Joshua Thomas[1] Radnor (born July 29, 1974)[2] is an American actor, filmmaker, author, and musician. He is best known for portraying Ted Mosby on the Emmy Award–winning CBSsitcomHow I Met Your Mother (2005–2014). He made his writing and directorial debut with the 2010 comedy drama film Happythankyoumoreplease, for which he won the Sundance Film Festival Audience Award and was nominated for the Grand Jury Prize.
Radnor was born in Columbus, Ohio, to a Jewish family, the son of Carol Radnor (née Hirsch), a high school counselor, and Alan Radnor, a medical malpractice lawyer.[3] Radnor has two sisters.[4]
In July 2008, he starred opposite Jennifer Westfeldt in the premiere of the play Finks,[14] written by Joe Gilford and directed by Charlie Stratton for New York Stage and Film. Radnor made his directorial debut with the film Happythankyoumoreplease, where he was both the writer and star of the 2010 comedy-drama.[15]
His second directorial effort, Liberal Arts, starring himself and Elizabeth Olsen, premiered at the Sundance Film Festival on January 22, 2012.[16] Radnor appeared in the Broadway production of Disgraced, which opened October 23, 2014, at the Lyceum Theatre.[17][18] He is set to direct the sci-fi thriller film The Leaves.[19] From 2016 to 2017 he played Dr. Jedediah Foster in the historical medical drama Mercy Street on PBS.[20]
In October 2016, Radnor also confirmed he is in a band, Radnor and Lee, with Australian musician Ben Lee. Radnor and Lee had known each other for "twelve or thirteen years after meeting on the set of How I Met Your Mother" eventually writing songs together.[21] Their debut album, Radnor & Lee was released on November 10, 2017,[22] "receiving widespread praise across the board, and cementing the duo as an accomplished pair of artists," stated Rolling Stone.[23] On February 19, 2020, Spin announced Radnor and Lee's sophomore album, Golden State, out on Flower Moon Records, and premiered the first single "Outside In."[24] American Songwriter later premiered the video for the album's 2nd single, "Simple Harmony." Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the album's release date was pushed back to June 2020.[25] Radnor's debut solo EP, One More Then I'll Let You Go, was released on April 16, 2021, on Flower Moon Records. Rolling Stone premiered the first single, "The High Road," March 10, 2021, calling it a "gently lilting ballad about the breakdown of a friendship on which he sings... which features deep textures of piano, acoustic guitar, organ, and snapping fingers."[26] The EP's 2nd single, "You Feel New," premiered on March 31, 2021, with features in Rolling Stone, NPR, American Songwriter and Paste Magazine.[27]
Radnor is an avid Cloud Cult fan. He collaborated with the band to make the film The Seeker in 2016. Radnor explained, "What's true for me about a lot of music, but especially true for Cloud Cult's music, is that it stirs up the thing that's already in you and calls it out. If this film is able to do that, I'll sleep well at night."[33][34]
Radnor married clinical psychologist Jordana J. Jacobs on January 6, 2024.[35]
Filmography
Key
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Denotes productions that have not yet been released
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