Season 8 of "How I Met Your Mother" ended on a rather interesting note. Some fans were thrilled to finally learn the identity of the mother, while others were upset with the decision to unveil the coveted secret with an entire season remaining in the series. Others were disappointed with the creators choice to cast Cristin Milioti as the mother, while other were enraged with social media for revealing the secret before they had the chance to actually watch the episode.
But now that's all in the past. It's time to move on. It's time to brush aside any frustration and embrace the new arrival. The Mother is cast, said and done, so why not get to know her? In an exclusive interview with Entertainment Weekly, Milioti finally opens up to "How I Met Your Mother" fans worldwide and talks about snagging the coveted role.
She began by detailing her audition process and her lack of details on the potential role. "I received a phone call from my agents, and they said, 'How I Met Your Mother' would like to interview you for a possible character arc,' and I asked, 'What's the character?' And they said, 'We don't know.' So I had a Skype meeting with [creators] Craig [Thomas] and Carter [Bays], and we talked maybe for a half hour," Milioti said. "I told them about 'Once', and a few days later they sent people to the show. Then I was told that I was going to fly to L.A. to test for this role, but I still had no idea what it was. They were so secretive, so I had my suspicions. The day I shot [my first scene], it was really on lockdown. All the extras in that train station are producers and writers of the show. It was so beautiful, because I got to meet everyone and they were incredibly welcoming."
What's even more curious is her lack of knowledge about the show. "I feel really weird about this, but I had never seen it," she said. "My whole time in New York I lived in one of those lofts with a giant projection screen, so I just watched TV on the Internet, and I never had the experience of flipping through the channels. I'm catching up on them now - I watch them every day at breakfast." At least she's putting in the time now.
And it seems to be paying off. She gave fans a strong, in depth description of the Mother's quirky character, one she's truly tapped into. "She has a unique sense of humor that is very similar to Ted's. She's a young woman who suffers from dad humor," Milioti said. "That's how she rolls. Someone who says a joke and you're immediately like, 'Daaaadd!' Corny isn't even the word - a little nerdy."
"How I Met Your Mother" returns to CBS September 23.