On Feb. 16 at the Pace NYC campus, Pace students and viewers across America were invited to tune into Bravo TV’s Inside the Actor’s Studio in a tell-all interview of the How I Met Your Mother (HIMYM) cast.
The sitcom’s narrator and protagonist, Ted Mosby, recalls the series of events that led him to meeting the mother of his children and includes the challenges that he and his group of friends are faced with while living in Manhattan. Since its airing in 2005, HIMYM has been nominated 28 times for an Emmy (winning 9) and twice for a Golden Globe. Competition for a ticket was stiff as loyal viewers “suited up” to face the frigid, February weather in hopes of attaining a seat in the heated auditorium. Lines wrapped around the building’s exterior and Pace’s lobby was packed with devoted fans.
“We’ve been camping out here since this afternoon,” freshman theater major Maggie Kolmer said. “I don’t care, I will do absolutely anything to be in the same room as Neil Patrick Harris.”
Not one seat remained vacant in the audience as Inside the Actor’s Studio host, James Lipton, engaged the cast of primetime television’s HIMYM in a candid discussion of its history.
“It’s amazing where sniffing coke off a stripper’s ass has gotten me,” said Neil Patrick Harris, who plays Ted’s womanizing, best friend.
It was at this point that Marshall, Lilly, and the troublesome triangle of Robin, Ted and Barney came to life before the eyes of the Inside the Actor’s Studio audience; the HIMYM gang presented itself one more time.
“[James Lipton] asks very interesting and relatable questions,” sophomore communications major Iryna Shirvinski said. “This is my second time coming to one of these. Lipton really gets great conversation going with the actors. It’s fun because you feel so close to [the panel] by the end of the taping.”
Lipton tailored the interview from that of one between actors and a host to a panel of in-character cast members interacting with their viewers.
Additionally, Allyson Hannigan and Cobie Smulders, Ted’s best female friend and former girlfriend, fervently shared a kiss to prove the legitimacy of their on and off screen love for each other. The crowd went absolutely… wait for it…wild. The two girls were not the only ones who expressed genuine on and off screen affection. Jason Segal, who plays Marshall Erickson and Lily’s husband, articulated his true feelings about his on-screen romance.
“After nine years of filming, you know, you have to imagine that the chemistry is what kept us going,” Segal said.
The emotion of the cast was reflected in the audience throughout the duration of the show. Cast members revealed real-life sentiment as the audience unanimously responded in accordance.
The Inside The Actor’s Studio served to cap off the ninth and final season of HIMYM. A spinoff of HIMYM, How I Met Your Dad is in the works and will star actress Greta Gerwig as Ted’s female counterpart.