciate how Cobie Smulders is such an incredible actress. I also just love Cobie Smulders so much.

[Cobie Smulders]

I met her once and she said I was an artist and I wanted to thank her for saying that because I really needed to hear it.

[Craig Thomas]

Her ability to make me laugh, smile, or even cry through her amazing acting as Robyn is one of the biggest constants in my life. I honestly wish I could meet her and support her.

[Josh Radnor]

Thank you for making this character that.

[Craig Thomas]

Made me feel like you're gonna fall down a lot.

[Josh Radnor]

But don't give up. You know what I mean? I'm alone. What a pity I won't be soon in New York when I see you. Please permit me to tell you everything in New York City. Hello, and welcome to another episode of How We Made youe Mother. I'm Josh Radner. I am joined, as ever, by my friend Craig Thomas.

[Cobie Smulders]

Hello, Josh. Honored to be here. Oh, my God.

[Josh Radnor]

So we're discussing this TV show that we made together for many, many years. It was called How I Met yout Mother. It ran from 2005 to 2014. We often say we're having a very special episode of How We Made youe Mother. But this week, it is a special, special, extra special episode because we are joined by the one and only Kobe Smolders. Hi, Kobes. Hi, Cubs. So good to see you.

[Craig Thomas]

Hello, everyone listening. Oh, hi, guys. I'm so happy.

[Cobie Smulders]

The best of the best.

[Craig Thomas]

We're so happy to hang out and chat with you guys.

[Josh Radnor]

Can. So we just heard the. The compilation of Robin and Kobe loving voices from all over the world the first time we heard it. But I'm so curious, like, what. How was that for you to hear all that love coming at you?

[Craig Thomas]

You know, I am not great with compliments.

[Cobie Smulders]

There wasn't hell on earth. It was horrible.

[Craig Thomas]

I think it's like. I mean, it's so. First of all, it's. It's so, so lovely. And it's. It's. You know, I think I feel like what you guys have really been discussing on this podcast. Podcast thus far, and what I can also sort of speak to is like, the love of this show, the love that people have for these characters, and what an amazing thing to be a part of the show that brought people so much joy and so much entertainment, and also, like a sort of a way to funnel what they're going through themselves. And. And it's. It's. It's. It's wild and it's. And it's a wonderful legacy to be a part of. So anytime I, you know, get a compliment, I kind of store it in that How I Met yout Mother bank in terms of, like, what every member of our cast, crew, writers, you know, producers, we all made together. You know, I just feel it's such a wonderful. It's a gift that keeps on giving, and I'm so. I'm so lucky to be the recipient of it.

[Josh Radnor]

Well, let me ask you. One of the things we're interrogating on the show is just like, why How I Met yout Mother stuck around, why people. Why it's minting new fans every year. Why people watch it and rewatch it and rewatch it, what the fervor is and the devotion to the show and characters, the what's. What that's really about. Like, has it shocked you, the kind of long tail of the show? Because sometimes you'll. You'll do something and it kind of just. It's nice when it's on and then it kind of goes away. It fades into kind of the pop culture memory bank. But this one just feels very alive for people. Do you. Do you feel that in your own life? Like, when people approach you and talk to you and want to talk about the show? And also, has it surprised you how long it stuck around?

[Craig Thomas]

Yeah, it's certainly been a surprise. I think. I think it's. There are different layers that happen, right? There are people who are our age who are like, I remember being in my 20s watching this show, and you're like, yeah, same, same. Like. And it feels very, like, relatable. And then I'll meet somebody who's like 15, and I'm like, you were not.

[Josh Radnor]

Saying you were not a person then.

[Cobie Smulders]

You were not. Did not exist.

[Craig Thomas]

You're not around. And so I find that really interesting. Or it's multi generational. And I think that, you know, I don't know what the secret sauce is that you and. You and Carter did. Craig. I mean, I think it's like, first of all, we got to do it for nine years, so we had so much time to make people really know these characters, to play out so many different storylines. And, like, I just don't feel like that's something people are able to do on television anymore. You know, we were able to sort of practice and find and really hone in who these characters were and the world that they were in, which we were so lucky to do. But it's. I find the younger generation really fascinating because. And I talk to them sometimes. I talk to kids. I can call them kids because, you know, we're there.

[Cobie Smulders]

They're kids. Doesn't make you sound old at all.

[Josh Radnor]

Kids.

[Cobie Smulders]

We're Bob Saget now. We are now officially future Ted. Like, we speak, like, when these kids.

[Craig Thomas]

Come up to me and, you know, they say, I just watched the whole series this weekend or something really wild, you know, And I'm like, it must be so strange because dating has changed so much, you know, like. And I'm like, what is that like to watch these characters, you know, leave messages on an answering machine, and then you have to, like, wait till you get home to, like, check the answering machine and then hope that, like, oh, I'm 10 minutes late. Cause I just got this message at this Time and meet them in the bar. There is, I think that there's something obviously more romantic in that world of meeting people, but they seem to really connect to it and kind of love it and it doesn't feel strange to them, but it's not how they do it. And I do think that generally romantics do love the show. I think that that is sort of a common thread. People who really believe in love and romance and grand gestures and really wanting to find somebody special to spend their whole life with. Like, I do find that. That a through line, which is obviously very apparent in our show. But, yeah, I think it hits people in different ways. And I think that the characters you guys created really filled so many different areas of interest for people, so there was always somebody that they could latch onto and have a favorite of.

[Josh Radnor]

And I wrote you this little diddy to sing in New York City. We'll be right back. Well, it's that time again. It's time for the continuing adventures of Doug switches his cell phone plan to Mint Mobile. Doug, what's the latest? What's going on with you and Mint Mobile?

[Cobie Smulders]

Josh, I'm so sorry that I missed you at your show, but, I mean, we came. My wife and I came.

[Josh Radnor]

You were there, I was there.

[Cobie Smulders]

We had to come home because our babysitter had to leave.

[Josh Radnor]

Sure. How did I know it wasn't that you were embarrassed about my performance? It didn't. Couldn't face it.

[Cobie Smulders]

No, we were really enjoying it. My wife had no cell coverage on our family plan with the big carrier. Oh, my phone has meant mobile now. And our babysitter was able to call and be like, guys, I need you to come back.

[Josh Radnor]

Right.

[Cobie Smulders]

Wow. For shame. Big carrier, for shame.

[Craig Thomas]

Yeah.

[Cobie Smulders]

My wife, who is my son's mother, didn't know he needed help. And she's paying more, whereas I did.

[Josh Radnor]

And I'm paying less. You're winning the marriage, Doug. You're winning.

[Cobie Smulders]

You are. In one way, you are the responsible parent care of Mint Mobile.

[Josh Radnor]

So we know at least at the Troubadour on Santa Monica Boulevard, Mint Mobile is the carrier. That's the one you want if you're out leaving your kid at home.

[Cobie Smulders]

Yeah. If you want to know if your.

[Josh Radnor]

Kid is okay or not, that seems important.

[Cobie Smulders]

So to parents at the Troubadour, this is Mint Mobile's yous guy. It's a very specific demo, but a huge one. A surprisingly huge no. You need to be in contact with your babysitter who suddenly has to leave. You need to. And Mint Mobile Let you be in that contact. As a parent, I relate. I feel very stressed out even contemplating not being able to hear that information.

[Josh Radnor]

If you want to rock and roll all night and party every day and have children, this is the carrier.

[Cobie Smulders]

Mint Mobile. That's the carrier for you. Yeah, I'm going to say this off the top of my head now, too. If you like your money, Mint Mobile is for you. Shop plansintmobile.com your mother. That's mintmobile.com your mother.

[Josh Radnor]

Upfront payment of $45 for three month five gigabyte plan required. Equivalent to only $15 per month. New customer offer for first three months only. Then full price plan options available, taxes and fees extra. See Mint Mobile for details. Craig, can you feel it?

[Cobie Smulders]

I can feel it. I don't know what it is yet, but I'm just gonna say yes.

[Josh Radnor]

Yeah, but you can feel it. Summer's approaching. Can you feel summer on its way?

[Cobie Smulders]

Oh, my God. It's so here. It's almost here. It's basically already here.

[Josh Radnor]

It's almost time for you to exodus out of here and get to your summer spot.

[Cobie Smulders]

Yeah, it's true. It's true. I have become a migrating bird. My family and I wanted to buy a place up in the Berkshires on a lake, and we went and saw a beautiful place and we fell in love with this house and we bought this house. It's on a lake in the country, in the woods. And it's just like it's our happy place. And, yeah, that's where we spend the summers now. And we were up there like three months.

[Josh Radnor]

And it just sits. It just sits there when you're not there and you're just losing money every single day.

[Cobie Smulders]

Wait a second.

[Josh Radnor]

You could be hosting on Airbnb.

[Cobie Smulders]

You just. You just trapped me. You made me walk right into that. I usually do that to you. And you've turned it around on me, judo style. But yes, I'm letting it just go to waste. I'm doing nothing with the house. I'm just gonna be brutally honest.

[Josh Radnor]

Let me tell you this. Your home might be worth more than you think. Find out how [e-mail] host and now back to the show.

[Cobie Smulders]

I'm curious to ask you something, Kobi, which is in our first episode of this podcast, we sort of talked about this from Josh's perspective. But what it was like for you to kind of like meet that character on the page before you met me or Carter or Pam or anything else. Like, you see this on the page, you know, you're gonna come and audition for it. I remember our casting director, Megan Brandman, was like, this is somebody really interesting. This is somebody you're gonna take really seriously for this role. And I give her a lot of credit, Megan, for really perking us up to, like, pay attention here. This is somebod. You were very young. You had not done any comedy, I don't think. Right. You had been on some hour shows. Well, I'm just curious to hear your perspective of, like, finding that script, coming in that audition, meeting that character, meeting us and kind of where. What that felt like from your perspective. We talked about that with Josh, where he came in. He remembered the office he came in and auditioned at, which I think it was the same one you came in. What do you remember of that? Paint us little word picture there.

[Craig Thomas]

Yeah. Let's go back. So I was, and still am very Canadian.

[Josh Radnor]

I think I'm still 23.

[Craig Thomas]

I mean, no, I. So I was. I was living in Canada, and we would do this sort of Canadian migration every year because there was a pilot season. And so you would. I would. You know, I worked in restaurants all year, and I saved up money, and then I drove my Volkswagen Jetta. Sadie, may she rest in peace.

[Cobie Smulders]

Sadie, I never knew this. See, we're breaking. We're breaking news here.

[Craig Thomas]

That's what they want today. You know what I mean? Everyone wants to know my first car.

[Josh Radnor]

You can't imagine the amount of viewer mail we've gotten about this. So we're thrilled, mostly.

[Craig Thomas]

That answered the tough question.

[Josh Radnor]

Thanks for being with us, Kobe. This was so wonderful.

[Craig Thomas]

So nice to see everyone. No, me and Sadie, lady, we drove down and, you know, I lived with. With two of my. My best friends in Venice when it. When it was not nice. Venice, Abbot Kinney when it was not f. And, you know, we just auditioned like crazy. You would do, you know, if you were lucky, you would get multiple auditions a week, a day. And it was kind of madness. It was kind of like a, you know, this fever dream of, you know, getting eight pages of sides to memorize for the next day and just hoping that something would click. And then, you know, networks were making multiple pilots every year. So you would kind of go, like, okay, I'll get a pilot maybe, and then I'll at least. You know, And. And for me, being a Canadian, being an immigrant, I was like, please, God, get me a job down here so I can stay. So I. I came down, I drove down, and I. I was auditioning for multiple pilots, and I think I was set to test for something which I can't remember. But I do think that Mark Paul Glosser, who was, who played Zack Morris, was in this other pilot. So really excited because I was very much in love with him for a majority of his teenage life.

[Cobie Smulders]

Wait, a pilot against at the same.

[Craig Thomas]

Time as how much mother pilot even met you. I had auditioned for this. Zack Morris. We're not going to call him that. But like, I'm sorry, that's like, like Mark. Okay, we'll call him Mark by his actual name.

[Cobie Smulders]

Mark.

[Craig Thomas]

Mark and I to play his sister. And I was like, this is confusing because I'm very much in love with like I, I, I spent a majority of my teen years very much in love with this human.

[Cobie Smulders]

Oh my God.

[Craig Thomas]

So I was set. They were doing sort of, I think Josh, you sort of spoke to everybody about the testing process. So I won't bore everybody with like network studio and all that stuff. But I was set to test with, with him and then got a call from about Megan and stuff and went in and read and then I said, you know, I'm testing for this other show. And then I think like that she brought me in like the next day to meet with you guys.

[Cobie Smulders]

Oh my God. I don't think I ever knew this. I'm feeling this weird emotion. Like I'm slightly jealous of Mark Pollock. I don't remember his feeling. Everyone is, I'm like, get away from Kobe. She's gonna be our Robin. I'm like having a whole time travel thing.

[Craig Thomas]

No. Yeah. So she sort of fast tracked me and she was like, okay, well come in tomorrow and you can meet Carter and Craig. And I was like, great. And so I met you guys and immediately, you know, liked you felt like, this is really funny. But as you had said, Craig, I had never done a call comedy. I've done, you know, sort of hourong dramas mostly up in, in, in Canada. And so I was not sure if I was funny. I mean, I think I could make, you know, friends and family laugh, but it was a different, it was a different rhythm and it was a different sort of demand. And so I tried my best and I guess I fooled you. I fooled ya.

[Cobie Smulders]

For only for nine years though. So you really didn't do a great job. I don't know when you're going to pull the plug on it because it's still working. I still think you're funny.

[Craig Thomas]

Yeah. And then it was sort of a similar process. I remember meeting Josh. We were lucky enough to do the studio network test together and it felt very lovely and very easy, and it was, I think, probably the best version of that process can be. I felt very. When I read the script for the first time. Time, I just. I fell in love. I mean, Robyn isn't in the pilot very much. If I'm like, she's sort of. It's more about this group of people. And I remember being like, oh, gosh, I hope I can stay and become a part. A part of this group. Yeah, but I thought she was, you know, and even in the. The. The opening, people saying, like, she's so confident. And I'm like. And I didn't feel like that at all. I was like, very much acting.

[Cobie Smulders]

Well, what. What's. What's funny is, like, the plot of the first two episodes of how much Mother is this young woman from Canada hopes she can come to America and become part of this friend group. And you actually felt exactly the way that was, what the character felt and what you felt.

[Craig Thomas]

But to be fair, she was not Canadian yet you made her Canadian.

[Josh Radnor]

No, that's true.

[Cobie Smulders]

Midway through, we made her Canadian in honor of you. That's true.

[Josh Radnor]

You know, I do sometimes think that when you get a role that is kind of like a role that kind of becomes iconic, like our roles all became, there is something about that. It feels bigger than just, oh, you were right for the part. Like, it feels like your DNA was right for the part. Like, there's a mystical thing that happens. And even as Craig lays it out, it's like, yeah, you were acting. You were doing these things, but you were also like, where you were in your life on the earth at that moment was exactly what was required for the show. And where I was in my life thing was exactly what was needed in the show. So it's almost like, yes, acting's hard. Landing jokes is challenging and all that. You're technically doing things, but there's also something where you're like, you can't actually screw it up. If you're that right for the role, you're just gonna be. You're the person, you know, and.

[Cobie Smulders]

And you were. And that. That's the thing. You were. We never wanted anybody else for the part. Once we saw you, it was just, how do we convince a network that is gonna say, what else has she done in terms of comedy? What's her real. Where are all her clips? And we had to make the point. In this show, it's a character meeting this woman out of nowhere. And wouldn't it be nice for America to also be meeting this Woman they've never seen on other sitcoms. She hasn't done 12 other sitcoms. This is her first one. And that's a good thing. And they got it to their credit, they're now working in the studio. They got that. That's Ted. Ted was meeting her in that moment across the bar. And so was America. And it felt meant to be. It really did.

[Craig Thomas]

But I think it's also. I hear you, Josh, but I think it's also like the credit goes to Ewan Carter as well. And also, I will say Pam Freyman. Like, there was this sort of very safe environment.

[Cobie Smulders]

Oh, yeah.

[Craig Thomas]

You know, the credit also would go to the studio, CBS and Fox because they didn't note us to death. So when we're taping and we're recording all these things, first of all, you're surrounded by amazing actors. You have Pam Freyman who's like mother to. I mean, for me, and I think a lot of other people on that set would say that as well. You know, it created this especially for someone like me who was quite terrified and really sort of working with these other actors who were so funny and so talented and had done so much more than I had. I felt a lot of pressure and it was this wonderful environment to step into, to be like, yeah, you can totally bomb, and then we'll just do another take and then it'll get better, you know. And so I felt very lucky to step into that world and being held by that group of people in such a wonderful way.

[Josh Radnor]

Yeah. Hey, Kobi. This is just a memory I'm having. Do you remember? We had been cast, you and I, and I don't know that anyone else had been cast at that point. Maybe Neil had been cast. But you and I grabbed dinner at the Authentic Cafe, which was like a block from my apartment, this Mexican restaurant. And you. We were kind of celebrating that we were about to do this show, this pilot together. But you had just met Taryn. Right? Like, you were right about. It was like. It's fascinating to me that these two very much life defining events, meeting your future husband and getting cast on this show, which you would do for nearly a decade, they were all. Those were a busy couple months for you, right? I mean, your life really, really changed quite a bit. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Craig Thomas]

And I was 22. I was very young. And. Yeah. But Taryn and I met, I think, maybe the week before we started shooting something like that. And he. He was also in pilot season two. So there was this weird, you know, like, is this gonna go Is that gonna go? Kind of energy, but yeah.

[Cobie Smulders]

Taryn's glad you didn't get the Zack Morris show, either.

[Josh Radnor]

He never could have married you. You would have been unavailable having. Having fake incest with Zach.

[Craig Thomas]

Oh, my gosh. Oh, yeah. I mean, I guess that show didn't go. I don't even know what it was, but I just remember that I'm kind.

[Josh Radnor]

Of picturing your energy with him had you been cast. And that would be very much like the James Vanderbeek episode.

[Craig Thomas]

Oh, my gosh.

[Cobie Smulders]

Y. By the way, I want to point out, I did not forget the robot. I just needed to. We're just sitting here. I just wanted to make sure that.

[Craig Thomas]

As soon as you came on, I saw it, and I started freaking out internally, but I didn't want it to be the first thing that I started talking about. I felt like we had to build up to it, and I'm glad that we're here now, because I've been waiting for 20 minutes to put it out to you. I feel like it was a strong.

[Cobie Smulders]

I just wanted you to know it's a tribute to you.

[Craig Thomas]

He's as handsome as ever. That little devil. That little devil.

[Cobie Smulders]

He says hi. He says hi. Yes. He dressed up for you. You know what? I was wondering about Koby, too, in the opening where we heard those amazing comments about the love for you and the love for Robin that you've very deftly dodged and compartmentalized somehow not to take any of it as a compliment for you.

[Craig Thomas]

We're going back to it now, or.

[Cobie Smulders]

I'm gonna insist that you take some of it. I mean, I'm bringing you back.

[Josh Radnor]

If you don't cry today, we're gonna consider this a failure.

[Craig Thomas]

Okay, Cool. Cool.

[Cobie Smulders]

I was gonna say that I. I literally start.

[Craig Thomas]

Let's get into each one individually.

[Cobie Smulders]

I started to cry a little bit during that, and I don't know where you were during that, but they were amazing, and I hope you take that in, because there's the love for you and Robin. It's so amazing hearing that one comment where they talked about how Robin was like, she's the gun toting this. And the list of Canadian and gun toting all this list. All of these were things we didn't know when we met you about Robin, Right?

[Craig Thomas]

Yeah. To be clear, I don't own a gun, though. I'm very.

[Cobie Smulders]

Yes, I know.

[Craig Thomas]

Personal.

[Cobie Smulders]

We can debate the complexity of that character trait later. No, but kind of a question to both you and Josh. For me, this is always interesting to me. These characters didn't arrive fully formed on the page. They arrived. We all met them together. And then this journey of getting to do nine seasons is such a gift creatively for writers and actors. And it's such a collaboration, I think, between writers and actors. You guys bring these energies to it and some of yourselves to it. You being Canadian, informed, Robin being Canadian, what is it like as an actor to sort of start with one thing and then kind of find all these other things? Or you see, you get a script one day and you go, oh, I guess there's this other side to Robin. I have to incorporate that in. And, you know, some of it's coming from how we, the writers are seeing you. We're seeing what you do. What is that collaboration or that, like, discovery, like, over seasons? Because Robin, we find out a lot more about Robin. We did not know Robin was a pop star with this robot behind me in season one. We did not know Robin had this incredibly complicated relationship with her father. But over time, we got to dig into, like, why is Robin. Robin? What is that like for you as an actor to play that and sort of find those things and incorporate those as you go along?

[Craig Thomas]

It's wonderful. It's such a wonderful thing. And I think it's sort of an easing into the character. And we had such an amazing writer's room, and they were so talented, so funny, so intuitive. And I became very good friends with a lot of those writers. Gloria Caldron Kellett is one of my best friends to this day. And I think it's. I became friends with a lot of them, and then, for better or worse, they would take some of my tics, like the butt, um, thing, I think is the thing I would do. And they. They added that. I also think there was a coup jabs at my. It's literally the worst thing I've ever heard.

[Cobie Smulders]

Did we.

[Craig Thomas]

You know, that was the thing that I. That I would do in my 20s.

[Cobie Smulders]

I guess I forgot that those were. Were those us taking your things? I guess they were. Did we ask you permission or did you just get it on the page? You'd be like, look at these motherfuckers.

[Craig Thomas]

We just know you just stole it. Straight on stole it. Just started digging. Just started digging. So I guess those late night at, like, those late nights at the. The. The. At the bar on the set. Really. Really. That's when they hone their. But I.

[Cobie Smulders]

No, it's so important.

[Craig Thomas]

It's such a gift because, like, you don't, you know, again, speaking to. Doing something for nine years doing a project that, that's, that's that long running. And also, also something in, in the. If we're talking comparatively of the shows of that time, I feel like what How I Met yout Mother did and what, what you guys did was constantly give us new, new and exciting stories to do. And speaking solely about, you know, the character of Robin, like, she was on so many different news stations. She had so she. She had so many love interests. Like, she had. She dated so many people. And then it was. I remember when you presented me with the Robin Sparkles thing and even before that, when you're like, we're thinking about making Robin a Canadian. And I was like, oh, okay, that's cool. And you said you were. Carter said, we're thinking of making her Canadian because we think it's exotic. And I thought to myself, and I have never been called as exotic in my life. And so I found that really funny. And I think you guys gave me one speech that was talking about, you know, universal health care or school systems, our anti gun, you know, legislation. And then it was one speech. It was maybe 11. I see it in my mind. It was like 11, because I was so excited to say it. I was like, so.

[Cobie Smulders]

Because I know exactly what you're talking about.

[Craig Thomas]

Freaking flag down.

[Cobie Smulders]

Yeah. I think we said we're going to be doing this all the time to.

[Craig Thomas]

Show how great Canada is, my country is. I cannot wait. I have so much national pride. I was so excited. And I got one speech and the rest were like, like my accent jokes, Mountie jokes, like maple syrup jokes. Lover of hockey jokes.

[Josh Radnor]

The donuts.

[Craig Thomas]

And I will say, thank goodness you had Chuck Tatham on your. On your writing style.

[Cobie Smulders]

Oh, yeah. Canadian specialist. Canadian specialist writer. Yeah. Writing the real details. Yeah. And often, like conferring with you on how to get that right. Well, and Susie Greenberg was Canadian. Our producer, Susie Greenberg. We had a lot of great Canadians on that show. We might around and have. You're very exotic. I still don't understand you all.

[Craig Thomas]

And we are here.

[Cobie Smulders]

It was so much love for Canada in that room, I swear to God. And I love that Canada loves this show. And we, we. I. I would not have had it any other way.

[Josh Radnor]

Canadians can take a punch. Really? The Canadians take a punch.

[Cobie Smulders]

Oh, they're the best sense of humor ever. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Josh Radnor]

You know, one thing that Craig has mentioned a few times is that every other character was tangentially based on someone. You know, Ted on Carter and Marshall and Lily on Craig and Rebecca and Robin. Was this the character they just kind of imagined out of whole cloth? And it feels to me like you create a pilot and you have, like, you're like, I hope this costume fits this an actor. But, like, as the show went on, especially first season, I could. It almost felt like they were a tailor and they were, like, tailoring it to you. So they start, this is what I try to explain to people in network tv. And Greg Malan's told me this. Like, it's really important for the writers to get to know the actors because you start pulling little things from their life and you start kind of giving them to the character. Now, for me, that got a little annoying slash confusing because I was like, wait, I love books and crossword puzzles. And now you're taking that from me and making fun of it. And now when I do read books or do crossword puzzle, it looks like I'm the character. When in fact, I started. I was. I predated that, you know, But I think there' could you feel the, like, snugness of the suit getting more tailored for you in a way that, like, liberated you to feel like you weren't playing someone's idea of someone, but you were actually inhabiting it more? Do you know what I'm saying?

[Craig Thomas]

I know what you're saying. And yeah, I felt that, too. And again, for me personally, because comedy was sort of a new area for me to be working in, I felt grateful to it because I thought, you know, they're noticing that this is what I'm good at and they're going to write towards that, so I'm not going to have to really, like, learn on the fly so much. It became much more familiar. And I do get asked that a lot. I feel when doing, or certainly maybe back in the day when we were doing more press about the show, it's like, how are you similar to Robin? And I'm like, I don't know. It's kind of blending right now. Like, it's a hard. Now separating the self from the character is becoming more challenging because it's becoming so much more intimate. We're all becoming so much more intimate. And, you know, even the storylines have, like, started becoming, you know, and I think you've talked about that, Craig, about, like, we were all in this. And I think Courtney. I've been listening. I listen to Courtney's, too, which is so nice to hear Courtney's voice. You know, we were. I mean, I was a little younger, but because I was in this very serious relationship, you know, which Started very early in my life. We were all sort of in this. We were going through the same things too. So it was. It was not just sort of the quirks and the characteristics that we were, that the writers were sort of attaching us to, but it was also just the life stories. It was also just so relatable. And so it just felt very familiar.

[Cobie Smulders]

I think that was huge for the show because there's always this thing of, like, why did this one work? There were a lot of shows during and after Friends that tried to be the New York. Here's another group of people in New York dating. And it was really hard to get one of those to stick and work and be distinctive and be its own thing. I like to think that some of it was the writing, but I do think that what you guys brought to it, in addition to being unbelievably talented, having so much heart and soul, the two of you having this immediate on screen chemistry, both of you being so funny and authentic. See, it's still there. It's still there. Or there's.

[Josh Radnor]

Of course, I get I here. This is me and Kobe. I blow her kisses and she goes like she always. She always worked bluer than me. Always. And this old man, he must admit he fell in love with you.

[Cobie Smulders]

New York City and now commercials.

[Josh Radnor]

Hey, Craig, how those. How those hip Vessi shoes treating you?

[Cobie Smulders]

I love these shoes. I have no problem saying it. I don't care who knows. Vessi, one of our wonderful sponsors, was very kind to send me us a couple really cool things. They sent us the. They sent us really cool raincoats and really cool shoes. And I am wearing these shoes exclusively on my dog walks. I have my. My dog Sally, and I have our morning routine. I walk my daughter to school, then with the dog, and then I walk the dog over on the Hudson River. It's very New York scene. And these, these shoes are so comfortable. They slip on so quick. It's early in the morning. I'm exhausted. I'm barely making sense. I just slip those shoes on and I go, it's been raining here this week in New York. They are waterproof. They slip on. They're very comfortable. They're breathable. I love them.

[Josh Radnor]

You're getting a lot of head turns from stylish New Yorkers who are like, where'd you get those shoes?

[Cobie Smulders]

I'll tell you the one person I did get a head turn from, my daughter, who's 9 and has a cool sense of style and never compliments anything I wear. But sometimes Insults, things I wear. This time looked at the Vessis and she went, hey, dad, cool shoes. This is a true success story.

[Josh Radnor]

It's got to feel. What's Tina Fey's line about, like a. Having a kid is like an office crush or something? You're like, they talked to me today.

[Cobie Smulders]

They talked to me. They said something sort of nice to me today.

[Josh Radnor]

Yeah, well, it's also, I. It's been. It's been rainy here on and off. I'm getting a lot of mileage out of that raincoat they sent. It's fantastic. Keeping me dry, keeping me warm. I love it like the, the perfect.

[Cobie Smulders]

Heft, too, as it's, you know, it's not. It's like, not too hot, not too cold. Like, it's just. It's the right. It's perfect for springtime in New York. Yeah, they, they. They sent us some great stuff. Thank you, Vessi.

[Josh Radnor]

Thank you, Vessi.

[Cobie Smulders]

As our thank you, we're going to say this. Make every day a little easier. Visit vessi.com your mother now for 15% off your first pair at checkout. Start exploring with confidence. Embrace every journey, rain or shine, with Vessi.

[Josh Radnor]

Hey, Craig.

[Cobie Smulders]

Yeah, Josh?

[Josh Radnor]

You know what smells good?

[Cobie Smulders]

Lots of things, but. Nay. You're going to name a specific.

[Josh Radnor]

Yeah.

[Cobie Smulders]

So go ahead.

[Josh Radnor]

Spring.

[Cobie Smulders]

Spring. Yes. You blew my mind. I thought it was you went. It's a whole season that you named. It does smell good.

[Josh Radnor]

But do you know what smells bad?

[Cobie Smulders]

Okay, you tricked me once, so now I'm not going to even try to guess. What smells bad.

[Josh Radnor]

Kitty litter.

[Cobie Smulders]

Well, the wrong kind of kitty litter does. I think that's where you're headed with this. Yeah, most kitty litter doesn't smell good.

[Josh Radnor]

But what. What would one do if one loves the. The smell of spring, but the smell of spring is being overtaken by the bad smell of kitty litter. What.

[Craig Thomas]

What is it?

[Josh Radnor]

What is a person to do?

[Cobie Smulders]

I'm so glad you asked, because I have the answer. There's a fix for that. Pretty litter. Pretty litter. The answer is pretty litter. I'm just going to say the answer to your question is pretty litter. Now I'm going to elaborate on that answer. Pretty litter, it obliterates odors so you can enjoy all the wonderful scents of your aforementioned beloved spring.

[Josh Radnor]

And this is. This is just every once in a while when you're on a podcast or your showbiz, you just get to say sentences that just really stay with you. Just. You've never said them before. And you know that if not for the Weird twists and turns of your life. You wouldn't get to say sentences like this. Pretty litters non clumping formula traps odor and moisture. Those words together. I just. I don't know when I would say those otherwise. So I'm really grateful I get to say that it's ultra absorbent, it's lightweight, low dust, and one 6 pound bag. Works for up for up to a month.

[Cobie Smulders]

I'm gonna also just say the phrase non clumping because I'm jealous I didn't get to say it. Even though it's not in my copy, it does. It feels like my whole life led to now. You know what I mean? Like led to me. Being able to say that pretty letter gives you peace of mind. It changes color. This. This actually is unbelievable to me. It changes color to indicate early signs of potential illnesses in my cat, like urinary tract infections, kidney issues, and more. I'm a hypochondriac. If they made this for humans and your toilet changed color and went, oh, I guess I better go to the doctor, I would do it.

[Josh Radnor]

Yeah, it's like a combination of like a mood ring and a COVID test all in one. Since Pretty Litter ship's free right to your door, you'll never run out and you won't have huge kitty litter bags taking up space. That's nice.

[Cobie Smulders]

That is nice. Pretty Litter helps keep your house smelling fresh and clean. Try it and you'll love it. Go to prettylitter.com the acronym for our very podcast, to save 20% on your first order and get a free cat toy. Free cat toy, bro. That's prettylitter.com quimium to save 20% on your first order and get a free cat toy. I'm going to say it again, even again, because I'm so excited about it. Pretty Litter.com SwimYum HwMYM terms and conditions apply. C site for details. Non clumping, non clumping, non clumping. End of commercials. Back to show.

[Craig Thomas]

This is what I was gonna say. Well, and then I have to talk to Josh about something. Just you'll be able to listen, but we will be recording and everyone will hear it. So one thing that I think was really beneficial is we weren't like a crazy hit show, you know, when we were on the air. And I've talked to people who are fans now who have watched the series like seven times and are like, it's such a huge show. And I was like, but when we were doing it, it wasn't. We were like, are we getting picked up for next season? Like, and it was really like, we were right on the bubble. And that obviously brought in some anxiety and some stress, but. But it also was wonderful because we were kind of allowed to do what we wanted to do. And for us personally, like, I didn't feel like my life changed. You know, I. I feel like if you're the cast of Friends or something, it was like, you don't. You. Everyone knows who you are, and you're in the middle of production and everyone's anticipating episodes like, there. I'm sure that that would be very. A lot of pressure to work under and to create under. So I also feel so grateful to that. Where it wasn't until like, seven, season seven or eight or nine, certainly building up to this finale. People were writing about us and we were, you know, having to do more press, and people were coming up and saying, hi, you know, I love your show, and I can't wait for the episode. And it wasn't. It wasn't in. In our world. I remember I have a story that came to my mind. And then, sorry, Josh, I'm gonna talk about something with you, too. But when we. We were in, I think, our last season, and my husband Taryn was doing SNL in New York, and our apartment was two blocks from McLaren's in New York. It was on, like, 50 in Midtown.

[Cobie Smulders]

Yeah, 50s. Yeah, in the 50s.

[Craig Thomas]

And, you know, I would fly out whenever I could and, you know, see my husband. And it was wild during that time because I'd be walking down this, you know, going to get a coffee or something. It's my neighborhood. And people would be like, like, coming from the bar, and they'd be like, look, they would have a total. They would have a total freak out because it's just me walking on the street. They're like, it's all real. And it's mostly people from out of. Out of the country, right? And they would. They would just absolutely freak out. And it was.

[Cobie Smulders]

That's.

[Craig Thomas]

I went, oh, this is like. There is. There is like a tourist attraction happening over here.

[Josh Radnor]

That happened to me when I would walk by the Empire State Building. No, I'm kidding. Jordana, my wife, pointed out a pretty great geographic loophole that there's no way a Brooklyn resident would be hanging out on a bar on the Upper west side or near on the Upper west side that much. Like, no way. But we, We. We solved it, right? Didn't we say, Craig, that her studio was in the West 60s?

[Cobie Smulders]

Her studio's in the West 60s. A lot of TV news is in the West 60s or thereabouts. We decided that was the way we did. We decided to sort of retcon like fix it now in 2025 and explain it not. We don't think we ever said that on the show. But that works. Let's just go with it.

[Josh Radnor]

Oh, it would be brutal. No, she'd just have to sleep in the bar. I mean she would have to.

[Craig Thomas]

To.

[Josh Radnor]

She's up at 3:30. I did want to say one thing and then Kobe, you and I can have a private conversation. But I totally agree with you that the first couple seasons I think we went on Netflix. Was it season four, Craig?

[Cobie Smulders]

I think four or five. I forget maybe between some of there. Somewhere there.

[Josh Radnor]

Yeah, that I remember tipped things into us getting a bigger like real time audience. But I do think that there was something very special about those first early seasons where we were just like. Like we felt like an indie band or like a, a. Like we. We knew we had a crowd, we knew we had. We could sell out like a 500 seat, you know, venue, but we were not playing stadiums. You know the difference between those early seasons and like 9th season comic con, which was like kind of our. An insane moment. I remember a feeling how big the show had gotten. But I think it really allowed us to make this really weird, singular show and let us. Comedies really need like one thing I'm noticing as I'm watching. The heart was always there and the characters were always there. But the show keeps getting funnier and funnier because you figure out how to comedify each character in a different way. So I feel like we were allowed in the midst of this big Hollywood production, we were allowed to grow and it allowed us to not become jerks because we didn't have to. We weren't super well defended. We were just like. We had a really great job in Hollywood and it was really. It was a kick, it was fun. But again it was like there was no. It was a season to season proposition at the beginning.

[Cobie Smulders]

And we were all the same. I was gonna say this before. We were all the same age basically. Like Kobe was like the baby by like a few years. We're all in our 20s and into our early 30s and we were all kind of the same age. None of us had. None of us were old sitcom hacks, right? None of us had had all our years on all these. Carter and I had never run a TV show. We'd never even really been on staff on like a proper like multi camera sitcom situation we had. You weren't totally new to it. Kobe and Josh, same for you. You had done comedy but you hadn't been on a show like this. I think it mattered. I think it made it a weird little indie band. Nobody came in quite knowing how to do the job, so we figured out how to do it for ourselves. You figured out who Robin was. We figured out how to write for you as Robin and we all got so comfortable together creating those characters together and to watch how comfortable you got with comedy and how much we knew how to write for your voice and you too, Josh. Like, what a gift to have the time and space to do that. What a gift. It doesn't happen now that as often in the, in the end or in the same way. It doesn't. It's, we really got lucky, you know, we.

[Craig Thomas]

Speaking personally, it was, it was so wonderful to have, you know, Ally on the show, to have, to have Josh, to have Neil, to have Jason who are all like, have such uniquely different comedic voices. And I, I remember there's a few times being like, how do I land this? How do I, am I doing this right? And it was just such a wonderfully supportive group.

[Josh Radnor]

One thing, Kobi, we were laughing about with Courtney, which you probably heard us singing your praises, but I didn't absorb it.

[Craig Thomas]

I hear my name and I black out. It happens all the time.

[Josh Radnor]

There was something so funny immediately about your, your owning of the newscaster voice. Like you were able to really. What went into that? Like, did you look at local news people and kind of try to mimic that weird cadence?

[Cobie Smulders]

Good.

[Craig Thomas]

I'm sure I did. I'm sure I did. I think it was just the energy of trying to be serious, you know, like, and, I don't know vocally and so aspirational.

[Cobie Smulders]

So you're going to be Barbara Walters any day now. Like just so on an upward trajectory.

[Josh Radnor]

Particular page and, and all of it's important almost.

[Craig Thomas]

Yeah, everything is important when the camera is rolling for Robin Shirotsky because she's chasing that. And yeah, I don't, I don't remember if I, I'd like to think I did some research. I probably did, but I don't, I don't remember like choosing anyone specifically to mimic. I think it was, that was sort of during like certainly those first couple segments were, were more about like, don't mess up your lines and, and, and have it like, as well. So I, I, I never wanted to take up time. I still don't, but I never want to like, just. Just to soak too much time out of our day. And so it was more about, like, just getting it, just doing my. Doing my good work. But. But I feel like she. Didn't you make her. Didn't she become very successful? Craig? Didn't she do it? Robin?

[Josh Radnor]

Yeah, she really becomes the Barbara Walter. She's in very big time, I think. Yeah.

[Craig Thomas]

Yeah, she's big time.

[Cobie Smulders]

And beyond the end of the series. Yeah. We don't. We try not to do too many spoilers. Episode. Episode. But yes, Robin succeeds.

[Craig Thomas]

She started by falling off a. A horse and cart. And look at where. Look at that shining star, that shooting star.

[Cobie Smulders]

Because I find you to be such a natural at physical comedy, too. And think about more and more. We gave you that stuff. You had to dance as Robin sparkles. You had to fall off into horse poop. We just gave you more and more physical stuff. And you're really such a natural, physical comedian, man. Did you know that side of yourself? Was that. Is that soccer training coming out? Like, where did that come from?

[Craig Thomas]

You know, I mean, I did. I did a lot of theater. I did a lot of, you know, I did a lot of, like, you know, again, I was 22, so I didn't do. I wasn't able to do much before you found me, but I do remember doing high school theater and because I couldn't really sing, which we'll get into maybe.

[Cobie Smulders]

Yes, you can. Enough of that. Enough of. We've been having this argument for 20 years. Yes, you can sing.

[Craig Thomas]

Give me a whiskey and stop in the record recording studio. And you move.

[Cobie Smulders]

We gave you a whiskey. Like, let's go to the mall pitch here.

[Craig Thomas]

It's a little pitchy here. Let's bring that down.

[Cobie Smulders]

We gave you a green. A green apple, which gets the voice in shape, apparently, which I didn't know. And a bunch of whiskey was eight in the morning. And then you saying, let's go to the mall.

[Josh Radnor]

Kobe. All pop stars get pitch. Correction. All pop stars.

[Craig Thomas]

Well, you know.

[Cobie Smulders]

Oh, my God. So sorry. Where were you going about. They couldn't sing because I just. Yes, you can.

[Craig Thomas]

So just in, in, in. I'm great at podcasts. I jump around all the time. I'm so, so.

[Cobie Smulders]

No, we're ruining it.

[Craig Thomas]

We're talking. So I. You know, when I was in high school, we did a lot of musicals because I feel like that's. Everybody gets a role. You cut up, like, the lead role into four different characters. And. And they would always be, like, we would audition and they'd Be like, okay, why don't you just dance in the back?

[Josh Radnor]

Whoa.

[Craig Thomas]

You know, like kind of that it's kind of moving. And so I just had to make my mark, I guess at some point as a young actor. And so she just tried to shine physically. I did dance when I was younger. Not enough to be good at it, but enough to be like a five, six, seven, eight moment.

[Josh Radnor]

But I do remember you told me this thing that I ended up taking for happy. Thank you. More, please. But that notion of walk it off, didn't your soccer teammates, when something emotional would happen, someone got broken up with and you'd say walk it off.

[Cobie Smulders]

Off.

[Craig Thomas]

Yeah, we'd say it for physical and emotional things. It works. If you get taken out on the pitch, if you can walk it off, you're going to be fine and the injury will be better. And then, you know, walk it off. If someone breaks your heart, just like walk it off and just keep moving. Yeah, just walk it off.

[Josh Radnor]

It's actually not terrible. It's, it's good advice. It's good life advice. Walk it off. Yeah.

[Cobie Smulders]

You could have a best selling self help book.

[Craig Thomas]

Yeah, I, I, I find myself saying it to my kids, maybe 12.

[Cobie Smulders]

Let's walk it off.

[Craig Thomas]

Walk it off. Let's go. Walk it off.

[Cobie Smulders]

What was your private moment with Josh that we can eavesdrop on? I feel like we also got away from that.

[Craig Thomas]

Oh, okay. So one of the fun things I like to do with Josh is there was a lot of sort of, you know, Josh and I had quite a few intimate scenes and so I would you try to as much as humanly possible before sort of, you know, we would roll. I would try to whisper something to Josh that was just extremely inappropriate. And sometimes we have in acting called the moment before, which is typically used in an audition to get you sort of, you know, you have to land as soon as they hit roll, you have to, there's been a whole life. So you have to create this moment before. So I felt as a good scene partner, I should lay out what we just did. And to me it was what we just did. And usually it was sexual because there.

[Josh Radnor]

Were a lot of post coital scenes.

[Craig Thomas]

Yeah, there's a lot of like we just woke up or whatever. You were in bed, you know. And so just as, because I'm a giving actor, I feel like I'm an amazing scene partner and I'm just thinking about the other person and making sure that they're comfortable, making sure that there's a connection there. And so I Would just sort of set us up before we actually started the scene in our speaking roles. Just with like this is what just transpired between us. And usually Josh would not. Not be able to say anything and his face would turn that color. For those who are watching.

[Cobie Smulders]

Josh is turning DEET red. For those listening at home, if you're.

[Craig Thomas]

Listening, his face is red. If you're watching, just look at his screen.

[Cobie Smulders]

Just look at his face.

[Josh Radnor]

Well, it's right there.

[Craig Thomas]

Secret things.

[Cobie Smulders]

Can we get an example? Can we get like a appropriately worded example?

[Josh Radnor]

No, you cannot.

[Craig Thomas]

No, I think it would know you. Absolutely.

[Cobie Smulders]

We can't get a sanitized example.

[Craig Thomas]

Just think of the word worst possible thing. And that's really what I want.

[Josh Radnor]

Listen, sometimes Neil would do this thing to me, like where he'd have to whisper something. And Neil is disgusting. Like, Neil has a real ability to be gross and work blue. He is nothing compared to the depravity that Kobi Smulders laid out.

[Cobie Smulders]

I never knew this. I never knew this. The moment before. This is the first time hearing of this, Craig.

[Josh Radnor]

It was. And also she would time it in such a way that she would finish saying. She would stick the landing in Pam and say, action. You know, and I would just. I couldn't speak. I was. I. Yeah, I mean they're fond memories, but I also was. I was immobilized by Kobe's visionary just. I mean she would. You could monetize this in some way. Kobe, like if acting stops. You know what I'm saying? Like, I think you could write like just the filthiest romance novels.

[Cobie Smulders]

I think there's a two part self help book. Yeah, you write the self help book is walk it off. And then there's a filth book that follows that up.

[Josh Radnor]

I'm telling you, you have a real talent for spinning the dirtiest webs of narrative that I've ever. It was always shocking to me. Delightful in its own way.

[Cobie Smulders]

Were these like elaborately detailed, like romantic, like, like, like a romance novel type of. Like, here's the. Here's the. The steps that led up to this moment.

[Craig Thomas]

We just let you know. But this is between Josh and I. Do you know what I mean? Like, this is. This is a moment in time. And only Josh and I know exactly what was said and the context of what was said and how it was delivered. But now you know what?

[Josh Radnor]

Your imagination is free to wander.

[Craig Thomas]

Waking up in bed at any time or.

[Cobie Smulders]

I had no idea.

[Craig Thomas]

That's.

[Cobie Smulders]

That's what we're sitting over there 50ft over there when, you know, video village. Having no idea what was going on. You're saying you said so quietly, we couldn't hear it in here. This is the best. We're breaking news here for How I Met yout Mother. Fans, we are breaking news. Headlines.

[Craig Thomas]

This is the stuff they want.

[Cobie Smulders]

Big headlines. Spinning headlines.

[Josh Radnor]

And I'm also incredibly breakable. Like, I'm not. I'm easy to break, but I think probably in some of the blooper reels, when you see me laughing, it's probably in response to something. It might be.

[Cobie Smulders]

If you see us now, I'll know when I see this. Yeah, Kobe, you can lose it. You. You could lose it in a blooper.

[Craig Thomas]

I. It takes nothing. Yeah, it took nothing for me to totally lose it.

[Josh Radnor]

Well, it wasn't only that. Sometimes you would get the thing where you. You needed 12 minutes to recover. Like, you couldn't pull yourself together.

[Craig Thomas]

Yeah, 100%. And I. And I. And I.

[Cobie Smulders]

That's the best, though. It's such a great feeling.

[Craig Thomas]

It's a cycle though, right? Because it happens. And then you're like, don't laugh. You're like telling yourself, don't laugh. And then you enter into a phase which you're like, I'm so unprofessional. And you're sort of like self sham. Like, I'm the youngest one here and they all know what they're doing and I can't not laugh. And Jason would break me real quick. Like, Jason would just. He would say also Jason would always be like kind of singing around me and like. And I'd have to be like, oh, it's so annoying. You know, it's easy when you're like, laugh. There's something that makes sense that you're laughing about.

[Josh Radnor]

What was the episode, I think it's in first season, but where Marshall had these pants that Lily wanted him to get rid of of. And they were like. They were like big, flowy pattern pants.

[Craig Thomas]

Oh, they were kind of like empty hammer pants, weren't they? Like.

[Josh Radnor]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. And Jason did a. Did a dance through the room. Living room going.

[Craig Thomas]

He also would. He also broke so much. And that's when it was the hardest, is when he was doing something that broke all of us. And then it would make. He would be anticipating all of us breaking. And then we would.

[Josh Radnor]

I would say Neil had the. Neil had the biggest poker face. Like, Neil would be the. The. He was the last to break, but he would sometimes break, but he was the last.

[Craig Thomas]

No. If you made Neil Break. You were like, oh, I guess I'm doing something very funny.

[Cobie Smulders]

Kofi. Josh and I have talked about this, though. Like, you guys, like, some of what you're describing went into the show. We wouldn't not use those takes. We would sometimes use those moments because you guys were unafraid of laughing at each other. And I think it's part of what created that feeling of this is an authentic friend group. I was just texting Josh this last night. There's something about watching, like, watching the episode, the Duel, to talk about that one. Up next, after you. This is our special Kobe. This is the Kobe episode. We're not talking about any specific episode. No, no. We wanted to just talk to you, which is the best. But I was watching that episode, and I was like, God, you just buy that? These people are friends. They really seem fond of each other. And I think part of it is the process kind of begat that by. We didn't have an audience. You weren't putting it on for a bit. The Friends actors were putting it on for 500 people in bleachers every day, every show. We weren't. And you guys had each other, and you guys making each other laugh and the crew laugh. That's what our laughs were. And we left them in the cut. And I don't you think. I feel like that's part of what made the show work in a weird way?

[Craig Thomas]

Yeah, I would agree with that. And I think because, again, it creates this intimacy because I remember doing scenes and there were certain crew members laugh that I would listen for, mostly in camera, because they were the closest and they were obviously paying the most attention, and you would kind of hear them laugh, and then you would kind of lean into that laugh. But it was when you're doing, you know, a show like Friends and you're doing that, but it's for an audience of people. I think that that energy you're putting out as an actor is bigger because you're like, oh, they really like this. But when you're just doing it for, like, Chris lefontaine, you know, it's a different. They're laughing because they know what you're doing is actually not Robin. They know, like, what you're doing is kind of a bit of a nod to whatever bit we were doing on set. And that kind of creates a wonderful.

[Josh Radnor]

Energy, I think, that we talked about. And I remember we made this decision kind of as a group that we hated when in a comedy people were saying hilarious things and no one laughed. So we made the Decision we like. No, if you're trying to make your friends laugh, we should laugh. And Sue Fetterman cut in. So many reaction shots of people being amused by. And I also think not having the audience, you know, eating candy and amped up, it kept us more like small scale indie film. Like, I mean, how I met your mother could get very broad, but it was also like fairly subtle acting for a sitcom. You know, the two of you, just.

[Cobie Smulders]

While we have the two of you together, I just want to pay you another compliment to make Coby's skin crawl. Koby, you will. So this episode that we're doing right now will sort of be what, Alec, I think seven or eight hymnum episodes in or something like that, right? We're about there. It's about not quite halfway into the season. We just watched and talked about the Slutty Pumpkin episode, Coby. There's this scene at the end of the Slutty Pumpkin where Robin has sort of failed to connect with this guy she's dating down in the bar while Ted is up waiting for the Slutty Pumpkin at the rooftop Halloween party. And. And Robin ends up kind of feeling like the guy leaves her. The guy says, I sense you're not ready to connect on this level and be in a relationship. And he leaves and sort of leaves her wondering something about herself. And she kind of has this moment where she needs a word of advice about life. And she goes. And the tables kind of turn. She kind of goes to Ted. She goes. He climbs up to this roof and Ted's sitting there having seemed very absurd to be waiting for the Slutty Pumpkin like Linus and. And Charlie Brown. But he has this wisdom that she needs in that moment where she comes to Ted and she says, how do you do it, Ted? How do you sit here and have faith that this person, that love is possible, essentially that this person's gonna show up, this person who represents hope. And like, how do you do it? Is there something broken in me that I can't seem to do it? Why can't I do that? Why can't I feel those things? It's such a great scene between the two of you and such an interesting. I think you know, that six episodes in or something where Robin goes from being sort of this object we're talking about, like the tantalizing object, this thing Ted is chasing has decided she's going to be the answer to all his problems. And Robin, you. And we have figured out how to dimensionalize Robin between the pilot and six episodes in Enough that already we're kind of peeling back the onion a little bit and going, like, what is going on underneath for Robin? Who is she really Talk about that moment, or just a moment in general where you started to discover. Like, in that episode, I just was noting Robin is being shown as a flawed, dimensional human being, not the object of what Ted's chasing or projecting on her. She's her own character. I thought you played that vulnerability so well, and that was sort of the first moment that that happened. Do you remember that scene? Or that feeling like, here we're digging into this character a little more?

[Craig Thomas]

I remember that scene a little bit. To be completely honest, I haven't rewatched the show the last time. I've seen every episode.

[Josh Radnor]

There's a podcast that you can rewatch along with if you want to.

[Craig Thomas]

Where can I find it?

[Josh Radnor]

It's called How We Made youe Mother.

[Craig Thomas]

Okay, great. You can just find it anywhere that you get podcasts. Is that right?

[Josh Radnor]

Anywhere you get your podcasts?

[Craig Thomas]

Anywhere you get your podcasts you can just download.

[Josh Radnor]

I'll send you the link.

[Craig Thomas]

You can subscribe probably as well.

[Cobie Smulders]

It works like every other podcast. There's really no. Okay, yeah, yeah, just like every other one.

[Craig Thomas]

Yeah. I mean, I remember that sort of push and pull of Robyn at the beginning of the season, because, you know, she's. She's coming out of thing and she wants to be single, and she's in this new city, and she. She's. She's very career driven, you know, And I think it's like, it's a battle between the head and the heart. You know, she's going, you know, obviously, I want this career, and that requires me to be selfish, and that requires me to not really have emotional availability to people because I'm just, you know, this is my. This is my goal. But I think she meets Ted, and he is just such a catch. And she's asking herself, why? Why am I pushing this away? Why am I having a hard time being intimate? And I don't think that she has really thought about that. I mean, if we think about how she grew up and sort of we get into that in further seasons, the kind of father she had and, you know, not to get too.

[Cobie Smulders]

But we didn't know all of that at those early moments when you still found a way to play it. And then we kind of wrote. We figured it out retroactively because of how you played it, I think.

[Craig Thomas]

Yeah. And I also want to just talk about Josh for a bit, which is like, Josh is So emotionally intelligent. He's obviously intelligent. But there is a depth to Josh as a human and he is so. He's so ready to listen and, and just gives the most wonderful advice. And I feel like even when we first met, if we want to go back to that time specifically, you know, she's a 22 year old girl who's like, you know, and it was so wonderful to be able to partner with somebody who I could talk to about life stuff and also have such a depth of knowledge about the emotional, about humans in general, about relationships. And I think that that was probably what was happening in that scene at that time.

[Josh Radnor]

First off, Cubs. That was so lovely. Thanks. I'm so moved by that. But I also, I think I was 29 when we did the pilot. Maybe you were like 23 and I was 30 by the time we were actually doing it. Or does that sound about right? But, you know, it's funny because I was like, like older than you. But this was also new for me. Like, I had never been on a big, long running TV show. I had done a bunch of pilots. And so we were both in the trenches together. And I think one of the ways I sometimes deal with my discomfort is I try to, like, be advicey and sage, like, and, you know. But you were. I think we were figuring this thing out out together. And I, I have such a strong memory of seeing the first you for the first time, like, walking down the hall when we were about to test together. And I think that, you know, people have always remarked on our chemistry to the point where people insist that I. That I was in love with you. And I think you. I think you know, that that was not true. But I did always feel like you and I had had, like, I don't know, like we met on the first day of basic training or something. Like, I felt like we were in the military together and we, we went through like this life changer together, like side by side. And I, you know, sometimes people would ask about chemistry. Did you ever discuss chemistry? And I'd be like, God, no. Like, I don't. That would be the worst thing you could ever do. Like, I just had a sense that scenes with you and I were gonna be really honest and they were gonna be really thoughtful and we were gonna listen really well together. And I also thought, you know, Jordana made this point about your character, especially in the first season. There's a psychological term called the tantalizing object, which is like the thing that, like, you really want, but it's just out of reach and you can't quite have it. And we all have that romantically. And I think, one thing that I think is fascinating is you met Taryn right before we started this thing and you're still with him. So were not. We didn't have these attachment theory terms when we were doing the show. But like Craig and I have talked that Ted has an anxious attachment wound and, and Robin has an avoidant attachment wound. But in real life actually we were reversed because you, you were like in this really serious long term relationship that you're still in. And I was actually, as you remember from many of our offstage talk, like really confused about relationships, like how I couldn't stay in them. I didn't know how long if I wanted to be in them, if I wanted to ever get married. I've worked through all that. But, but I, I find it fascinating that we were, we were both navigating like love and romance at that time in our lives, but from totally different perspectives than our characters. But I don't know, there, there was just something about I, I, you know, when people ask like if we're friends like with the cast, I say sure, but it's actually family is a better analogy because you don't get to choose your family. You're just thrown together and you have to kind of make this ecosystem work. And you know, there were set was different when you and I had a one on one scene than it was five of us at the bar or you and Neil together or me and Jason. And like there were so many different configurations that changed the energy of what the day was going to be like. But I do, you know, in, in some ways, like if it's the wizard of Oz, like you were the scarecrow for me. Like you were like the first person I met on the journey and I just like, I love you very much and I just, I just want to.

[Cobie Smulders]

Say that same buddy. Oh you guys, I love you both. It's we.

[Craig Thomas]

What.

[Cobie Smulders]

What a gift. How lucky were, how lucky were slash are we We.

[Craig Thomas]

I mean we were so lucky. Like it's so, it's such a, it was such an amazing time and just I, I, I miss it. Like I, I don't like, I don't really miss people go like what do you, what do you miss most of the show and I'm like the people like being able to just go in and, and I think you've touched upon this in, in your podcast already, which is like life happened like people got married, married people met their partners, people Divorced their partners. We had people pass away. You know, it was like, yeah, and.

[Cobie Smulders]

We all went through some. We all went through some journeys and some. Yeah, we really did.

[Craig Thomas]

And so it's.

[Cobie Smulders]

That made it in there too.

[Craig Thomas]

It's just, it was like a lifetime. And when I even say like, we and people ask like, how many seasons did you do? I was like, we did nine seasons. We did nine years.

[Cobie Smulders]

Like, call it a decade of our life. Call it a decade. And we were all living.

[Josh Radnor]

The other thing though, I think somebody think about is, is like everyone sees 22 to 24 minutes of that week that we spent together, but how many hours were we together? Like most of our life was happening not on screen, like even on set life. And people think like, oh, no, it's the five of you. And we try to remind people on the podcast, no, it was 75 of us. You know, there were so many people around and so many people you get like really close to. Like I said, I, Jen Turchi didn't even do my makeup, but I'm still like, we're still in touch, you know, like, I just adore her and I gave a toast at her wedding. You know, like, you really get woven into people's lives in a way that is not. The public's never going to get how intimate and how sweet a well functioning set can be, but they do.

[Cobie Smulders]

I think they, but they, they don't know it, but they feel it in the show either. That made it into this show. I don't know. It makes. It's not like that on every creative endeavor but this one, it just filtered in. I just had this sense memory of this feeling of walking down to set as I'm looking at the two of you, loving you and missing you guys both. And like just this feeling of missing working with you. I mean, walking down to set knowing I was going to get to shoot, let's say that scene in the Slutty Pumpkin, the two of you up on the roof, or that scene at the end of episode two, the Purple Giraffe, where Robin sort of is saying, essentially, Kobe, what we started this podcast with, which is, can I be part of your group? She's saying, I know I'm not saying I'm gonna date you, but it's too bad because I don't have friends here. And there's this wonderful moment where Ted says, come down with us to the bar tonight. You know, it was like, it was like he said, maybe in a couple months we'll talk. And she's like, And Robyn's heartbroken for a second. She knows it's not gonna happen. Then he says, or tonight. Come down, drink with us tonight. It's this lovely moment where she's invited into the group. And it felt like you being invited into the show and just like, knowing, I got to go shoot scenes with the two of you. I mean, what a gift. As a writer, I know Carter very much felt the same way. It's just like, I get to go shoot a scene with these two today on that roof. It's going to be fucking great. And it's just. What. It's the best writing gets. It's the best making something gets. Is that feeling. So thank you, guys. What a gift.

[Craig Thomas]

Thank you.

[Cobie Smulders]

Thank you, Craig. Yeah, we love you. We all, Carter and I, we're just the luckiest writers and all of the writers in our world.

[Craig Thomas]

Feeling spiritual.

[Josh Radnor]

Kobe, we adore you. We talk about you every week. Will you come back soon? We'll get an episode. A juicy Robin episode.

[Craig Thomas]

I know I gotta come back for the Robin Sparkles one. I mean, we're gonna have a lot. We didn't even really touch upon that. And.

[Cobie Smulders]

And who wants you back for that one? This guy right here.

[Craig Thomas]

We gotta be reunited. Yeah. I mean, and.

[Cobie Smulders]

And he's gonna talk some about you. He's got some. He says your honest behavior.

[Craig Thomas]

Can I be honest? You know, he's standing right there. Really difficult to work with. With.

[Josh Radnor]

He was telling us what you were whispering in his ear right before each scene.

[Craig Thomas]

Worst guest star I think we had on the show, to be honest.

[Josh Radnor]

No, that was.

[Craig Thomas]

No, no, honestly, thank you, guys. Thank you guys for starting this podcast because it's so nice to jump into a time in my life where it was just. It was so fun and worked with such amazing people and. And just revisiting all these memories, you know, of. Of times gone by. It's. It's. It's. It's a wonderful. It's a wonderful journey. So thank you.

[Josh Radnor]

Yeah, we. I actually texted Alec and Craig because I had this revelation that, like, we're kind of doing an oral history of how I met your mother. Like, we're. We're going back and we're unearthing these memories and. And these revelations that we've had. I mean, one of the things is, like, the show is a lot about time and change, and when we made the show, we were one way. First season, when we ended the show, we were different. Our lives looked different. Everything looked different. And now, 11 years on, from the ending of the show 20 years on from when we started. Things also look a lot different. I mean, it's an astonishing thing to grow with a piece of art and have it change as we change. And that's what we're doing here. And you. This show is not anything. I mean, it's unimaginable without you. So we want to have you back. We want to keep talking about it, and we, we both love you very. We love you very dearly.

[Cobie Smulders]

We'll do an episode next time, but we needed. We needed to just talk to you this time. We just wanted you all to ourselves. So thank you for. Yeah, next time we'll talk about an episode.

[Craig Thomas]

Thank you. And thank you, Alec, and thank you, Josh, and thank you, Craig, for having me. It's a pleasure to see you. And. And let's do it again.

[Josh Radnor]

Well, we've concluded that Kobe Smulders remains as delightful as ever. There's no. There's no dim to her wattage over the years.

[Cobie Smulders]

There's no dim. There's no dim. There's no dimmer. It's all brightness.

[Josh Radnor]

Yeah.

[Cobie Smulders]

Enjoy. She's the best. The best of the best.

[Josh Radnor]

What a sweet time that was to be with her. And she'll be back on. So thank you, Kobe, for joining us. And Craig, we've all. We've all had other projects, and so I made them.

[Cobie Smulders]

We have. We have. You know, here's.

[Josh Radnor]

What are you. What have you been working on lately?

[Cobie Smulders]

Here's the organic thing. I'm going to work into this conversation that we call a C block to end our episode. Hey, everyone, if you like Josh and Koby together, you'll have another opportunity besides himyim and this podcast. Podcast to see that. Hear that is what I should say. I wrote a book. I haven't talked about it yet on the podcast I wrote. My debut novel is coming out through HarperCollins Hanover Square Press on November 4th of this year. It's called that's not how it Happened. And it is told from multiple points of view, four different points of view of a family, two parents and two kids that are like a teenager and a young adult with down syndrome in his 20s, like 24. And there are these four wonderful characters. And for the audiobook, we're going to cast four actors to read the four parts. And two of those actors, the parent roles who are named Rob and Paige, will be played by none other in the audiobook by Josh Radner and Cobie Smulders. So there's how I met your mother.

[Josh Radnor]

I thought I was playing the Teenager. But it's fine. I feel I can.

[Cobie Smulders]

And the looks.

[Josh Radnor]

I still think I can still play teenager.

[Cobie Smulders]

Beard.

[Josh Radnor]

You take this.

[Cobie Smulders]

Take the beard off.

[Josh Radnor]

You take this beard off, you knock the gray out of the temples. I am.

[Cobie Smulders]

I think you definitely are.

[Josh Radnor]

Give me a JanSport. I am ready to go.

[Cobie Smulders]

A JanSport. A Trapper Keeper. You were a teenager in the 1980s, though. All of a sudden it's a period piece. The book's not actually. No. This book means the world to me. It is my favorite thing I've ever written besides How I Met yout Mother. And Josh and Kobi have agreed to sort of do a mini How I Met yout Mother reunion in the audiobook of my book. It's called that's Not How It Happened. It comes out November 4th. You can pre order it now. You can pre order the audiobook or the book. Book. And I would love it to mean the world to me if people listening to this podcast would check it out.

[Josh Radnor]

And pre orders are very important in the literary world. So if you can see why.

[Cobie Smulders]

I'm glad you brought Josh. This is Our most organic 2 minutes of the podcast so far. Yes, Josh, true. Pre orders are important.

[Josh Radnor]

Go back to your announcer voice, that totally natural announcer voice you were doing earlier.

[Cobie Smulders]

I was really nailing that. No, it is. It's important. Pre ordering it helps boost the book's visibility wherever you buy books. Amazon, bookshop.org, barnes & Noble. It just lifts the book and gets it in front of more eyeballs if people pre order it. So it means a lot to me. I think How I Met Some Other Fans will really like this book. It jumps around, it's playful in its storytelling, and it's switching of perspectives in a way that I think how much mother fans will like.

[Josh Radnor]

And it's got how in the title. The word how.

[Cobie Smulders]

It's got how in the title. I didn't really mean to do that, but everything I read has how in the title. And yeah, it means the world to me. It's inspired by my son. There's an element in the book that is about being a family that has a child, that has a disability. In this case down syndrome. That's not exactly what my son has. My son has something different called Jacobson Syndrome. There's some overlaps in those experiences. And so I just wrote this book, you know, inspired by parts of my life, but it's also this work of fiction and it's. It's been the last couple years of my life and I am so thrilled that it's getting out into the world in a few short months. So anyway, I wanted to mention it.

[Josh Radnor]

I'm so thrilled for you and I'm so happy that Kobi and I can help you.

[Cobie Smulders]

I love you guys.

[Josh Radnor]

Into the world. Hey, I have a question. How much did you. How much did you pull from your own own kind of experience or with Elliot, or how much research did you do into down syndrome?

[Cobie Smulders]

I pulled a lot from my experience with Elliot. But also Elliot has grown up in this wonderful inclusion school since kindergarten that was founded by four moms of kids with down syndrome. And these moms felt like there wasn't just right school for their kids. There wasn't a school that kind of saw and elevated and saw what their kids were capable of. And they had bad experiences in trying to find that. And they said. And this inspired me so much. And this is kind of in the book. They said, let's create a space and a world for our kids. And one of the characters in my book, the mother in the book Paige, she does that. She sort of creates an endeavor that can be a place, not a school, but it's a place where her young adult son with down syndrome can work. It's this coffee shop which is also based on some amazing people I know in the Berkshires. I'm going to give them a shout out that do this. They created this coffee shop for their child with a disability. They're young adults with a disability. And they created a coffee shop called Extra Special Teas that has two locations in the Berkshires. And just getting to know them a little bit and seeing what they did with that kind of informed one of the characters journey as the mother who literally does that essentially in my book. So, yeah, Elliot, my son, the experience of raising him is in the book, but just the osmosis of all of these amazing people. When you have a child with a disability, at first you feel so alone and you feel so overwhelmed. You don't know how you can possibly do it. And then you realize one of the answers to that question, how can you possibly get through this and do this and know how to do it? Is you just get to absorb all of this amazing wisdom and positivity and creativity from all of these other people you meet within the disability community. So I tried to put all of that in the book. The parts that are about Elliot and the parts that are just me being inspired by other people. And there's also an element of Hollywood in the book. There's sort of. It's the plot of the book is that there's a movie being made about the life story of this family. So I have fun with sort of the Hollywood part of my life, and I have fun with sort of like the disability parenthood part of my life. I sort of brought these two huge worlds that have been essentially my entire adult life and put them together in this book. And it's a comedy, but I hope it's poignant and, you know, it reminds me of. I'll stop selling it now.

[Josh Radnor]

What was the Simpsons where the production came to town and the end is, they say, like, we're just simple folk from Hollywood and these. These small town grifters took us for all we're worth or something. We just wanted to tell a story, a pure story. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I. I love that about the school. It reminds me of something they say in 12 step that someone told me that if you're not hearing at a meeting what you need to hear, you have to be the one to share it.

[Cobie Smulders]

Right.

[Josh Radnor]

And it's just kind of like if it doesn't exist and you need it in the world, like, make it. Like that's almost the thing. Like, there's that quote. Is it a Howard Thurman quote where he says, find out where your deep hunger and the world. No, where your deep joy and the world's deep hunger meet.

[Cobie Smulders]

Right.

[Josh Radnor]

You know?

[Cobie Smulders]

Yes, yes. Yeah.

[Josh Radnor]

Like, this sounds like a book that you would have loved to have read when Elliot was young.

[Cobie Smulders]

This is a book I would have loved to have read the day after my son got his diagnosis of having a rare genetic syndrome. But I also hope that it's a book that will speak to every family anywhere. It's really a comedic novel about a family, and there happens to be this disability piece in it, too, and there happens to be this piece that there's a movie being made about them. But essentially, the book will only have been a success if it speaks to every family and every person everywhere. So I hope that's what it does.

[Josh Radnor]

It's a tall order, but that was my goal.

[Cobie Smulders]

I'm sure the Internet will tell me all.

[Josh Radnor]

Can we also plug that we're supporting research from Dr. Paul Grossfeld?

[Cobie Smulders]

Yeah, yeah, Dr. Paul Grossfeld. He is the doctor who specializes in my son's condition, Jacobson syndrome, But he works to help all kids with congenital heart issues and sort of has a subspecialty in my son's sort of branch of having congenital heart issues and other things with this rare syndrome. But he's a pediatric cardiologist. And we're raising money to support his lab and his research. Search on the podcast. You can go to our website. You can go to how Alec, tell me the name of it again.

[Josh Radnor]

You can go to how we made your mother and then on the top if you click on make a difference you'll find the link there.

[Cobie Smulders]

You click okay, I just want to make sure I said the words right. Click on make a difference and that's a way to support that work.

[Josh Radnor]

So listeners, you have your homework. Pre order Craig's book Preorder a book that's not how it Happened that's not how it Happened that's not how it Happened by Craig Thomas. And also if you're feeling jealous, generous, please go to how we madeyourmother.com make a difference and donate to Dr. Grossfeld's work. He is a real hero and has been to Craig's family and so many others. And yeah, thank you for listening. Tell your friends. Join us next week. We're thrilled to be making our way through this show with you and thanks for joining us and we'll see you next time. I am guilty, please acquit me. All sins are forgiven in New York City. How we made your Mother is hosted and executive produced by Josh Radner and Craig Thomas. The show was produced by me, Alec Lev and our co producer is Doug Matica. Our audio producer and mixer is Alex Reeves at Point of Blue Studios and a our digital content producer, AKA Gen Z Master is Emily Blumberg. Artwork by John Morrow. Please follow rate and review the show on Apple Podcasts or your podcast player of choice. It really does help the show. Our theme song is NYC by our own Josh Radner with additional music by Craig Thomas and Andrew Majewski. Special thanks to Lola Kennedy and Elliot Connors. Visit hi how we made your mother.com to sign up for our substack mailing list and for links to our social media. You can also click on the contact page to send us an email or a voice message. Your stories and questions are an important part of the show. Want some merch? Click on the store link or go to howyougetyourmerch.com subscribe to Josh Radner's Muse Letters on Substack. Order Craig Thomas debut novel at Craig Thomas Thomas writer.com novel and you can subscribe to My Dead Fathers Society also on Substack to learn about how you make a difference, this show's ongoing campaign to raise money for congenital heart disease research. Check out the Make a Difference tab at the top of our website. This episode was made possible by the support of Backyard Ventures. People will in fact dance the real question it just hit me. Am I in love with you or just New York City? Going to the gym can be discouraging, especially if you're putting in the work but barely seeing changes. But with Tonal, you can actually see your progress with every workout. Tonal provides the convenience of a full gym and the expertise of a personal trainer anytime at home with one sleek system system designed to reduce your mental load. Tonal is the ultimate strength training system, helping you focus less on workout planning and more on getting results. No more second guessing your technique. Tonal gives you real time coaching cues to dial in your form and help you lift safely and effectively. After a quick assessment, Tonal sets the optimal weight for every move and adjusts in 1 pound increments as you get stronger so you're always challenged. Tonal lets you choose from a variety of expert LED workouts, workouts from strength to arrow hit to yoga and mobility to keep you coming back for more. For a limited time, go to Tonal.com to get $500 off your Tonal purchase plus a free four year warranty. That's Tonal.com for $500 off plus a free four year warranty.

[Craig Thomas]

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