How I Met Your Mother is a sitcom wherein, as the title suggests, Ted Mosby recounts to his children the events that led him to meet their mother.
The premise of the show which premiered between 2005 to 2014 isn’t complex enough to stretch the series to nine seasons without making things repetitive and sluggish. However, thanks to its charming cast, which brilliantly adds the nostalgia angle to Mosby’s story, the series proved to be a huge success.
Ted, Barney, Robin, Lily, and Marshall all resonated with fans in different ways, touching on many mundane issues through their own funny adventures. Trademark catchphrases and recurring jokes from the likes of Cobie Smulders’ Robin and Neil Patrick Harris’ Barney also kept loyal fans glued to the series right till the end.
Why ‘How I Met Your Mother’ Star Cobie Smulders Lied to Everyone About Her Injury
Cobie Smulders played tomboyish Robin Scherbatsky, who loves to make inside jokes with Ted (saluting whenever someone uses a military rank in any context) and throughout the series puts down Barney, in a friendly way, with her one-liners. And to protect herself from becoming the butt of the joke, she does her best to keep her emotions and life issues close to her chest.
Turns out, Smulders was the same when she was a teenager in Canada. During an appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, she talked about how she once broke her elbow and did her best to hide the injury from her mother.
Smulders admitted she was a huge fan of Aerosmith music videos at the time. In their Cryin’ video, she saw Alicia Silverstone karate kick a guy who stole her purse. She found the movie very cool and tried to re-create it in her basement. The actress recalled:
“I did it and I kicked it, and I fell and I broke my elbow. It was like end of summer, going back into the seventh grade, which is a big deal in Canada cause you are, like in last year of elementary school, so you’re like top dog. And I was like, ‘I cannot go to school with a cast on.’ So my plan was I was not going to tell my mother anything. I was just going to hide it. I got through it for a couple of hours, and then as soon as she came home, I was like [sobbing] ‘Mommy, I hurt myself.’ ‘I think I’m really hurt.'”
The young Smulders had to eventually get a cast, and things turned out just fine.
Cobie Smulders Came Close to Working With Alicia Silverstone
Smulders was a huge fan of Aerosmith and as a result, also found Silverstone very cool. Apart from Cryin’ the Clueless star went on to feature in two more videos for the iconic band and her near-perfect appearances as a bold teen heroine worked wonders at the time.
Interestingly, the How I Met Your Mother actress, who broke her elbow copying Silverstone’s stunt, came very close to working on the same set, as the music video sensation was originally cast as Stella Zinman, who leaves Ted at the altar.
From following her moves as a kid in an elementary school to working on the same set would’ve certainly been poetic. However, it was reported (via IMDb) at the time that after learning Britney Spears would also feature in the show as her receptionist, Silverstone’s representatives convinced her to snub the opportunity because they didn’t want her appearance to be overshadowed by the famous singer. Sarah Chalke ended up playing the role.
Source: The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, IMDb
