Latest news with #JesseTylerFerguson
Daily Mail
26-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Modern Family star Jesse Tyler Ferguson reveals little-known secret about the beloved show
Modern Family won a staggering 22 Primetime Emmys and is beloved by fans - but five years after it ended, one of its lead actors has shared a little-known fact about the long-running series. Jesse Tyler Ferguson, 49, recently revealed the tidbit on an episode of his podcast titled Dinner's on Me with guest Wendie Malick. Ferguson, who played Mitchell Pritchard in the sitcom which ran from 2009 to 2020, explained the show's documentary-style format - which he admitted fell by-the-way side after the first few seasons. '[The reason] it was a mockumentary, although we never explained this, was a very early version of Modern Family had a foreign exchange student that had stayed with Mitchell, my character, and (Julie Bowen 's) Claire when we were young,' he told the Shrinking actress. 'And he was coming back to do a documentary about this family he lived with when he was a kid, and the title of it was My American Family,' the actor continued. He explained they ended up cutting the exchange student's character and renaming the show. 'But the construct of it still being a mockumentary was there, but we never explained why,' he added. He further elaborated by saying in the very early seasons, 'we would really try and hold onto the reality that we were with a film crew.' The father-of-two added the difference in style is evident in earlier seasons of the show. 'If you watch early episodes, it's like, "Oh, it actually is feasible that this is a reality show." And then season five, six is just, like, we're opening our doors coming home from getting groceries and there's a camera crew in our house, and no one questions that,' he joked. When Modern Family premiered in 2009, mockumentary-style sitcoms were becoming increasingly popular, following the success of the U.S. and U.K. Office. In the same year, Parks and Recreation also premiered, in a satire mockumentary style. Ferguson remains close to his Modern Family co-stars, regularly sharing photos with them - even officiating the 2022 wedding between his on-screen niece Sarah Hyland and her husband, Bachelor Nation's Wells Adams, at the Californian Sunstone Winery in Santa Ynez. In 2023, Ty Burell, who famously played goofy but lovable dad Phil Dunphy in the hit series, had to stave off death-rumors after he wasn't present at a cast reunion held by Sofia Vergara. Fans panicked after Vergara shared a snap of the cast together, calling it: 'The first Modern Family reunion.' Fears began to spiral due to the fact his castmates held a framed photo of him in one image, while several of them stated 'We miss you, Ty!' in an accompanying video. In March, the actor proved he is alive and well as he made an appearance on Fergusons' podcast. Ferguson was the first to bring up the death rumors following the reunion to which Burrell joked: 'Well, I died. Remember how I died? Do you remember how I died?' 'Everybody in the cast was telling me that, you know, apparently I passed.' Ferguson noted: 'It was so funny. When we look back on that, we're like, because we brought a photo of you to include you in all the family pictures and we were like, "well yeah it does sort of look like we were having a memorial for you."' Ferguson explained that including a photo of Burrell was meant to be a joke as it was his 'least favorite press photo.' 'You were basically punishing me for missing the reunion, which I deserved,' Burrell teased. 'It was the photo of me in the headphones doing the rock and roll heavy metal sign.' Ferguson has been married to fellow actor Justin Mikita since 2013, after the pair married in a private ceremony in Manhattan. Ferguson and Mikita welcomed both of their sons via surrogacy — Beckett Mercer was born in July 2020 and Sullivan Louis in November 2022. Back in April, the actor told People: 'We had a wonderful surrogate who carried both Beckett and Sullivan. We are so grateful for her and her family. We became friends with her and her husband.'
Yahoo
15-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Jesse Tyler Ferguson's dad questioned why he played 'so many gay parts'
Jesse Tyler Ferguson's dad "didn't understand" why he played "so many gay parts." The 49-year-old actor - who is best known for playing Mitchell Pritchett, who was married to Cam Tucker (Eric Stonestreet) in 'Modern Family' - welcomed his father's questioning because it led to a "whole other level" of their relationship because he was able to explain how important he felt to advocate for same-sex relationships on screen. Speaking on his 'Dinner's On Me' podcast, he said: "My family, they went through their own process with me being gay. "And my dad even asked me, while I was doing 'Modern Family', he's like, 'I just don't always understand why you have played so many gay parts.' "And it opened up a whole conversation between the two of us and started a whole other level of our relationship, because I had to sort of explain to him why it was important for me to play this role, because, socially, I wanted to be able to portray a gay man on television. I felt like it was gonna do wonderful things for the marriage equality movement, which it did." Jesse also noted the "tricky" balancing act of sharing personal anecdotes to connect with fans and not intruding too much on his family's personal lives. Speaking to his guest, actor Luke Macfarlane, he said: "I'm sure your parents were the same way. You know, their careers didn't beg for us to be so open with [themselves]. "And even I'm still learning how to open up in ways. I still have to keep parts of myself private. "We're expected in this industry to go on talk shows and talk about our personal life and to, you know, expose parts of ourselves for roles. And it's something that I think for my dad still a hard thing for him to understand. "If I go on a talk show and tell a story about the family, it's like, 'Why did you have to share that?' And I was like, 'Well, because it's a charming story about my life, and I'm just sharing a little bit of myself with people who wanna know something about me." The 'Cocaine Bear' actor - who is married to Justin Mikita - previously told of how he'd had to tell his parents he was gay at 17, 19, and 21 before they fully understood his sexuality. He told talk show host Oprah Winfrey in 2013: "The last was, he asked me if I had a girlfriend. I was like, 'Dad! I'm gay. Do we really have to go back to this every time?' "It was a process for him as well. It was sort of a coming-out process, and he had to figure out how to deal with having a son that wasn't the ideal son. He had this whole idea of what his son was gonna be, and he had to reconfigure his thinking."
Perth Now
15-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Perth Now
Jesse Tyler Ferguson's dad questioned why he played 'so many gay parts'
Jesse Tyler Ferguson's dad "didn't understand" why he played "so many gay parts." The 49-year-old actor - who is best known for playing Mitchell Pritchett, who was married to Cam Tucker (Eric Stonestreet) in 'Modern Family' - welcomed his father's questioning because it led to a "whole other level" of their relationship because he was able to explain how important he felt to advocate for same-sex relationships on screen. Speaking on his 'Dinner's On Me' podcast, he said: "My family, they went through their own process with me being gay. "And my dad even asked me, while I was doing 'Modern Family', he's like, 'I just don't always understand why you have played so many gay parts.' "And it opened up a whole conversation between the two of us and started a whole other level of our relationship, because I had to sort of explain to him why it was important for me to play this role, because, socially, I wanted to be able to portray a gay man on television. I felt like it was gonna do wonderful things for the marriage equality movement, which it did." Jesse also noted the "tricky" balancing act of sharing personal anecdotes to connect with fans and not intruding too much on his family's personal lives. Speaking to his guest, actor Luke Macfarlane, he said: "I'm sure your parents were the same way. You know, their careers didn't beg for us to be so open with [themselves]. "And even I'm still learning how to open up in ways. I still have to keep parts of myself private. "We're expected in this industry to go on talk shows and talk about our personal life and to, you know, expose parts of ourselves for roles. And it's something that I think for my dad still a hard thing for him to understand. "If I go on a talk show and tell a story about the family, it's like, 'Why did you have to share that?' And I was like, 'Well, because it's a charming story about my life, and I'm just sharing a little bit of myself with people who wanna know something about me." The 'Cocaine Bear' actor - who is married to Justin Mikita - previously told of how he'd had to tell his parents he was gay at 17, 19, and 21 before they fully understood his sexuality. He told talk show host Oprah Winfrey in 2013: "The last was, he asked me if I had a girlfriend. I was like, 'Dad! I'm gay. Do we really have to go back to this every time?' "It was a process for him as well. It was sort of a coming-out process, and he had to figure out how to deal with having a son that wasn't the ideal son. He had this whole idea of what his son was gonna be, and he had to reconfigure his thinking."
Yahoo
15-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
'Modern Family' star Jesse Tyler Ferguson's dad asked him why he played 'so many gay parts'
Modern Family star Jesse Tyler Ferguson remembers his dad once asking him why he played "so many gay parts." "My family, they went through their own process with me being gay," Ferguson said on Tuesday's edition of his Dinner's On Me podcast. "And my dad even asked me, while I was doing Modern Family, he's like, 'I just don't always understand why you have played so many gay parts.' And it opened up a whole conversation between the two of us and started a whole other level of our relationship, because I had to sort of explain to him why it was important for me to play this role, because, socially, I wanted to be able to portray a gay man on television. I felt like it was gonna do wonderful things for the marriage equality movement, which it did." Ferguson was 33 by the time the Emmy-winning series, on which he played Mitchell Pritchett, who's married to a man, Eric Stonestreet's Cam Tucker, debuted on ABC in 2009. Not only was it a hit with viewers because it was funny, but it was lauded, too, for depicting positive images of a gay couple before the Supreme Court legalized same-sex marriage nationwide in 2015 and that gay characters in general were hugely underrepresented. Feguson had long ago explained to his father that he was gay, but the actor said "it was another thing for me then to be doing that on a major network." In October 2013, Ferguson told Oprah Winfrey that he'd known since childhood that he was gay, but he'd had to tell his parents three times for them to fully grasp it. He recalled that he was 17, 19, and 21 when he spoke to them about the subject. "The last was, he asked me if I had a girlfriend. I was like, 'Dad! I'm gay. Do we really have to go back to this every time?'" Ferguson told Winfrey. "It was a process for him as well. It was sort of a coming-out process, and he had to figure out how to deal with having a son that wasn't the ideal son. He had this whole idea of what his son was gonna be, and he had to reconfigure his thinking." On his podcast, Ferguson bonded with his guest, actor Luke Macfarlane (Brothers and Sisters), over the demands of a job in public and what it means for their personal lives. "I'm sure your parents were the same way. You know, their careers didn't beg for us to be so open with [themselves]," Ferguson said. "And even I'm still learning how to open up in ways. I still have to keep parts of myself private." But that's not always easy."We're expected in this industry to go on talk shows and talk about our personal life and to, you know, expose parts of ourselves for roles. And it's something that I think for my dad still a hard thing for him to understand," Ferguson said. "If I go on a talk show and tell a story about the family, it's like, 'Why did you have to share that?' And I was like, 'Well, because it's a charming story about my life, and I'm just sharing a little bit of myself with people who wanna know something about me." He concluded that it's a "tricky" balancing act. Since his hit sitcom, Ferguson, who has been married to Justin Mikita since 2013, has gone on professionally to appear in projects such as the 2023 movie Cocaine Bear and TV's Elsbeth and Mid-Century Modern. Listen to the full conversation above. Read the original article on Entertainment Weekly
Daily Mail
12-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Former Modern Family child star looks unrecognizable as she shares harsh realities of growing up in spotlight
A former Modern Family child star looked unrecognizable in a new video... as she dished on the harsh realities of growing up in the spotlight. Aubrey Anderson-Emmons, now 17, became a massive star after she made her acting debut as Lily Tucker-Pritchett on the beloved ABC sitcom at only four years old. For eight years, she captured audiences' hearts while playing the adorable daughter of Cam (Eric Stonestreet) and Mitchell (Jesse Tyler Ferguson), and the entire world seemed to watch on as she matured into a young woman - both in the show and in real life. But now, she has opened up about what it was really like to be propelled into the spotlight at such a young age. Taking to TikTok, the actress admitted that she had no idea 'what she was getting herself into' when she joined the show at age four. She also revealed that she was subjected to a slew of cruel criticism, which led to her ultimately fleeing from the spotlight after the show ended. 'Have some tea and chat with me about how I grew up on a TV show and what my plans are for the future,' she began in the clip, which was viewed over one million times. 'As many of you guys know, I grew up on a TV show called Modern Family and I was on that show for eight years of my life... since I was four years old until the age of 12. Taking to TikTok, the actress admitted that she had no idea 'what she was getting herself into' when she joined the show at age four 'People ask things like, "How did you know you wanted to do that when you were four? How do you know you love something when you're so young?" And the truth is, you don't.' Aubrey insisted that she was 'not forced into anything,' adding, 'My mom wasn't like, "You're going to do this," it was not like that.' But she confessed that it wasn't as glamorous as some may think. 'I was not abused on set or anything like that, but you don't know what you're getting yourself into at four years old when you sign a contract to be on a show,' she said. Aubrey pointed out that being on that show was basically 'all she knew' so she felt like she didn't have many other memories from her childhood. She also admitted that being in the public eye meant she was subjected to nasty comments from others, which wasn't easy. 'Also, being on a TV show from a young age, people really took digs at my acting choices or they would say I'm a bad actor,' she recalled. 'I don't feel like I need to prove myself to other people... but it was really hard for me to grow up with so many people's opinions around me.' The 17-year-old explained that after the show concluded, she started trying out for other roles. But because she had been in the show since she was so young, she had basically no experience with the audition process. 'I slowly started to realize I was very sensitive at that age and I could not handle that type of rejection,' she continued. 'So I took a break for a few years.' But now, Aubrey said she's ready to return to the spotlight. 'When I got into my high school theater program I realized that I wanted to do this again and that I actually really enjoy it,' she explained. 'So I have been auditioning for the last two years seriously. For anyone who's been wondering, "Are you going to be on TV again and would you like to be on TV again or to do films?" Yes, absolutely, I would love to. 'And it's gonna happen. In addition to being on your screens again I would also like to be in your headphones or speakers because I'm not creating original music, yay! I've been writing music for three years now.' Aubrey revealed that her new single, Telephones and Traffic, is set to come out on May 23. She revealed that she was subjected to a slew of cruel criticism, which lead to her ultimately fleeing from the spotlight after the show ended But now, Aubrey said she's ready to return to the spotlight, revealing, 'I have been auditioning for the last two years seriously' 'I am grateful for all that Modern Family has given me, but it's time to move on to another chapter of my life where I get to share who I am,' she concluded 'I am grateful for all that Modern Family has given me, but it's time to move on to another chapter of my life where I get to share who I am,' she concluded. 'I'm excited for you guys to see it.' Last February, Aubrey told that she would be open to reprising her iconic Modern Family role for a spin-off series. She said: 'I'd definitely be interested if the script was good and the dads were on board, but school is my priority right now - unless something great comes along. 'I feel like the finale left possibilities and I think that's why people are always talking about a spinoff of the Tucker Pritchard family.'
