Having to create a sequel to one of the most popular sitcoms of the 00s – the iconic How I Met Your Mother – sounds like a nightmare, but in, Hilary Duff gives it a brilliant go.
The acting icon, 34, who rose to fame as idol Lizzie Maguire, has come a long way from her teen years, and is now grappling with the world of US sitcoms – no mean feat.
The series follows Sophie, a 30-something woman living in modern-day New York who hopes to find the man who’ll become her child’s father.
She talks to us about big expectations and meeting Kim Cattrall.
How I Met Your Father is streaming now on Disney in the UK – but it has already been picked up for a second series in the States. What a relief!
It’s really exciting. I knew we had something special from day one and you just hope that translates to screen and people feel the same way as you never really know until the show starts to air.
It’s a sweet story that is making everyone feel good right now and I think that’s something we all need.
It must be quite validating as well because it was a big risk doing a sequel to a beloved comedy like How I Met Your Mother…
When I first got the call about the role, I was like, “What’s the title? No, no, no, no!” Way too intimidating. Way too much pressure because HIMYM was so dialled-in, so beloved and the cast was amazing.
But I was talking to the producers and they said they were not trying to re-enact anything and it really is a brilliant way to tell a story.
We’re definitely borrowing, in that sense, from the original and following the format a little, but So I was like, okay, I’m still nervous, but okay.
You play Sophie, a hopeless romantic who still believes in love despite a horrific streak of bad dates, could you relate to her?
I know that it’s a TV show but 87 first dates? Who could possibly have the energy! I’m a mother of three and married so I have a lot more responsibility in my life then Sophie so it’s actually nice to go to work and get to drop that a little bit and step into a slightly more care-free space.
I know Sophie has her baggage and her issues that are very real to her, but it is a lighter space than my everyday life. I’m dealing with three different kids’ schedules and a pandemic!
And Kim Cattrall plays the older version of you in the show. Did you get to meet her?
Covid makes everything a nightmare and all of Kim’s stuff was shot in one day. But I, of course, went to set that day, and I wasn’t even shooting anything.
I was like, “out on my way, out of my way!” I got to meet her – and although I had met her a couple of times before briefly at events and stuff – I was just so excited.
To be able to . I couldn’t believe how much I felt like I could look like that when I’m her age.
How I Met Your Father is streaming on Disney+ today.
