Drew Tarver Lands A Lead In ‘How I Met Your Mother’ Spinoff

EXCLUSIVE: From obscurity to a lead of one of the hottest pilots — that has been the trajectory for young actor Drew Tarver over the past month. Exactly a month ago, the Upright Citizens Brigade member performed at CBS‘ 9th annual Diversity Showcase as a LGBT participant. The network signed him in a talent holding deal, and he has now been cast as one of the leads of How I Met Your Mother spinoff How I Met Your Dad. In the vein of the original series, HIMYD tells the story from a female point of view, that of Sally (Greta Gerwig), and revolves around a new group of friends in New York. Tarver will play Todd, Sally’s best friend and roommate from college who is now married to her brother.

Related: 2014 CBS Pilots

Tarver, repped by Paradigm and Industry Entertainment, has trained at UCB, the Groundlings, Westside Comedy Theatre and Acme Theater in New York. He has guest starred on Animal Practice and Newsreaders and has created and starred in several Funny or Die videos, including the web series Get Up. To date, 309 actors have appeared in the CBS Diversity Talent Showcases, leading to 1,813 auditions and 494 roles booked. Last year’s participants included John Milhiser, who signed a talent holding deal with CBS before landing a spot on SNL.