Marshall Eriksen
 |
 | This article contains a list of miscellaneous information. (September 2012) |
| Marshall Eriksen | |
|---|---|
| First appearance | "Pilot" |
| Created by | Carter Bays Craig Thomas |
| Portrayed by | Jason Segel |
| In-universe information | |
| Nickname | Marshmallow, Big Fudge, Vanilla Thunder, Beercules, The Kid, Sports Guy |
| Gender | Male |
| Occupation | Lawyer |
| Family | Marvin Eriksen, Sr. (father, deceased) Judy (née Gunderson) Eriksen (mother) Marvin Eriksen, Jr. (brother) Marcus Eriksen (brother) |
| Spouse | Lily Aldrin (2007-present) |
| Children | Marvin Waitforit Eriksen |
| Relatives | Olaf (grandfather, deceased) Martin Eriksen (nephew) Mickey Aldrin (father-in-law) Janice Aldrin (mother-in-law) Lois (grandmother-in-law) Rita Aldrin (grandmother-in-law) Morris Aldrin (grandfather-in-law) Amy (cousin-in-law) |
Marshall Eriksen is a fictional character in the American sitcom How I Met Your Mother, created by Carter Bays and Craig Thomas and portrayed by Jason Segel.
Character profile
Marshall is an easy-going, naive optimist from St. Cloud, Minnesota. At the start of the series, Marshall lives with his best friend Ted Mosby and his long-time girlfriend, Lily Aldrin; he proposes to her in the pilot episode. Marshall is an avid Minnesota Vikings fan, expressed and shown on various occasions, specifically in the episode "Little Minnesota", where Marshall takes Robin to a Minnesota Vikings themed bar, while he dons a Jim Marshall jersey, presumably an homage to his name.
Born in 1978 and of Scandinavian descent, Marshall met Ted and Lily during their freshman year at Wesleyan University. Ted was his roommate and Lily lived in the same hall as they did, which led to their eventual relationship. He attended and later graduated Columbia Law School, and throughout his time at law school, Ted refers to him as "the kid". Even though he stands at 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m), he is the shortest male member of his family. Marshall became a lawyer because he was interested in environmental protection laws. Ultimately, he accepted a job at a corporate law firm where his only client is an amusement park riddled with various safety violations. He later joins the legal team at Goliath National Bank, where Barney Stinson also works. Later, in season 6, he quits his job at Goliath National Bank to work at an environmental law firm, just like he wanted to do when he graduated law school.
He and Lily have a solid, loving relationship, but it has been tested at various times throughout the series. In "Come On", Lily, who has been having cold feet about their approaching wedding, announces that she has been accepted to an art fellowship in San Francisco and leaves to find out who she is outside of a relationship. Marshall is devastated and spends the next few months in a deep depression. When Lily returns to New York and asks him to take her back, he refuses, his pride still wounded. They eventually reconcile and resume their engagement in "Swarley", and get married, albeit with some complications, in "Something Borrowed". Lily is also the only person that Marshall, a lawyer, "a person who argues for a living," ever gets tongue-tied with; every argument he has with her ends badly for him.
Marshall is fascinated with the paranormal, specifically Sasquatch and the Loch Ness Monster, both of which he believes are real. In the episode "We're Not From Here" there is a picture that says a New York lawyer had caught the Loch Ness Monster, presumably Marshall. He is also fascinated in the existence of aliens. He can play the piano fairly well, as seen in the episode "Slapsgiving", where he performs a song after slapping Barney. In the episode "Sweet Taste of Liberty", he claims that he has never fought anyone before, but proves he is a formidable and experienced fighter in the episode "The Fight", having survived several brutal fights with his brothers. When nervous, Marshall is prone to blurting out the thing he least wants known.
It is revealed in "Last Cigarette Ever" that in the future, he and Lily have a son. In early 2011, after being told Marshall and Lily are capable of having a baby, Lily tells Marshall that his father had a fatal heart attack, which shakes Marshall to the core. Marshall and his friends agree his dad's last words towards him were "I love you", but they were actually about a foot cream. During his father's funeral, Marshall says in his eulogy that the last words his father ever said to him were "...rent Crocodile Dundee III..." His father's death causes him to change perspective on his life, which leads to him quitting his job at GNB and pursuing a career in environmental law, as well as attempting to start a family with Lily.
In the season six finale, Marshall is given a job interview with a local law firm, but Lily gets food poisoning from a restaurant they had lunch at, and fears he will start having symptoms as well. He blows off the interview and sleeps through the night without getting sick. The next morning, Lily reveals to him that she was sick only because she is pregnant. In the "The Naked Truth", Marshall is given a job offer from Garrison Cootes, head of the largest environmental law firm in the nation. The company must first complete an extensive background check, which worries Marshall, as an online video of him streaking in college may endanger his chance at the job. He tries to convince the downloader, Pete Durkensen to delete the video, but ends up getting drunk and filming another video of him naked, after the two play a drinking game. However, Cootes is not concerned when he finds the video and Marshall is hired. Later, in the Mystery vs. History, while decorating the nursery for their new baby, he and Lily are tempted by Barney and Robin to find out the sex. They do, in the end, find out that they are having a boy.