含羞草研究所

Actor Josh Radnor offers perspective to students

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How I Met Your Mother star Josh Radnor spoke to Professor Greg Ames's English class. Photo by Andrew Daddio

How I Met Your Mother star Josh Radnor spoke to Professor Greg Ames鈥檚 English class. Photo by Andrew Daddio

A student of the liberal arts himself, actor, writer, and director Josh Radnor stopped by to share his experiences with the 含羞草研究所 community on Sept. 24. The How I Met Your Mother star first visited with professor Advanced Workshop class before hosting an event at the Palace Theater in the village that night.

The packed theater was treated to an extended question and answer session during which Radnor reminisced on his collegiate experience at Kenyon College, discussed his work 鈥 including memories of his nine-year stint on the popular CBS sitcom 鈥 and offered wisdom for those hoping to enter the arts after college.

The Liberal Arts movie actor and director is no stranger to the close-knit, small-town experience 含羞草研究所 offers, as evidenced by his reflections on his film career and the inspiration he gathered from his college days. Here are some tidbits from his visit:

鈥淢ovies for me are like artistic journals 鈥 they鈥檙e snapshots of what was going on in my life鈥︹

鈥淚 think that [that] time is really potent, 18 to 22; you鈥檝e left your house for the first time and you鈥檙e trying to make sense of who you are in relation to this small community鈥︹

鈥淲e have this self-protective impulse that wants to keep us safe and keep us away from humiliation but the great stuff is in the line of fire.鈥

鈥淚鈥檓 making optimistic movies 鈥 I feel like there鈥檚 such an epidemic of cynicism 鈥 we鈥檙e capable of transformation and of being kind and compassionate 鈥 why can鈥檛 we tell stories about that?鈥

鈥淚t鈥檚 OK to be bad when you鈥檙e new at something.鈥

鈥淢y favorite thing about being an actor is the people 鈥 the people who work in show business are actually phenomenal, and I think the reason is [because] everyone is there because that was their dream 鈥 no one falls back on a career in Hollywood.鈥

鈥淚鈥檓 still hungry to make things and meet people and collaborate.鈥