Cobie Smulders’ portrayal of Robin Scherbatsky in the CBS sitcom How I Met Your Mother (2005-2014) is one of the most iconic and beloved in television history. For nine seasons, Smulders brought to life Robin’s complex and relatable character.
This Canadian actress not only brought her charm and charisma to the role but also made Robin an iconic character that fans still adore long after the series concluded. Robin’s signature catchphrases, like “But…um,” and her distinctive Canadian accent became integral to the show’s humor, and Smulders delivered them flawlessly.
The Writers Wanted to Make Cobie Smulders’ Portrayal More Canadian
Cobie Smulders‘ portrayal of Robin Scherbatsky in the iconic television series How I Met Your Mother is widely celebrated for its ability to blend the character’s Canadian roots with an exotic allure.
In an interview with George Stephanopoulos of CBC (Via Strombo), Cobie Smulders stated how the writers approached her and told her what they thought of the character of Robin Scherbatsky:
“They came to me and said you know second season we are thinking about making Robin a Canadian and I said ‘Okay,’ and they said that it’s exotic and I was like…never been called that in my life.”
“They’re like, ‘Yeah, it’s a good way to sort of shed light on some of the great things about Canada.'”
Cobie Smulders’ decision to infuse an exotic twist into her portrayal of Robin Scherbatsky had a significant impact on How I Met Your Mother. It allowed the show to explore a broader range of comedic and dramatic situations, as well as to delve into Robin’s multifaceted personality.
Cobie Smulders Wasn’t too concerned about Playing the Character, Rather She Enjoyed it
The actress was worried about the fact that most of the Canadians would feel insulted by what she said on that show. Often in the show, her character was used to show the typical Canadian stereotypes while also subtly making jokes about the country.
She said in the interview:
“I worry that Canadians are somewhat insulted by what I say on the show at times. Because I kind of am, I’m like okay guys let’s tone it down a bit… And then the following episode was like so great… Robin was like… we have universal health care in our school system and all these great things… and then literally the next episode was like… we had one episode and then it was just from then on just trashing our country.”
However, she was not worried about playing the character. During a Q&A with Ophra.com back in 2009, the actress said,
“It’s fun. It’s definitely quirky… My entire storyline was spitting out Canada-isms… I’m always throwing out sayings or things that nobody’s ever heard of because they’re Canadian. And then there’s Robin Sparkles, who was only a star in Canada, but that storyline’s a whole thing unto itself.”
And, it became a fan-favorite character.
How I Met Your Mother can be streamed on Amazon Prime.
