Modern Family's Eric Stonestreet Has A Much Darker Sense Of Humor Than Cam

Apparently, there's more to Eric Stonestreet – the actor who played Cam Tucker on "Modern Family" – than his jolly demeanor in the series suggests. Stonestreet, who starred on hit ABC sitcom from 2009 to 2020, joined the eponymous host of "Larry King Now" in September 2012 to discuss his career and work on "Modern Family." 

While King discussed the fun-loving nature of Cam with Stonestreet, the actor revealed that off-camera he was quite different. Noting that he has a "dirty, dark sense of humor," Stonestreet explained to King that he keeps his quips private because he wouldn't be able to get away with expressing them in a public forum.

"I'm not a comedian ... I'm a comedic actor, so I don't get to take to Twitter and Instagram and really say what I want to say, like others get to say things," Stonestreet told King. The actor's reasoning boiled down to maintaining a sense of decorum out of respect for his employer, ABC, which is owned by a family entertainment conglomerate. 

"I am working for Disney, and I do have a conscience about that, and I don't think I'm [the sort of person to be] at home writing these great, wonderful, beautiful Louis C.K.-type jokes," Stonestreet said. "I don't know that's really my place." Stonestreet added that if a person is hanging out with him in his private life, they will discover that he has "a darker, stranger mind."

To illustrate his point of having a darker mind, Eric Stonestreet confessed to Larry King that he wanted to be a clown at one point in his life — an occupation that now tends to scare people or gives them the creeps. Of course, it doesn't help the public's psyche when creepy clown movies like "IT" and "Terrifier 2" make it big in theaters.

Stonestreet said he is saddened by how the symbolism of clowns has changed over the years. The actor told King that a great clown has "heart," and their goal has changed from entertaining people to scaring people. One word he doesn't want clowns or anyone else to be labeled by is weird. 

"Do clowns usually have weird minds?" King asked, to which the actor responded, "I don't think weird minds. I always hated the word weird as a kid. I'll tell you that. When somebody calls somebody weird, I always think that's a reflection on the person calling someone weird."

Stonestreet added that he thinks "weird is a lazy word" and if his parents thought he was weird as a child, then he wouldn't be "talking to legendary broadcaster Larry King." Instead of labeling their son as weird, Stonestreet told King that his parents encouraged his creative and unique traits. As such, Stonestreet said he doesn't like how people — especially little kids — are given the weird label. 

"You've got to come up with something better because weird is a pejorative, in my opinion," he said. "It doesn't encourage someone."