Ted Mosby

Theodore Evelyn "Ted" Mosby is a fictional character in the U.S. television sitcom How I Met Your Mother, portrayed by Josh Radnor. Ted also serves as the show's narrator from the future, voiced by Bob Saget, as he tells his children the "long version" of how he met their mother. 2Character overview Ted is the central character of the show. Born April 25, 1978, he is from Shaker Heights, Ohio (like show creator Carter Bays), a graduate of Wesleyan University (like Bays and show co-creator Craig Thomas), an Eagle Scout, and an architect. After his best friend Marshall Eriksen gets engaged in the pilot episode, Ted decides to try to find his soulmate. This quest informs the general direction of the show, along with Ted's relationship with the other main characters Marshall Eriksen (Jason Segel), Lily Aldrin (Alyson Hannigan), Robin Scherbatsky (Cobie Smulders), and Barney Stinson (Neil Patrick Harris). 3Personality Ted's character is based largely on the show's creator, Carter Bays, with the friendship between him and fellow creator Craig Thomas being the base for the friendship between Ted and Marshall. His personality is also partially based on Ross Geller from the NBC sitcom Friends, including Ted's original profession as an archaeologist being similar to Ross' profession as a paleontologist. His profession was later changed to be an architect, due to the writers having difficulties fitting his profession as an archaeologist in a New York setting. Ted is prone to questionable romantic gestures; in the pilot episode, for example, he steals a blue French horn (nicknamed "The Smurf Penis") that was a topic of conversation in his first date with Robin, and then scares Robin off by telling her he is in love with he