Josh Radnor | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Radnor at the 2013 Comic-Con Convention | |
| Born | Joshua Thomas Radnor[1] (1974-07-29)July 29, 1974 (age 50)[2] Columbus, Ohio, U.S. |
| Education | Kenyon College(BA) New York University(MFA) |
| Occupations |
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| Years active | 2000–present |
| Spouse | |
Joshua Thomas Radnor (born July 29, 1974) is an American actor, filmmaker, author, and musician. He is best known for portrayingTed Mosby on theEmmy Award–winningCBSsitcomHow I Met Your Mother (2005–2014). He made his writing and directorial debut with the 2010 comedy drama filmHappythankyoumoreplease, for which he won theSundance Film Festival Audience Award and was nominated for the Grand Jury Prize.
In 2012, he wrote, directed and starred in his second film,Liberal Arts, which premiered at the2012 Sundance Film Festival. In 2014, Radnor portrayed Isaac in the Broadway playDisgraced, which was nominated for theTony Award for Best Play. He then starred as Dr. Jedediah Foster on thePBSAmerican Civil War drama seriesMercy Street, Lou Mazzuchelli in the musical seriesRise, and as Lonny Flash inHunters. In 2024, he returned to theater acting in theItamar Moses playThe Ally atThe Public Theater.
Radnor was born inColumbus, 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]
He grew up inBexley, Ohio, a suburb of Columbus, and was raised inConservative Judaism.[5] He attended the OrthodoxJewish day schoolColumbus Torah Academy before going toBexley High School[6][7][8] and thenKenyon College, where his school's theater department presented him with thePaul Newman Award and during which he spent a semester (Spring 1995) training at theNational Theater Institute at the Eugene O'Neill Theater Center inWaterford, Connecticut. He graduated from Kenyon with aBachelor of Arts in drama in 1996.[9] Radnor received hisMaster of Fine Arts degree in acting fromNew York University's graduate acting program at theTisch School of the Arts in 1999.[9][10] Radnor participated in an Israel experience program inTzfat withLivnot U'Lehibanot in 1997.[6]
Radnor was cast as the lead inThe WB seriesOff Centre. However, the role was re-cast withEddie Kaye Thomas before the first episode aired.[11] In 2002, he made hisBroadway debut in the stage version ofThe Graduate, succeedingJason Biggs, oppositeKathleen Turner andAlicia Silverstone. In 2004, Radnor starred inThe Paris Letter alongside his futureHow I Met Your Mother co-starNeil Patrick Harris.[12] From 2005 to 2014, Radnor starred asTed Mosby in theCBSsitcomHow I Met Your Mother, his biggest role to date. The series ran for nine seasons and revolved around friends living inNew York City and finding love. He acted alongsideCobie Smulders,Neil Patrick Harris,Jason Segel, andAlyson Hannigan.[13]
In July 2008, he starred oppositeJennifer Westfeldt in the premiere of the playFinks,[14] written by Joe Gilford and directed by Charlie Stratton for New York Stage and Film. Radnor made his directorial debut with the filmHappythankyoumoreplease, where he was both the writer and star of the 2010 comedy-drama.[15]His second directorial effort,Liberal Arts, starring himself andElizabeth Olsen, premiered at theSundance Film Festival on January 22, 2012.[16] Radnor appeared in theBroadway production ofDisgraced, which opened October 23, 2014, at theLyceum Theatre.[17][18] He is set to direct the sci-fi thriller filmThe Leaves.[19] From 2016 to 2017 he played Dr. Jedediah Foster in the historical medical dramaMercy Street onPBS.[20]
In October 2016, Radnor also confirmed he is in a band,Radnor and Lee, with Australian musicianBen Lee. Radnor and Lee had known each other for "twelve or thirteen years after meeting on the set ofHow 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," statedRolling Stone.[23] On February 19, 2020,Spin announcedRadnor 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 theCOVID-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 inRolling Stone,NPR,American Songwriter andPaste Magazine.[27]
From 2020 to 2023 he starred as Lonny FlashAmazon Prime series,Hunters acting alongsideLogan Lerman andAl Pacino.[28] He voiced Durpleton in theNetflix animated seriesCentaurworld (2021). He took a recurring role as Adam one of the protagonists friends, in theFX on Hulu limited seriesFleishman Is in Trouble (2022). He acted alongsideJesse Eisenberg,Lizzy Caplan, andAdam Brody.[29] The series went on to receive a nomination for thePrimetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Limited or Anthology Series.[30] In 2024 Radnor returned to theatre starring in theItamar Moses playThe Ally directed byLila Neugebauer atThe Public Theatre.[31]
In 2008, Radnor told theLos Angeles Times, "I doTranscendental Meditation, and part of the reason I chose my house is that I thought it would be a great place to meditate."[32]
Radnor is an avidCloud Cult fan. He collaborated with the band to make the filmThe 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]
| † | Denotes productions that have not yet been released |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | Not Another Teen Movie | Tour Guide | |
| 2008 | The Negotiating Table | WGA Negotiator | Short film |
| 2010 | Happythankyoumoreplease | Sam Wexler | Also director and writer |
| 2012 | Liberal Arts | Jesse Fisher | Also director, writer and producer |
| 2013 | Afternoon Delight | Jeff | |
| 2013 | The Galapagos Affair: Satan Came to Eden | John Garth (voice) | Documentary |
| 2016 | The Seeker | Father | Also executive producer |
| 2018 | Social Animals | Paul | |
| 2023 | Three Birthdays | Rob | |
| 2024 | All Happy Families | Graham Landry |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | Welcome to New York | Doug | Episode: "The Crier" |
| 2001 | Off Centre | Mike Platt | Unaired pilot |
| 2002 | Law & Order | Robert Kitson | Episode: "Access Nation" |
| 2002 | The Court | Dylan Hirsch | 3 episodes |
| 2003 | ER | Keith | Episode: "The Advocate" |
| 2003 | Six Feet Under | Will Jaffe | Episode: "The Trap" |
| 2003 | Miss Match | Andrew Gilbert | Episode: "I Got You Babe" |
| 2005 | Judging Amy | Justin Barr | Episode: "Too Little, Too Late" |
| 2005–14 | How I Met Your Mother | Ted Mosby | Main role (208 episodes) |
| 2007, 2009 | Family Guy | Ted Mosby (voice) | Episodes: "No Chris Left Behind" "Peter's Progress" |
| 2013 | Malviviendo | Himself/cameo | Episode: "La cosa está muy negra" |
| 2016–17 | Mercy Street | Dr. Jedediah Foster | Main role (12 episodes) |
| 2018 | Rise | Lou Mazzuchelli | Main role (10 episodes) |
| 2018 | Grey's Anatomy | John | Episode: "Momma Knows Best" |
| 2020–23 | Hunters | Lonny Flash | Main role (18 episodes) |
| 2021 | Centaurworld | Durpleton (voice) | Main role (18 episodes) |
| 2022 | Fleishman Is in Trouble | Adam | Recurring (5 Episodes) |
| Year | Title | Artist | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | "Let Me Be Your Girl" | Rachael Yamagata | Director[36] |
| 2017 | "Be Like the Being" | Radnor and Lee | Director |
| 2021 | "Afternoon" | Cinders | Director |
| Year | Title | Role | Location | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | The Graduate | Benjamin Braddock | Plymouth Theatre, Broadway | [37] |
| 2004 | The Paris Letter | Sam Arlen / Young Sandy | Kirk Douglas Theater | |
| 2011 | She Loves Me | Georg Nowack | Stephen Sondheim Theatre, Broadway | [37] |
| 2014–2015 | Disgraced | Isaac | Lyceum Theatre, Broadway | [38] |
| 2016 | The Babylon Line | Aaron Port | Lincoln Center Theatre | [39] |
| 2018 | Little Shop of Horrors | Seymour Krelborn | Kennedy Center | [40] |
| 2024 | The Ally | Asaf | The Public Theatre | [41] |
| Year | Association | Category | Project | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | Sundance Film Festival | Audience Award | Happythankyoumoreplease | Won | |
| Grand Jury Award | Nominated | ||||
| 2011 | Georgia Film Critics Association | Breakthrough Award | Nominated | [42] | |
| 2013 | Midwest Independent Film Festival | Best Feature | Liberal Arts | Won | [43] |
| Best Director | Won | ||||
| Best Actor | Nominated | ||||
| Best Screenplay | Nominated | ||||
| 2014 | People's Choice Awards | Favorite TV Bromance (withJason Segel andNeil Patrick Harris) | How I Met Your Mother | Nominated | [44] |
| 2024 | Lucille Lortel Awards | Outstanding Lead Performer in a Play | The Ally | Pending | [45] |
| International | |
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| National | |
| Artists | |
| Other | |
