Who is Horatio Alger? Josh Radnor compares his How I Met Your Mother character Ted Mosby to the American author

Josh Radnor opened up about his character Ted Mosby in the latest episode of his podcast How We Made Your Mother on March 31, 2025. Ted was one of the main characters on How I Met Your Mother, featured in all the seasons of the show.

While speaking about Mosby, Josh compared the character to Horatio Alger, a popular author who gained recognition for his book, Ragged D**k, which came out back in 1868. According to Study.com, Alger's work usually focuses on the fact that hard work and honesty can help someone overcome obstacles and become successful.

As he compared Ted Mosby to Alger, Josh Radnor was heard saying in the episode:

“In some ways, Ted is like Horatio Alger. He’s like the American dream. He’s like, he’s really bought into this idea that with effort and with vision, I can do anything, you know? And I think that that’s lovable.”

Study.com also stated that Horatio Alger left an influence on the American culture of the late 19th century from the Civil War and into the Industrial Age. His characters also inspired the younger generation, and he wrote many other popular books, including Paul Prescott’s Charge: A Story for Boys, Helen Ford, On His Own, The Telegraph Boy, and Tony the Hero.

Josh Radnor continues addressing Ted Mosby by saying that he can plan a lot of things from his experiences. Radnor referred to what audiences think of the character and said:

“We like, like it’s a perfect job for him. He’s an architect. He’s trying to construct and build this life for himself. And the universe keeps like, you know, blowing away the blueprint and putting it in a puddle of water. It’s like he’s not going to be able to. He has to, I mean, it’s like, I don’t know, Star Wars, but like he has to like take off the thing and like guide.”

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Josh Radnor on how he reacted to a particular moment featuring Ted Mosby

In one of the episodes of the podcast, which aired last week on March 24, 2025, the hosts discussed the premiere episode of the show, which also focused on another character, Robin Scherbatsky. Josh Radnor opened up on how he responded at the time when his character expressed his feelings for Scherbatsky.

The actor said that he was well aware of the fact that the moment was supposed to happen and added:

“The moment he says, ‘I think I’m in love with you.’ I almost was like Barney, Marshall and Lily. Like, ‘What!?’ Like, it was such a bad move. And, of course, it sets off the entire series, so it needed to happen.”

Radnor claimed that it was an inappropriate move from Ted Mosby, and he was satisfied with the same since he believed that the pilot episode was working. Josh also replied to a fan who asked him how he was able to link himself to the character, saying that he was attracted to the character’s behavior when he told Robin he was in love.

“You know, he was not afraid to say how he was feeling. And those are all, I think heroic qualities for a man.”

As mentioned, Ted Mosby appeared in all the episodes of the show, which aired between 2005 and 2014, and the show was nominated for multiple accolades at the Golden Globe and Emmy Awards.