Jesse Tyler Ferguson Talks To AOL About "Modern Family" and Being A Gay Dad

[JamesG]

Third time's the charm, at least that's what Jesse Tyler Ferguson is hoping.

After going through the cancellations of two shows (The Class, Do Not Disturb), the actor stars in one of fall's most buzzed-about shows, Modern Family. The comedy, which weaves together the stories of three related families, has earned rave reviews ... including ours.

Ferguson chatted with AOL TV about the joys (and terrors) of good expectations, his big-name TV mom and a recent faux pas on the red carpet.



Modern Family has gotten great reviews. Does this gratify or scare you?

You know what? I completely embrace it.

I've been on the other side of buzz, bad buzz, which is a terrifying place to be, and it's nice to be in the show that people are rooting for ... I'm just thrilled each time I get a new script because it just puts me at ease. I'm doing something good, I'm a part of something that's great and just hopefully people will tune in and agree.




Yeah, you've been in two cancelled shows now ...

Yes. I'm a little bit of a curse. Me and Ty Burrell have a bad track record. But we're hoping Julie Bowen and Ed O'Neill will balance out that with the huge hits that they've had [laughs]. Karma.




Also Shelley Long! She plays your mom, right?

Yes. We just shot with her last week and it was obviously amazing. I mean, you just hear her voice and you just get excited because it's such a specific sound that she produces. And her stuff is mind-boggingly funny. It's so amazing. She is such a great comedienne. She completely still has it. She's got the goods. She's just a great woman. I'm so excited to work with her.




Is she just doing a guest stint or will she be back?

Oh, they'll definitely have her back. The character is definitely estranged from the family. The episode that we shot with her, it's called 'The Incident,' and basically, the incident is what happened that sort of made her go away for a little while. I don't want to give away what it is, but it's really funny and it's told through flashbacks of home video, basically.

She'll definitely be back. I mean, she had a great dynamic with the cast; I think she brings a really interesting color to the group. I don't think they've written any episodes for her as of now, but I think if we get a back nine order, she'll definitely be a part of that.




And you've got some other big-name guest stars lined up, like Edward Norton and Elizabeth Banks.

Yes, we've been so lucky.

Well, Elizabeth Banks is a really good friend of mine. We've known each other for about 10 years, and we were at a birthday party in Palm Springs, and Jason Winer, our director, was down there as well, and Liz said, "Oh, I wanna be in the show!" just over cocktails. We mentioned this role that they were thinking about playing and she was like, "I'll play that role!" And it was just kind of like, "Ha ha ha, that's funny."

And then flash forward six weeks later, she's on set, having her costume fitting, playing the role. We just shot with her yesterday and her stuff is out-of-control funny. I would not be surprised if she got an Emmy nomination for this guest turn. She's ridiculously funny in it.




Are you proud to be playing half of a happy, committed gay couple who is raising a child?

I'm thrilled about it. I'm trying not to put too much social pressure on the character or the show right now. But at the same time, I'm thrilled that these characters are being played out on network television. I think it's obviously a wonderful, positive thing to have.

Believe me, there's a lot of people who are going to disagree with me; we're certainly rustling a lot of feathers. But I think, personally, that this is such a wonderful relationship to have on network television, and then I think it's told so eloquently, and with so much heart and love, and it's not about these characters being gay, but about these two new parents that are in a loving relationship and trying to forge their way through fatherhood together.




Actually, your on-screen hubby, Eric Stonestreet, responded when I asked our Twitter followers to submit questions for this interview. He told me to ask you about some dry cleaning. What happened?

[Laughs] I am so uncool. We went to this event last night for EW for the Emmy awards, and I had all this dry cleaning at the Fox lot. I picked it up very quickly -- we had a really long day yesterday. I just ran home and changed my shirt, and about three hours into the party, after having pictures and everything, Eric says, "What is that hanging off of your shirt?" And he peels off this long dry cleaning tab from underneath my collar that was basically just sitting there all night and nobody said anything.

So I've been combing the internet trying to find pictures because it's hilarious, but I'm not famous enough that anyone ever published the pictures, which is probably a good thing [laughs].




It really seems like the cast gets along. I noticed you interact with them quite a bit on your Twitter.

Yeah. It's been great. I mean, there's not a sour apple in the bunch. It's been -- really, the most difficult actor on the show right now are the twins playing Lily because they do this crying thing that I'm not really into when they're ripped away from their mother's arms and put into ours. But they're learning. They're learning.




You started off in theater. Will you try to return to that, maybe during hiatuses?

Oh, always. Always. I just need to be asked. I need to be asked and I need to have the time. But it's my first love, and I will never ever not want to do theater. I think I'm always looking for an opportunity to go back.




It probably wouldn't fit, but how can we make a musical episode of Modern Family happen?

[Laughs] ] I know. I actually thought about that too. Well, Ugly Betty's doing a musical episode, and I did a spot [on that show]. I played Dr. Farkus, her orthodontist, at one point, and I was like "How do I get into that musical episode? I need to be in it immediately."




What do you watch on TV? Any guilty pleasures?

I love Mad Men.
I'm obsessed with True Blood.
I have to say I love Wipeout. I know it's not very highbrow. I just think it's the greatest show.
I TiVo America's Funniest Home Videos. I do have a very lowbrow thing going on as well ... I try to be well-rounded [laughs].

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