Jesse Tyler Ferguson: Modern Family Man

Jesse Tyler Ferguson has proved his versatility in theater with his performances in On the Town,The Most Fabulous Story Every Told, and most notably, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, in which he originated the role of Leaf Coneybear. In recent years, Ferguson has worked steadily on series televison, and this fall, he’s part of the new ABC sitcom Modern Family, alongside Ed O’Neill, Julie Bowen, Ty Burrell, Eric Stonestreet, and Sofia Vergara. Ferguson recently spoke with TheaterMania about this new project.

THEATERMANIA: Tell us a little about your character in Modern Family?
JESSE TYLER FERGUSON: I play Mitchell, one half of a gay couple adopting a baby from Vietnam. He is definitely the more serious and trepidatious of the two. He is very nervous about being a father, nervous about doing things the right way. He is probably exactly how I would be as a new dad.

TM: Do you think it’s sociologically important for you, as a gay man, to play a gay dad?
JTF: I want the show to breathe and be what it is without putting too much social responsibility on it or myself right off the bat. However, I think the show will be a touchstone for the gay community. It would be impossible to ignore that we are in the middle of a social movement with marriage equality and I think having a loving gay couple on network television is obviously a positive thing. It is, to my knowledge, the first time network TV has represented gay dads and that alone is groundbreaking. For the record, my character isn’t married to his partner, Cameron. I don’t know if that is something the writers are saving for a future episode. As exciting as all of this is, the show is, at its root, a hilarious, smart sitcom.

TM: What kind of research — if any — did the part require? Did you rent a kid or something?
JTF: You know, I wish there was more I could have done to prepare for this. I bet every new parent wishes there was more they could do to prepare for parenthood. I did read parts of The Kid, Dan Savage’s hilarious account of adopting a baby with his partner but that was more for pleasure than research. I did do a lot of babysitting in a slow period I had before I started work on Spelling Bee. I have to say I am pretty good with kids.

TM: How is this different than working on your first sitcom, The Class?
JTF: I loved doing The Class so much. It was the best baptism into television I could have asked for. Great writing, great director, great cast. I still mourn the loss of that show. There, we taped in front of a studio audience so my comfort level of being in front of a live audience definitely helped. Julie Halston, Heather Goldenharsh, Sam Harris and I all treated it like we were doing a Noel Coward play every week. Modern Family is a single-camera show and has an entirely different tone. It is very subtle and the scenes are played very honestly. I think theater actors bring a certain spontaneity to their work and this format certainly benefits from that. We improvise quite a bit as well. I just hope they let me sing at some point.

TM: Your last sitcom, Do Not Disturb, had a very short run. What was that experience like?
JTF: Do Not Disturb was tough. It was sort of a product of the writers’ strike. Not many new shows were produced that year and the pickings were slim for the network. I honestly don’t think it would have been picked up in a healthier development year. It was a frustrating show to be a part of and it’s never fun to be on the “sinking ship”. I just like to tell people that Do Not Disturb was a three-part miniseries. But Modern Family feels like it really has legs. ABC loves the show and they are really behind us. They want the show to work as much as we do. I am hoping third time is a charm for me!

TM: Do you see yourself returning to theater — either in NY or LA — during breaks or summer hiatus? If so, are there any projects in mind?
JTF: I will always consider theater my home. As far back as I can remember I have wanted to be a stage actor. Being on TV seriously never occurred to me until I started work on The Class. And before I was cast in Modern Family, I was workshopping the role of “Buddy” in the upcoming musical adaptation of the movie Elf. It is a great show and that was tough role to let go of. I seriously looked in to cloning myself so that I could both. I enjoyed doing A Midsummer Night’s Dream in Central Park, and I would do Shakespeare in the Park again in a heartbeat. I also want to say on record that I am dying to work at Williamstown. I can’t seem to get an “in” to that club.

TM: What has been your favorite theater experience so far?
JTF: Well, the obvious choice is Spelling Bee. We created that show from the grassiest of grass roots and then it was embraced so warmly by audiences. It truly was the most gratifying labor of love I have ever experienced, and I made some of my best friends on that show. I remember being on the stage of Radio City Music Hall during rehearsals for the Tony Award telecast. I looked at Dan Fogler and said “10 months ago we were doing this show in cafeteria in the Berkshires and right now we are in 6,000 seat theater and they are setting up a crane shot of you doing your magic foot.” I mean, come on — that is crazy.