Alyson Hannigan had a 9-year stint on How I Met Your Mother. Courtesy IANS
Alyson Hannigan had a 9-year stint on How I Met Your Mother. Courtesy IANS
Alyson Hannigan had a 9-year stint on How I Met Your Mother. Courtesy IANS
Alyson Hannigan had a 9-year stint on How I Met Your Mother. Courtesy IANS

Actress Alyson Hannigan: Still remember all the auditions I didn't get


  • English
  • Arabic

Alyson Hannigan stepped in front of the camera at the age of four, and got noticed with comedy American Pie — but it was as Lily Aldrin in the long-running show How I Met Your Mother that she etched an everlasting impression on the minds of viewers.

The American actress says she hasn't forgotten any of her struggles as they make her appreciate her success more.

"I always wanted to be an actress … ever since I can remember. So (I) … did commercials at an age of four in Atlanta in Georgia. It was a kind of hobby … I was playing soccer and I was doing commercials. It was a recreational activity as a kid," Hannigan told IANS over phone from Los Angeles.

Looking back at the time she shifted to Hollywood, the actress said: "Eventually, we moved to California, but again I mostly did commercials, a movie here and there, but I wasn't ever successful as a kid … So, I have an appreciation of the success that I have as an adult because I remember all those auditions (where) I didn't get and the job I wanted."

After her stint as a child artiste in commercials, she went on to do occasional acting jobs from 1985. The game changed when she joined the cast of American Pie in 1999. She followed her act with Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

But her big ticket came with the show How I Met Your Mother, which ran from 2005 to 2014. The actress is married to actor Alexis Denisof, with whom she shares two daughters.

_____________________
Read more:

_____________________

Hannigan started her tryst with showbiz as a child, and is glad that social media was not so big during her time. "It is very different now as everybody has a cell phone which has a camera. When I was growing up, it was different. People used to stop for autographs rather than a picture with you which will go on social media. I can't imagine what it must be like for kids nowadays.

"Because the image is out there for ever. It adds a lot more pressure. I am so glad that the whole social media thing wasn't around when I was in my twenties because God knows what kind of awful pictures would have been posted, or pictures that I would have posted thinking ‘Oh, this is funny' …

"And as a mom, I would be embarrassed thinking that one day somebody is going to show them to my kids. I still have those pictures … They are the images that you don't want your kids to see. Everything is permanent now. It is a lot more daunting now."

But even now there are some parts of fame that were difficult to cope with for her.

The 43-year-old said people's curiosity to take a photograph with her was initially difficult to explain to her children, but it is getting easier with time.

"Especially when we go to a mall and people want to take a picture and stuff … What helps is that I do a show Penn & Teller: Fool Us. It is the first thing (which she did) that they can watch, so now they understand, 'Oh OK, you are on TV and people want to take pictures with you'.

"They get it more now than earlier. When my eldest daughter (Satyana Marie Denisof) was younger, she was like ‘Why do they all take pictures with you? This is our time, why do we have to go and suffer because of that stranger?'

"But they get it now. Now she kind of likes it."

On the work front, Hannigan says she is busy with an "interesting project" — but does not reveal details.

Results

6.30pm: Dubai Millennium Stakes Group Three US$200,000 (Turf) 2,000m; Winner: Ghaiyyath, William Buick (jockey), Charlie Appleby (trainer).

7.05pm: Handicap $135,000 (T) 1,600m; Winner: Cliffs Of Capri, Tadhg O’Shea, Jamie Osborne.

7.40pm: UAE Oaks Group Three $250,000 (Dirt) 1,900m; Winner: Down On Da Bayou, Mickael Barzalona, Salem bin Ghadayer.

8.15pm: Zabeel Mile Group Two $250,000 (T) 1,600m; Winner: Zakouski, James Doyle, Charlie Appleby.

8.50pm: Meydan Sprint Group Two $250,000 (T) 1,000m; Winner: Waady, Jim Crowley, Doug Watson.

Sole survivors
  • Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
  • George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
  • Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
  • Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
Biography

Favourite Meal: Chicken Caesar salad

Hobbies: Travelling, going to the gym

Inspiration: Father, who was a captain in the UAE army

Favourite read: Rich Dad Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki and Sharon Lechter

Favourite film: The Founder, about the establishment of McDonald's

BEETLEJUICE BEETLEJUICE

Starring: Winona Ryder, Michael Keaton, Jenny Ortega

Director: Tim Burton

Rating: 3/5

The Baghdad Clock

Shahad Al Rawi, Oneworld

MEYDAN CARD

6.30pm Al Maktoum Challenge Round-1 Group One (PA) US$65,000 (Dirt) 1,600m

7.05pm Handicap (TB) $175,000 (Turf) 1,200m

7.40pm UAE 2000 Guineas Trial Conditions (TB) $100,000 (D) 1,600m

8.15pm Singspiel Stakes Group Two (TB) $250,000 (T) 1,800m

8.50pm Handicap (TB) $135,000 (T) 1,600m

9.25pm Al Maktoum Challenge Round-1 Group Two (TB) $350,000 (D) 1,600m

10pm Dubai Trophy Conditions (TB) $100,000 (T) 1,200m

10.35pm Handicap (TB) $135,000 (T) 1,600m

The National selections:

6.30pm AF Alwajel

7.05pm Ekhtiyaar

7.40pm First View

8.15pm Benbatl

8.50pm Zakouski

9.25pm: Kimbear

10pm: Chasing Dreams

10.35pm: Good Fortune

ADCC AFC Women’s Champions League Group A fixtures

October 3: v Wuhan Jiangda Women’s FC
October 6: v Hyundai Steel Red Angels Women’s FC
October 9: v Sabah FA

Racecard

6pm: Al Maktoum Challenge Round 2 Group 1 (PA) $55,000 (Dirt) 1,900m  

6.35pm: Oud Metha Stakes Rated Conditions (TB) $60,000 (D) 1,200m  

7.10pm: Jumeirah Classic Listed (TB) $150,000 (Turf) 1,600m  

7.45pm: Firebreak Stakes Group 3 (TB) $150,000 (D) 1,600m  

8.20pm: Al Maktoum Challenge Round 2 Group 2 (TB) $350,000 (D) 1,900m  

8.55pm: Al Bastakiya Trial Conditions (TB) $60,000 (D) 1,900m  

9.30pm: Balanchine Group 2 (TB) $180,000 (T) 1,800m   

How to donate

Text the following numbers:

2289 - Dh10

6025 - Dh 20

2252 - Dh 50

2208 - Dh 100

6020 - Dh 200 

*numbers work for both Etisalat and du

The biog

Name: Timothy Husband

Nationality: New Zealand

Education: Degree in zoology at The University of Sydney

Favourite book: Lemurs of Madagascar by Russell A Mittermeier

Favourite music: Billy Joel

Weekends and holidays: Talking about animals or visiting his farm in Australia

Our family matters legal consultant

Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais

Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.

Mental%20health%20support%20in%20the%20UAE
%3Cp%3E%E2%97%8F%20Estijaba%20helpline%3A%208001717%3Cbr%3E%E2%97%8F%20UAE%20Ministry%20of%20Health%20and%20Prevention%20hotline%3A%20045192519%3Cbr%3E%E2%97%8F%20UAE%20Mental%20health%20support%20line%3A%20800%204673%20(Hope)%3Cbr%3EMore%20information%20at%20hope.hw.gov.ae%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Britain's travel restrictions
  • A negative test 2 days before flying
  • Complete passenger locator form
  • Book a post-arrival PCR test
  • Double-vaccinated must self-isolate
  • 11 countries on red list quarantine

     
Key facilities
  • Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
  • Premier League-standard football pitch
  • 400m Olympic running track
  • NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
  • 600-seat auditorium
  • Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
  • An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
  • Specialist robotics and science laboratories
  • AR and VR-enabled learning centres
  • Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Dubai Bling season three

Cast: Loujain Adada, Zeina Khoury, Farhana Bodi, Ebraheem Al Samadi, Mona Kattan, and couples Safa & Fahad Siddiqui and DJ Bliss & Danya Mohammed 

Rating: 1/5

ALRAWABI%20SCHOOL%20FOR%20GIRLS
%3Cp%3ECreator%3A%20Tima%20Shomali%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EStarring%3A%C2%A0Tara%20Abboud%2C%C2%A0Kira%20Yaghnam%2C%20Tara%20Atalla%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3ERating%3A%204%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A