Eric Stonestreet's Affection For Jesse Tyler Ferguson Goes Way Beyond Modern Family
"Modern Family," the ABC mockumentary sitcom, aired on the network for 11 seasons from 2009 to 2020. Created by Christopher Lloyd and Steven Levitan, the series follows the everyday of three interconnected families living in the Los Angeles area.
One of those families is comprised of Mitchell Pritchett (Jesse Tyler Ferguson) and Cameron Tucker (Eric Stonestreet), a gay couple who adopt a daughter, Lily (Jaden and Ella Hiller seasons 1 and 2; Aubrey Anderson-Emmons seasons 3 to 11), at the start of the series. The Tucker-Pritchett family certainly makes for some of the show's funniest moments — after all, Cameron's bubbly personality is in stark contrast to Mitchell's more uptight demeanor, making for a fun dynamic to watch. In fact, their differing personalities is on full display in one of the funniest moments of the series when they accidentally lock Lily in the car; Mitchell tries to sing her a soothing lullaby, while Cam freaks out about getting arrested before they both break out into full hysterics.
When it comes down to it though, the dynamic between Mitchell and Cameron works so well because of the flawless chemistry between the two actors. So it's no surprise that the two of them have plenty of off-screen affection for one another as well — here's what Stonestreet has to say about his on-screen husband.
Stonestreet says the affection between him and Ferguson is genuine
In a red carpet interview with E! from 2012, Eric Stonestreet discussed all things "Modern Family" — including his off screen dynamic with his main scene partner, Jesse Tyler Ferguson (via DailyMotion). The interview occurred right after Stonestreet won the Emmy for his performance as Cameron (Stonestreet was nominated for three Emmys in 2010, 2011 and 2012, winning the first and the third). Stonestreet noted that he expected either Ed O'Neill, who portrays Mitchell's father Jay, or Ferguson to win the award that year; this segued into him discussing his relationship with Ferguson, who he thanked during his speech.
Stonestreet told E!, "I'm getting choked up thinking about it because I love him. We wouldn't be successful as a comedy duo, and that's exactly what we are, if we didn't have genuine affection for each other." The actor continued by noting that he knows that he and Ferguson admire and respect one another.
Stonestreet then went on to express his desire for Ferguson to get his own award recognition. He continued, "It doesn't feel right that I've won two and he hasn't won one ... it'll never feel right until we're on equal terms because that's exactly what we are. We are equals." Ferguson received five Emmy nominations during the course of "Modern Family," but didn't end up winning one.
Stonestreet has said he wants to work with Ferguson again
After watching the duo of Eric Stonestreet and Jesse Tyler Ferguson on screen for 11 years, fans may have been sad to see the partnership come to an end with the conclusion of "Modern Family" in 2020. Well, luckily for those fans, Stonestreet and Ferguson may work together again — or at least Stonestreet wants to.
In 2019, Stonestreet spoke to Cinemablend about the series coming to a close and addressed whether or not he would work with Ferguson. Stonestreet said, "Of course [I would]. Jesse and I, from day one, we hit it off. We're two different people. What he comes from, what he did to get where he's at; where I come from, what I did to get where I'm at. Our collision happened, completely different paths, completely different people. We have so much respect for each other."
Logistically, Stonestreet said that they wouldn't jump into something new right away and, if they were approached about a Mitchell and Cam spinoff, that they would have to put a lot of thought into it. All in all, it would have to be the right project to bring them together again. Going back to the joy of their friendship, Stonestreet concluded, "I think we've been in a couple arguments over the course of the show and they ended very quickly because we both were like 'This is uncomfortable, don't be mad at me, I don't want to be mad at you.' We just got lucky."