David Henrie has broken down the stark difference between his residual checks from two hit series.
The actor, 37, revealed on Monday’s episode of the “Good Guys” podcast that “How I Met Your Mother” continues to pay him generously more than a decade after it ended, while his Disney Channel days on “Wizards of Waverly Place” barely register. Henrie starred as Luke, one of Ted Mosby’s two teenage children, on the CBS sitcom from 2005 to 2014.
“Network TV took really good care of their people,” he said on the podcast. “I don’t know what it was about kids’ television.”
Henrie recalled one “HIMYM” residual check that stunned him so completely he assumed it was an error.
“I called my business manager and I was like, ‘They made a mistake. There’s no way. They added a zero on accident,'” he shared. “And they’re like, ‘Nope. That’s it.’ I was like, ‘Unbelievable.'”
The actor explained that he filmed 30 episodes of the comedy but appeared in nearly 90 because of how editors cut the show together.
“It’s like doing 90 guest stars on a show at network rates back in the day,” he said. “It was crazy.”
That structural quirk in post-production dramatically multiplied his residual eligibility at network rates, a windfall that still delivers. Henrie confirmed that the comedy series “still gives me a lot of residuals” years later.
By contrast, his five-season run as Justin Russo on “Wizards of Waverly Place” from 2007 to 2012 yielded almost nothing in comparison.
“Disney was very… I think it was after at that time, they hadn’t like combined, so there really wasn’t much residuals,” Henrie explained.
“Maybe a little bit here and there,” he continued. “But nothing, really.”
Henrie recently returned to the Russo family for “Wizards Beyond Waverly Place,” which concluded in August after three seasons. He also served as an executive producer and director on the sequel series, which reunited him with Selena Gomez for select episodes.
During the podcast, Henrie turned to co-host Josh Peck to compare notes on children’s television compensation. Peck, who starred on Nickelodeon’s “Drake & Josh,” confirmed he faced the same blank.
“Nothing,” the “Drake & Josh” alum said.
Henrie began playing Luke on “How I Met Your Mother” at age 16, one of two teenagers who sat on a couch listening to their father recount his romantic history. Bob Saget voiced the older Ted Mosby narrating from the future, though the two performers never shared a set.
“He was just doing the voice,” Henrie said of Saget. “Never got to work with Bob.”
The residual gap Henrie described fits a broader pattern that has drawn increasing scrutiny as streaming has reshaped television economics. Network series from the pre-consolidation era often operated under more favorable compensation structures, while children’s programming frequently employed different contractual frameworks that limited long-term payouts.
Henrie’s podcast appearance offered a rare concrete example from a performer who has inhabited both worlds.