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. He has been Ted Mosby's best friend since 1996, when the two met at Wesleyan University as undergraduates. He is currently married to the love of his life and fellow Wesleyan alum, Lily Aldrin. Brought up in the tightly-knit community of St. Cloud, Minnesota, Marshall's inherent kindness makes him the most compassionate member of the gang. He quit his job in GNB in "The Exploding Meatball Sub" to pursue his dream of saving the world through environmental law. As of "Challenge Accepted", Lily is found to be pregnant, and she gives birth in "The Magician's Code: Part One" to a boy named Marvin W. Eriksen.