The Simpsons Star You Never Noticed Had A Cameo On HIMYM
Few characters in cartoon history have reached the level of cultural recognition and adoration of Homer J. Simpson. With his bulging physique and balding head, the dimwitted father figure from "The Simpsons" is an icon. As famous as Homer's face and fat are, however, they are accompanied perfectly by the soft, guttural hums of voice actor Dan Castellaneta.
Castellaneta has been portraying Homer – along with other famous Springfielders like Abe Simpson, Barney, and Willie – in almost every one of the characters' appearances since the show debuted in the late 1980s. As one of the most prominent voice actors in "The Simpsons," Castellaneta's work has been an integral part of the longest-running animated sitcom in history (via Guinness World Records). In short, he's become one of the most influential voice actors in history just for appearing in one show.
But while Castellaneta is certainly most famous for his voice work on "The Simpsons," he's also had a large number of appearances (both live and voice-acted) in dozens of other shows, according to IMDb. Name a popular American TV series and there's a good chance Dan Castellaneta has been involved at some point. That's why, if you keep an eye out, he'll show up in everything from "Scooby-Doo" to a particular episode of the live-action sitcom, "How I Met Your Mother."
Who is Dan Castellaneta in HIMYM?
We meet Castellaneta's character in "How I Met Your Mother" for the first and only time in the Season 4 Episode of "Right Place Right Time." In this episode, Marshall's obsession with humorous charts causes his friends to throw away his entire collection, including some actual authentic charts critical to Marshall's job. Determined to get them back for Marshall, Ted ventures out to look for them.
He eventually happens upon a strange homeless man named Milt, played by none other than Dan Castellaneta. To put it politely, Milt seems like the kind of person whose lights are on even though nobody is home. More importantly, however, he has Marshall's charts. Ted is quick to offer money for them but Milt is a tough negotiator, setting their price at no less than $1 million. As a compromise, Ted offers to give Milt a dollar every day for one million days, or "2,700 years." Milt agrees and slyly comments that Ted is a "sucker," revealing that he may be smarter than Ted initially thought. After all, he does end up giving Milt a dollar a day from then on, so maybe Milt meant to trick Ted from the beginning.