Cobie Smulders on Jason Segel How I Met Your Mom Reunion

[This story contains spoilers from Shrinking season two, episode 10, “Changing Patterns.”]

It was a legen — look ahead to it — dary How I Met You Mom reunion on this week’s episode of Shrinking.

Cobie Smulders and Jason Segel, who performed Robin Scherbatsky and Marshall Eriksen within the 2000-era sitcom, reunited on the second season of the Apple TV+ comedy starring Segel.

In “Altering Patterns,” Smulders performs Sofi, a single mom who’s promoting her previous yellow Mini Cooper, which Jimmy (Segel) needs to purchase for daughter Alice’s (Lukita Maxwell) 18th birthday. When the 2 meet on the earth of Shrinking, there’s an instantaneous connection as Jimmy explains that Alice at all times beloved her mother’s yellow experience, and he needed to get her the identical mannequin for her first automobile.

Right here’s the way it performed out:

“You and your spouse should hate her,” Sofi jokes about why they’re giving her the automobile, to which Jimmy replies, “I’m gonna say one thing now that’s gonna make you’re feeling unhealthy and act bizarre. So I’m gonna ask you to attempt actually laborious to not. My spouse is useless.”

Sofi replies: “After all she is. Cool. I imply, not cool. My ex-husband is useless… to me, that was unhealthy. I do this joke so much, however I say it in a funnier manner. I am going, ‘He’s useless… to me.’ No, that’s the identical factor.”

The 2 proceed bantering and Smulders’ character explains that her ex left her for her greatest buddy, and now she drops her baby off at her former greatest buddy’s home each different weekend. “I helped dangle that bitch’s wallpaper,” she says. “There’s not a single bubble in it.”

Sofi then asks Jimmy if he ever thinks that what occurred to her is worse than what occurred to him. In true therapist vogue, he says no however that “you and I can each be unhappy with out this being a contest.” Nonetheless, she factors out that he will get to maintain his good recollections along with his late spouse, whereas all her good recollections of her ex-husband are tainted. So, she wins. And, he lets her.

“I’ve a lot anger, OK? I really feel like I’m caught. It’s most likely gonna be simpler so that you can transfer on ultimately,” she says. Jimmy replies that it doesn’t seem to be she has an excessive amount of anger however the correct amount. “Typically, for me, shifting on feels not possible,” he says, to which she instantly replies, “Properly, don’t say not possible.”

Within the dialog with THR beneath, Smulders unpacks her reunion with Segel (co-creator of Shrinking) to speak about what he was like as a scene associate 10 years after the How I Met Your Mom finale. Whereas the Marvel star hasn’t heard something but about returning for Shrinking season three, she says she’s undoubtedly fascinated by taking part in a potential love curiosity for Segel’s Jimmy (“I really feel like there may be lots of potential”) and explains why she would at all times say sure to a HIMYM reboot.

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I used to be so pleased to see you on this week’s episode. My colleague mentioned it “thrilled her HIMYM fan coronary heart.”

Oh, thank goodness, thank goodness. That’s what I’m making an attempt to do.

What was it like reuniting onscreen with Jason Segel 10 years after the How I Met Your Mom finale?

It’s magic. He’s simply the perfect. He’s the kindest. He’s so enjoyable. We had nearly a full day on set, doing the couple scenes that we had within the present, and it was simply great. It’s such an exquisite crew. The forged is clearly simply phenomenal onscreen, however offscreen, they’re even kinder and sort of extra wonderful. So when this got here my manner, it was kind of like a “No duh!” And I used to be simply actually excited as a result of I’m such a fan of the present. I feel the present’s so lovely. It’s so properly written. It’s simply humanity on show, and I find it irresistible. So I used to be simply actually honored. I felt very particular to be invited in for the day. It was great.

What was it like becoming a member of a present that you just have been additionally a fan of?

Properly, doing a visitor star function is at all times intimidating. Everybody within the crew is aware of one another. It’s first day of college for you, however everybody else’s buds, and by chance, one among my buds was there already, and so I felt fairly nice as a result of I simply obtained to hang around with Jason, after which all people was so type and welcoming and collaborative that I used to be simply capable of kind of fold in, and it was only a lovely day capturing.

Did you and Jason fall proper again into being comfy performing reverse one another?

I feel so. I really like taking part in with Jason. I used to be in a position to take action for 9 years, which is insane today, so it simply kind of felt like very regular, pure. And once more, the present’s so properly written that the character was already sort of there, even earlier than we obtained into the precise work of it, and Jason is clearly like such a gifted actor in addition to an exquisite human being, so I feel we simply fell proper into step.

Kind of piggybacking off of that, what was it like working with Jason on a special sort of present?

I feel it’s actually attention-grabbing, as a result of as an viewers, I’m positive individuals are used to the Robin-Marshall dynamic, however Jason and I’ve grown up collectively off-camera. So, we have now lots of shared life experiences, and so it was not troublesome to kind of change that that chemistry between us. He’s so gifted, and we simply fell proper again into it. However I feel it’ll be attention-grabbing. So it’s an attention-grabbing and new dynamic for folks to see. However I simply know him as Jason, and it’s simple to transition that relationship into the various completely different colours that you may play onscreen.

Not a lot got here from Jimmy and Sofi, moreover a pleasant dialog and possibly a little bit bit extra flirting that we’ve seen from Jimmy. Would you be open to returning in season three as a possible love curiosity for Jimmy?

Completely. I imply, it relies upon. I don’t know which route they’re planning to go for subsequent season. However I beloved my time on the present, and I might fortunately work with Jason and the remainder of the forged once more. So yeah, I might like to. I don’t know what their plans are, although.

The place do you suppose Jimmy and Sofi may go from right here, hypothetically?

I really feel like there may be lots of potential. There may be an preliminary chemistry. I feel that’s what they’re each processing on the finish. It’s stunning once you meet any individual and hastily, you’re simply brutally sincere. You’re not doing the factor like, “Yeah, wonderful. It’s wonderful. It’s all wonderful. Life is okay.” There’s a connection immediately between these two folks. However there’s clearly lots of different parts at play. Sofi has a younger child. She’s clearly been a bit burned, they usually’re coming from a special place. They’re each single folks, however they’ve completely different experiences. So we’ll see. I don’t know. I don’t know in the event that they wish to hone that anymore, or mine that relationship sooner or later. However it could be an attention-grabbing coupling to see. I’d like to know the way it all works out.

It was good to see Jimmy have an precise reference to somebody. You talked about earlier that they got here to you with this. What have been the conversations round you getting concerned in Shrinking?

[Co-creator] Invoice Lawrence reached out and kind of pitched me on the thought of this character, and he didn’t actually need to. I used to be like, “Yeah, positive. Like, let’s go. Let’s play.” After which I talked to Jason a little bit bit about it after, and all of it simply sort of fell into place. And by chance, I used to be right here and on the town. It was only a fast day, only a fast little couple of scenes. And it flew by. It was a lot enjoyable. I didn’t wish to depart. It was very, kind of identical to “come and are available over, Pink Rover, Pink Rover, we name Cobie over” for the day. I simply did it. And right here we’re. I haven’t seen it. I can’t wait to see it.

In How I Met Your Mom, I really feel like Robin and Marshall weren’t as shut as among the different characters have been. How is your relationship with Jason offscreen?

Jason and I at all times talked about how we have been the infants on the present — I used to be 22 once I obtained on that present, I feel Jason is barely a pair years older than me. Jason is so candy. He’s so humorous. He’s so gifted. He’s so musical. We sort of grew up collectively. How I Met Your Mom was definitely the primary comedy sequence I’d ever performed. So I used to be continuously insecure and double-guessing myself, and Jason is simply so naturally humorous. He was extremely supportive. It was simply an absolute blast, and I sort of can’t imagine that we obtained to do it for 9 years. That doesn’t occur now. Even on the perfect of exhibits, nothing’s going for 9 years. So, I really feel very fortunate to have been in his orbit for that lengthy and made one another giggle as a lot. I imply, what a gig, proper? You get to go to work and attempt to make one another giggle all day. That’s primarily what we did for for 9 years.

With Shrinking, once you first learn the script and who Sofi was, what have been your ideas?

We performed with it a little bit bit on the day, however my ideas about it have been that I simply beloved her. I don’t know if it’s Jimmy that brings it out in her, however a lady who’s gone by sort of a nightmare state of affairs along with her relationship with the ability to giggle at it and have an consciousness about her? I discover actually humorous and actually real. So, we solely get a style of this individual, however I feel she’s difficult. She’s come out of one thing actually laborious and is now sharing a custody with any individual in the identical scenario. I can’t even think about. You sort of must giggle at life. Typically it’s important to go, “All proper, this isn’t what I anticipated. Let’s attempt to make the perfect out of it,” and I feel that’s what she’s making an attempt to do.

Sofi and Jimmy shared the scene with Ted McGinley’s Derek. What was it like working with him?

He’s hilarious. He’s so humorous on the present and much more entertaining in actual life; a extremely candy man. Apparently, we’re neighbors. I couldn’t be happier. It was good, good casting. , when these issues align, the place a human and a task sort of come collectively, and also you’re simply sitting again in awe, that’s what I really feel like being with him is like. He’s continuously improvising and making it funnier and funnier.

You probably did reprise your function of Robin in How I Met Your Father. What was it like, returning to that character nearly 10 years after the present ended?

It was wild. It was a really uncommon expertise to say goodbye perpetually to one thing, after which stroll again into that bar once more. To stroll into that bar once more was very emotional. The set division did such a tremendous job. I used to be like, “Is that this it?” They’re like, “It’s not precisely it, however we have been capable of finding among the issues,” and it seemed and felt [the same], besides I used to be alone with out my authentic mates. It was a visit. It was such a cool factor. Pam Fryman, who directed nearly each episode of our present, was additionally directing this episode, in order that was wild. There was some holdover crew members. So it felt like a bizarre kind of flashback but in addition sort of lonely, but it surely was actually enjoyable.

Anytime I’m in a scenario like that the place there’s a brand new present and a brand new forged, however they wish to deliver any individual again in, or I see any individual on the street who’s like, 15 years previous, they usually’re like, “I’m simply watching the present for the primary time.” You’re like, “Oh my gosh,” and I simply recognize the love that I really feel for the present nonetheless to at the present time in spite of everything of this time. And that’s actually particular. And so anytime I can sort of dip again into that, it’s simply pretty to do.

You talked about that you just have been alone within the reboot, with out the remainder of your pals on this bar that you just all spent a lot time in. Would you ever be fascinated by returning to Robin once more with the unique forged in some capability?

Certain. I do know it’s all concerning the reboots. I do know all people is both doing a podcast about it, or they’re doing an entire new factor. I’m not in conversations with anybody about it. The way in which I really feel about it’s, we obtained to do that for 9 years. I really feel like asking for something greater than that’s like asking for an excessive amount of. It was such a present, and I beloved that point. However after all. If folks needed to get again collectively, if there was curiosity for it, if all of it labored out, after all I might. I wish to hang around with these folks on a regular basis.

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New episodes of Shrinking season two launch on Apple TV+ each Wednesday till the finale on Dec. 24.