Why Jesse From How I Met Your Father Looks So Familiar
Contains minor spoilers for "How I Met Your Father"
It's too early to make any serious predictions about "How I Met Your Father," Hulu's 10-episode spin-off of the beloved sitcom "How I Met Your Mother." That being said, the early episodes suggest that Sophie (Hilary Duff) and Jesse (Chris Lowell) will be the series' equivalent of Ted (Josh Radnor) and Robin (Cobie Smulders). Every sitcom needs a "Will they or won't they?" pairing, after all.
This potential relationship will, of course, involve some ups and downs. Jesse is a bit of a cynic after becoming an internet sensation for all the wrong reasons in the wake of a viral video. That being said, he's a romantic at heart, and it's clear from the outset that he wants to be more than friends with Sophie. Lowell is perfect casting here, as he's been known to play characters with similar quirks in the past.
"How I Met Your Father" might prove to be one of actor Chris Lowell's biggest roles yet, especially if the spin-off replicates the success of its progenitor. However, Lowell is already a familiar face, having appeared in numerous notable movies and TV shows throughout the years. Let's take a look at some of them.
Chris Lowell played a love interest in Veronica Mars
"Veronica Mars" has developed quite the cult following since the series first debuted way back in 2004. Starring Kristen Bell as a teenage sleuth, the series followed her titular character as she solved mysteries in a Southern Californian town. The show is a perfect mix of teen drama and detective noir, and it's notable for helping to launch the careers of future Hollywood A-listers such as Tessa Thompson and Amanda Seyfried.
Season 3 of "Veronica Mars" featured Chris Lowell in a prominent role. His character, Piz, is a self-effacing radio DJ and roommate to Wallace (Percy Daggs III), Veronica's best friend and frequent partner in solving crimes. Piz eventually dates Veronica as well, though she breaks it off with him to focus on her work.
"Veronica Mars" fans who tune in to watch "How I Met Your Father" will no doubt spot some similarities in the personalities of Piz and Jesse — they're both self-deprecating guys who understand rejection all too well.
Private Practice marked a huge career first for Chris Lowell
"Grey's Anatomy" is a television juggernaut in the truest sense. With 18 seasons currently under its belt, the ABC medical drama is proving to be a show with incredible staying power on the small screen. Furthermore, the success of the series has led to the creation of numerous spin-offs, including "Private Practice," which followed Dr. Addison Montgomery (Kate Walsh) as she solves medical mysteries in a Los Angeles clinic.
Chris Lowell was a regular on "Private Practice" for its first three seasons. His character, Dell Parker, is a receptionist who is in training to become a midwife. As such, he regularly assists the main doctors in their cases of the week, all the while trying to cope with his parenting duties.
Unfortunately, Dell's story ends in drama and tragedy. However, Lowell himself wasn't necessarily upset about that outcome. In an interview with TV Guide, he revealed that "Private Practice" enabled him to tick a somewhat morbid item off his career bucket list: to die on the screen. The actor said, "I knew I really wanted [Dell] to die because [I'd] never been killed on a show before, so I wanted to experience that."
Chris Lowell entered the world of pro wrestling in GLOW
"GLOW" seemed like the ultimate main event draw when it debuted on Netflix back in 2017. Appealing to fans of professional wrestling and prestigious dramas alike, viewers were captivated by its fictitious observations about the Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling, a promotion that pioneered women's sports entertainment in the 1980s. But it wasn't to be in the end — the show got canceled after three seasons, with Netflix laying the smackdown on our dreams in the process.
The comedy-drama saw Chris Lowell play the wealthy Sebastian "Bash" Howard, a financer, ring announcer, commentator, and producer for the wrestling promotion. The character — who was loosely based on the real-life wrestling producer David McClane, who founded GLOW in the 1980s — was also responsible for finding arenas and trying to land TV deals for the company. Basically, he wore all of the company's non-wrestling hats.
According to Lowell, it was a miracle that he even got cast in "GLOW" in the first place. While speaking to Uproxx, he recalled how he messed up his audition after misinterpreting the tone of the series, causing him to walk away feeling like he'd ruined his chances at landing the gig. "It's what I can only describe as the single worse audition in the history of auditions," he revealed. "It was agonizingly off the mark."
Chris Lowell played a loathable character in Promising Young Woman
Chris Lowell has a knack for picking supporting roles in buzzworthy awards movies. At the time of this writing, the actor has appeared in three critically acclaimed films that went on to receive best picture nominations at the Academy Awards. However, while "Up in the Air" and "The Help" are memorable movies in their own right, "Promising Young Woman" is one of the more uniquely dark and complicated movies to ever find itself in the running for the Oscar's top awards.
The controversial thriller follows Cassie Thomas (Carey Milligan), a woman out to get revenge in honor of the memory of her friend Nina, who was sexually assaulted at a party while the two were in medical school together. Lowell plays Al Monroe, Nina's main attacker. He becomes the central target of Cassie's vengeance when she learns that he's about to get married.
It's rare for Lowell to play rotten sleazebags in movies, but the casting of typically lovable actors as villains was notable across the board in this thought-provoking revenge-thriller.