How I Met... Myself

How I Met... Myself

On the road to womanhood, you hit a few speed bumps. Actress Cobie Smulders, 30,

Shares the hilarious and heart warming things she’s learned so far, and the risks she still plans to take.

It all adds up to a ballsy life list you just might want to steal a page from.

To crib Barney Stinson’s signature word, Cobie Smulders is pretty “awesome.” Awesome on TV’s How I Met Your Mother as Robin Scherbatsky.  And awesome on the big screen as Agent Maria Hill in The Avengers just the third-highest grossing film ever.

Her fiancé (and partner of seven years) isn’t lacking in the awesome department either. That would be Saturday Night Live comedian Taran Killam, the father of their 3-year-old daughter, Shaelyn. (If you don’t know Taran, Google his Andy Cohen impression—you’ll pee yourself.)

Her clever hit sitcom is entering its eighth season
—“I almost start weeping when I think about it ending,” Cobie says over lunch just steps from the Pacific Ocean—and this Girl’s life is full speed ahead.

She’ll wed Taran in September. She’s planning to move from Los Angeles to New York. And

She’ll soon start production on two high-profile movie roles, in the 2013 romantic drama Safe

Haven (also starring Josh Duhamel and Julianne Hough) and the comedy They Came

Together (with Paul Rudd and Amy Poehler)

As Cobie looks forward to what’s sure to be an all together now awesome Hollywood career we asked the Canadian beauty to look into her past as well. The result: a list of milestones she’s proud to have accomplished in her 30 years, and a few

She plans to knock off in the future. The best thing?

They’re goals any woman can achieve. So get crackin’.

By Age 20

Crush on a Girl 

We’d never thought of girl crushes the way Cobie does: Provided you choose the object of affection wisely, they can be great motivators and opportunities for growth.

(Really!) In Cobie’s case, it happened at summer camp when she was 12. A “tall, beautiful, funny” girl was the catalyst for what Cobie calls her “very nonsuccessful modeling career”—but one that allowed her to travel the world. “This girl modeled, and she came up to me and said she thought I looked the part [of a model],” explains Cobie.

“I would have done anything to hang out with her more.”

Rely on Yourself

By the time she was 16, Cobie was spending her summers working abroad. Even though

she traveled with her older sister or stepmother, she had to be self-sufficient in many

situations. “I’m in Japan, I don’t know the language, and I’m standing in front of these

businessmen who I’m hoping will hire me for a modeling job!” she says. “So I was doing

a lot of fake-it-till-you-makeit. My advice to those fighting insecurity at that age: Just do

your best. I find that if I set that goal for myself and no one else, I feel good.”

Lie to Get Ahead

Not a major fib—just one that doesn’t hurt anyone. When she was 19, Cobie was up for a part

on a TV show playing a 28-year-old archaeologist. “My representation told me to be vague about my age. If it came up, I’d just say I was in my twenties. Somehow I got the part.” The show, Veritas: The Quest, aired in 2003 and jump-started her acting career.

Figure Out Your Goals— Then Open Your Mind

In high school, Cobie thought she wanted to be a marine biologist when she grew up.

But when life took her in a much different direction, she rolled with it—and she’s happy she did. That love of the ocean isn’t lost, simply channeled elsewhere: Today she is an avid scuba diver and hopes to one day help found a marine research center.

Travel on the Cheap

On a trip to Spain, Cobie walked into a friend’s hostel—the “shittiest place,” says Cobie—to

find six other people in her room. “At first I was like, Are we safe?” she says. But she realized

that being broke and living day-to-day, you meet more people and immerse yourself in

the community. “There’s something cool about traveling when you’re young. There’s a

sense of camaraderie. You learn more about yourself.”

By Age 30  

Recover from a Career Setback

If you’d never heard of Veritas: The Quest until a few paragraphs ago, it’s probably because only four episodes aired on ABC before the show was canceled. “I didn’t get any acting work for two years,” Cobie says. She moved back home to Vancouver, where she waitressed and worked for her mom, a software engineer, by driving around and picking up computer hard drives from businesses. “It was like a very small version of the Geek Squad.”

But Cobie didn’t lose faith. She continued to travel down to Los Angeles for auditions,

and she acted in local theater productions. “I just thought, I need to keep moving, I need to

keep moving. So I was always taking acting classes or doing a play, and it didn’t seem like I

hadn’t worked [on a TV show] in two years. I always had something to keep me going.”

Say “Screw It!”

Having rules that you live by is smart, but sometimes those rules stop making sense for

you—and that’s when you need to break them. Cobie did just that in 2010, when she

appeared on the December cover of Maxim—in bra and underwear. “I had been the

girl who was like, Ugh, she’s doingMaxim magazine?” admits Cobie. “But then I found myself in a place in my life where I was able to just say, ‘F--k it! Sure!’ when Maxim approached me.” She made sure she’d have a lot of control and decided to own it.

“It turned out great,” she says.

Find Your Fashion Go-Tos

Her number one style trick: Stock up on blazers. Cobie owns 20. “They make you look

professional and sexy at the same time.” Another closet fave? Nontorturous heels.

“I’ve worn stilettos since I was 12, so I have abused my feet to the point of no return,” she

says. “Now I live in kitten heels. One of the great things about turning 30 is figuring

out how to dress comfortably and still look good.”

Date a Lot

Though Cobie says she “won the lottery” by finding Taran when she was only 23, she

believes you tend to learn more about yourself in your twenties when you’re single and dating

than when you’re in a longterm twosome. “In my early twenties, I had no idea who I

was. And I think that’s one reason you should try different relationships. I’ve had good

and bad ones, but I took awaythings from them that helped me become who I am.”

That Said, Dive into the Right Relationship

Do enough dating, and you’ll eventually meet someone with whom you instantly click.

When that happens, go for it.

That’s what Cobie did when she met Taran about a week before she shot the pilot

episode of HIMYM. “We met through a mutual friend at a birthday party, and sparks

flew. It was one of those kismet things where you meet someone and you’re

immediately like, Oh! Now we’re dating exclusively.”

Learn to Kick Ass

To play a woman tough enough to corral superheroes in The Avengers, Cobie had to

learn how to handle a gun and throw a punch. So she worked with a SWAT-team trainer.

“It was such an empowering feeling for me as a woman. I walked around feeling like,

Just try to mess with me. Just try it. I could take you down.

I could do some damage!”

Scare Yourself

Fear isn’t always a bad thing. In fact, it can propel you forward. Case in point: When

Cobie got the part on HIMYM, she’d never really done comedy before. “I was

terrified,” she admits. “I’d never thought of myself as being very funny.” She

obviously proved otherwise.

ByAge 40 and Beyond

Stop Worrying About What Other People Think

“If one out of 10 things said about me were negative, that one thing is what would stay with me,” says Cobie. “In my twenties, it would have crushed me. Now I’d be affected, but the next day I’d be fine. I’m hoping that by the time I’m 40, that reaction will be gone completely.”

Control Your Career

What does Cobie envision post-HIMYM? “I’m hoping to make the transition into acting in movies. But I’m also writing a movie script with a girlfriend and looking to become more of a producer. I’d like to be in a place where I have more creative control.”

Get Fit

Though she finds it tough to carve out as much time as she’d like for working out, Cobie hopes to be better. “If I could be as fit as Madonna is now, that would be rad,” she says. “For me, it’s more about being healthy than about how I look. I do Pilates because it’s important for me to have a healthy back when I’m 70 so I’m not hunched over and in pain. That’s more important to me than being thin.”

Fulfill Longtime Desires

Cobie’s upcoming move to NYC has her excited about the prospect of something she’s

always dreamed about doing: theater on Broadway. (Producers, you listening?)

Do Whatever You Couldn’t Before

Cobie has no problem with getting older. “I’ve always had this image in my mind of me as

a 50-year-old on a Caribbean island, living at a marine research center. Though when

I see myself, I don’t look like me.” And then she laughs. “But I look pretty good!” 

The Hard Truth

Who’s funnier: Neil Patrick Harris or Jason Segel?

They’re very different! Jason can make me lose it just by looking at me. And Neil, when he’s

playing a zany character, I can’t handle it.

Who would you rather see naked: Neil or Jason?

I’ve already seen them both naked, but they’re like my brothers, so I’d rather not see either of

them naked.

You and Scarlett Johansson were both badasses in The Avengers. Who’s more of a badass in real life?

She could probably take me. I’m all legs and arms, but she’s got a nice, low center of gravity.

Who’s hotter in costume: Chris Evans as Captain America, or Chris Hemsworth as Thor?

I have a thing for accents, so I’m going to go with Hemsworth.

If Taran gave you a pass to sleep with one superhero, who would it be?

Aquaman, so we could do it underwater.

Would you ever be examined by a teenage doctor—à la Neil Patrick Harris’s Doogie Howser?

Yeah, if he were a legitimate doctor. I’d be like, “This is what you have to look forward to

when you’re older.”

In The Avengers, your character works for an organization called S.H.I.E.L.D. What does

that stand for?

Aw, f--k, I know this. Strategic Homeland …Intervention… Enforcement Logistics Division!

Just between us, who’s the mother in HIMYM?

I honestly don’t know. It’ll be an interesting season.

 All Fitness ___ How I Met... Myself                                         

By Ky Henderson