'Modern Family' Interviews

Steven Levitan:  The policy has actually changed, apparently.  We wanted to preserve that surprise because we kept finding, when we would screen it for people, that even our friends who are writers and who are cynical would genuinely be surprised at that moment, and it was a really nice moment for people to experience when all three families came together.  But apparently, what ABC has discovered in testing, is that one of the strengths of the show is the fact that they’re all in one family, so they think we’re much better off revealing that.

EI:  So the marketing going forward for the fall will show them all together?

SL:  Right.

EI:  So you don’t mind us Twittering that fact, then, right?

Jason Winer: Go nuts.

SL:  Do what you’re going to do.  For god’s sake, what can we do? [Laughs]

EI:  For the producers, talk about your decision to use the format of a faux documentary for this, and were you at all concerned because NBC’s already got a couple of shows that’s been doing this for a while?

SL:  Yeah.  That was a bit of a concern in the beginning, but it’s the way Chris [Christopher Lloyd] and I wanted to tell the story.  When you’re doing a family show, it’s very easy for it to be sugary and schmaltzy, and we thought the documentary form really was a nice way to add some grit to it and make it not quite so syrupy.  We love the pacing of it, the way the interviews cut into things and separate scenes, and we love the fact that we can shoot it much faster with a more raw feel so that if we have a really great take where the actors do something perfectly but there’s a slight camera bump, in a normal single-camera show, that take is unusable, but for us, it’s very natural, so it allows a lot of freedom that I think is just conducive for comedy.

JW:  Also, directing the show, I was really conscious of trying to separate it visually from those other TV mocumentaries that you mentioned.  The interviews, you’ll notice, are staged very differently.  They show a lot of the environment around the people, and the camera work itself is intended to be more cinematic.  The idea being that the documentarians, the unseen documentarians here were trying to make a really great-looking documentary, so it allows us to observe things and have a sort of voyeuristic comedy, which is what we were seeking to make.

Ty Burrell: I also think it’s just become an effective way of telling a story.  They’re all derivative of Albert Brooks or Spinal Tap or whatever, it seems to me anyway.  But watching a documentary is such a great way to tell a story. It seems like it’s just becoming a little bit more recognized that this is a really effective way to tell a story.

SL:  Those interviews add a layer which is so nice because you can jump into a scene and you can add a completely different point of view from one of the characters within the scene, what they’re thinking or what they’re trying to hide or whatever.  It’s a very nice device, so I think it’s very conducive for single-camera comedy.

EI: Jesse, could you describe the difficulty of finding a really good comedy?  Because you’ve had some real highs.

Jesse Tyler Ferguson:  What are you talking about? [Laughs]

EI:  I mean Spelling Bee and The Class, and then you had a real awful one with that one on FOX last… [Laughs]

JTF:  What people don’t understand was that was a three-part miniseries. [Laughs] We told our arc.  We told the story we wanted to tell. Actually, I went into this pilot season, after Do Not Disturb, being very choosy about what I was going to do because I was actually thinking about maybe going back and doing some theater, and this was the first pilot I read.  I was like, well, crap, that plan’s out the window because I have to audition for this. I mean, you’re thrown through so many hoops as an actor. Getting the job just seems so far away that it didn’t even occur to me that it was actually going to go my way, and I’m very grateful it did.  This has been an absolute joy to do, and I’m very passionate about it, and that’s exciting to go into work and do something you’re that passionate about.

EI:  Could you and Eric discuss kind of the…they’re interesting characters because usually, Jesse, you’re the calm one, but, like, in the airplane scene, you’re the one who’s wrong.  So you guys kind of take turns occasionally being overwrought, but usually Jesse gets to be the reasonable one.

JTF:  I actually auditioned for Eric’s part, and Chris and Steve said, ”Well, you might be a good Mitchell,” which was the role I was initially drawn to…

Eric Stonestreet:  I didn’t audition for Mitchell’s part.  I just auditioned for Cameron. [Laughs] Yeah, I think we have a good dynamic between the two of us, as far as taking the lead in the relationship, if you will, sort of back and forth.  I think my character would believe he’s more reasonable because of who we are and being open and honest about that and not being ashamed of it…not that Mitchell’s ashamed of it, but just being proud.  It’s like, what’s there to hide?

EI:  One is the bigger character.  You play the broader character.

ES:  Yeah.

EI:  And Jesse plays the one…

JTF:  I didn’t know where he was going with that — “bigger.” [Laughs] Broad. Flamboyant.

EI:  In 2003, there was It’s All Relative that had some gay parents, and television has occasionally done some gay parents, but as far as I’m aware of, this is the first time a gay male couple has had a child from infancy.  I’m just curious how you came to include that and if you’re worried about any criticism from some of the far right groups who will undoubtedly not be happy about that…?

SL:  I welcome criticism from the far right groups. [Laughs] We just wanted to show three different types of families.  The idea here was one traditional family and two nontraditional families, so we were searching for interesting, different forms of family, because I think the family in America is changing.  It comes in lots of different shapes and sizes now, that it perhaps didn’t used to, and I think that’s what’s fun about exploring the differences between them.  And then the fact that they’re linked adds that extra layer.  It just seemed like a natural that there would be a lot of comedy in the challenges they face.  The truth of the matter is the way Chris and I have always seen Cam and Mitchell — they’re, in many ways, the most traditional couple.  Cam is a stay-at-home parent.  Mitchell goes to work.  They’re fairly conservative.  So if people are going to take shots at that, let them.  I think everybody else will be laughing at it.

EI:  Always nice to see old friends back on new shows.  Ed, do you like doing this stuff better than being the hard “Dragnet” kind of tough guy, or are they equal?

Ed O’Neill:  It’s a different thing entirely, but…the “Dragnet” was fun.  It was a lot of work.  It was an hour drama and it was a procedural, so it was six and seven scenes a day.  That’s a lot of work, 14 hours every day.  This is much more ensemble and it’s a comedy, so I really like this job.

EI:  Better than the other ones?

EO:  Yes. [Laughs]

EI: How different is your new wife to your old wife, Peggy Bundy?

Sofia Vergara:  Do you have to ask that question?

EO:  Exactly the same. [Laughs] No, no.  Well, obviously, different show. [Laughs] And I’m older.  She’s younger.  Peg and I were a little closer in age, although I was older than she was, Katey [Segal].  So this is a whole different deal. I’m a little over my head, I think, in this one, and it’s kind of fun to try to keep up. [Laughs] So I don’t know.  We’ll see how it goes.

SL:  The idea of that relationship — he’s facing a few different challenges. There’s a cultural difference in the way Gloria and Manny approach things — it’s very different. They’re very emotional and their hearts are on their sleeves, whereas Jay is much more keeping things closed in, and that’s what he’s used to.  And the other thing, which I see all the time because I have young daughters — my kids are basically the ages of the kids in the Dunphy family: two girls and a boy, and there are fathers in my daughters’ classes that are in their 70s.  I think there are some fathers in their 80s, and I see them trying to keep up with their family.  My daughters’ school has got this giant staircase, and we had to walk from an orientation thing down on one level up this hill, and you could see a few of the older fathers just trudging along, trying to keep up with everybody else, and we just always found that one of the amusing things — that Jay would have reached a point in his life where he’s ready to just do everything on his terms, ready to kick back, ready to enjoy life and all that, and then he’s got this beautiful young woman.  Now the package is complete.  He’s got a beautiful young woman.  He’s got a beautiful two-seat car.  Life is great, and then, oh, but she comes with this kid and suddenly he’s got to start parenting all over again, but that’s the price of this. [Laughs] Seems reasonable, right?

EI:  Mr. Burrell, I wonder if you could talk a bit about the serendipity of you and Patricia Heaton and Kelsey Grammer all ending up on the same network at the same time.  Did you guys keep in touch after Back to You?

TB:  We did, actually, but it was not that much in touch.  But yeah, I mean, it’s been really great.  We’ve already run into each other at a couple of press things, and it seems like a really happy accident.  They’re both great, and both their shows look really funny, and that seems like a really fun way to start this season with the comedy block around our show, with really strong shows, and it gives an audience a little  bit more of a target, I think.

ES:  Though it’s not Kelsey Grammer and Patricia Heaton — there are four people that are my friends that are all on the comedy block:  Neil Flynn from Scrubs, who’s on Patricia’s show; Ian Gomez, who’s on Cougar Town; and David Koechner on Hank, and we all have Chicago Improv experience together, so that was really exciting for me to be on the same night with guys I know.  It’s not Patty Heaton and [laughs] Kelsey Grammer [laughs] but Neil Flynn, huh?  Neil Flynn?  Dave Koechner? No? [Laughs]

EI:  Ty, describe the fun of trying to be hip.  Doing, for instance, that bad High School Musical dance — was that kind of fun to do?  Did you learn it?  Did you watch the original tape, or did you see the movie?

TB:  Well, when you say “trying to be hip,” it’s kind of tragic or wonderful that I’m…the part is just a very slight magnification of me anyway. [Laughs] It’s way too close to home.  But no, I didn’t know the dance, and I went on YouTube and went over that section many times, and then I had to pretend like I was embarrassed by having to do it when we actually shot it, when deep down I just was having a blast.

EI:  Sofia, when you do your character and her Columbian accent, what are your roots?  Where are you from originally?

SV:  I’m Colombian. [Laughs]

EI:  Do you give her more of an accent than you have in real life, or less?

SV:  The truth is that I’ve been in this country for 15 years and I still sound like this. [Laughs] But what can I do?  I learned to live with it, and I’ve been taking advantage of it.  I was watching a tape of me speaking in English, like, 20 years ago, and me and my son were like, “Is that you, Mom?  You speak perfect English.”  It was perfect.  And I think I’ve been realizing that the more that I exaggerate it, it’s funnier. [Laughs] So now I totally don’t know how I speak.  I lost my accent.  I fucked up my accent [covering mouth]. [Laughs] But I’ve been working, so I can’t complain. [Laughs]

EI:  Sofia, is your character totally a fish out of water being thrown amongst these white-bread Americans, or are the problems of a large family the same here as they are in Colombia?

SV:  I think all families are the same.  Here, it can be easier because you have more money, and over there, it’s harder to keep up with family because you have to work harder.  It’s different situations, but I think families are the same everywhere in the world, and I think that’s why a show like this, if it was shown in Colombia, would have the same success here or anywhere in the world, because we’re all the same, no matter what color, what ethnicity, whatever.  We all have the same problems.  So it’s going to be fine. For me, it’s fun because I’ve lived that reality, being in a country with different people — the same thing Gloria is going through.

EI:  Julie, can you talk a little bit about the move into the “harried mom” kind of roles? Is that an adjustment, or is it more reflective of your real life and how you feel about this part?

Julie Bowen:  I was 8 1/2 months pregnant with twins when I shot the pilot, so I was definitely harried. [Laughs] We covered it — you might notice my character does a lot of laundry.  While Chris and Steve are doing sort of contortions to make this an interesting character choice, which it kind of is, sort of making order in a chaotic world, the reality is I was hiding an enormous belly.  So I was feeling pretty harried, yeah. I think what you’re getting at is that I’m playing older now [laughs], which is fine.  In reality, I have three kids, and the roles get better when you get to add that layer of complexity.  You’re playing off your peers and people younger than you, and it’s much more interesting than for me having to play the love interest and just sort of reacting. Claire makes stuff happen in the house.  A lot of people are reacting to Claire, mainly out of fear [laughs], but it’s much more fun.  And also I feel a little bit like a survivor. Hollywood is a war of attrition.  I’m still here.  I like it.

EI:  Julie, is Claire going to continue to mine her checkered past to hone her teenage parenting skills?

JB:  Oh, hells yes. [Laughs] Jason, our beloved director, keeps trying to get me to mine my own beloved past. [Laughs] But I think ne’er the twain shall meet.  I think that makes it more interesting and more fun, that she didn’t just pop out a Type A person.  It was a long road to getting there, and it makes her relationship with her kids much more interesting.  She knows what they’re up to.  She really does know what they’re doing.  It’s not just “I suspect you’re fooling around under the pool table.”  It’s “I know you are because I’ve been there.”  So yeah, she’s definitely going to continue to mine that.

EI:  Ed, you’ve been in some hard-hitting dramas in the past, like Big Apple, a Steven Bochco show.  You’re also known for comedies. I’m wondering if you can compare the two.  Do you think that sometimes people take comedy for granted or assume that acting in a show like this is somehow easier than doing the hard-hitting drama?

EO:  I did the Big Apple, a David Milch show, and then John from Cincinnati, which was a David Milch show.  But David Milch is also a very funny guy, as you know, so it helps. I always found that really good drama has a lot of comedy in it.  And then I think, in this show…I mean, it’s too early to tell you, but I think there’s also going to be some drama in this show.  It’s very realistic.  It’s fun to play both, obviously.  That’s the obvious answer.  It’s just weighted a little bit more on the side of comedy in this one as opposed to the dramatic.

SL:  I think comedy is harder.  I think it’s a lot harder because, to play comedy well, you have to play drama well and then add a layer of comedy, of lightness, on top of that.  If it’s just the lightness, then it’s something bad.  But when it’s done well, it’s very complex, and there are very few people who can do it.  When we’re casting comedies, the talent pool is a fraction of the talent pool available to those casting dramas, in my opinion, so they are very rare talents for people who can be funny in a very real way.

EO: There’s so much to the timing of something, I think.

EI:  For the producers, your show and the Patricia Heaton show both have quite an amazing array of little kid actors.  How do you find them? There must be, like, a million mothers shoving them in your face. [Laughs] How do you find the good ones?

SL:  Those of who you saw Bruno know how horrifying that can be. I’ll be honest with you.  It would be one of the reasons that we were nervous about doing this show. I’ve worked with some kids before, and Chris has, and it’s very difficult to find really good kid actors who are real, so it was one of the reasons we were saying, “Well, do we want do this?”  And I think it’s the reason that there are a lot of animated family shows, because adults can then play the kids.  But we just set a very high bar.  Jeff Greenberg, our casting director, did a wonderful job. He cast in Cheers and Frasier, and lots and lots of shows.  He saw hundreds, maybe close to a thousand actors, trying to find the right kids that felt real, and they had to be distinct because we had specific characters for each kid, and they had to be real and they had to be the right age, and they had to look like they were from the same family.  So it was an enormous challenge, but I’m really excited about the kids we have. These are not kids that we feel like we have to write away from, or they’re not going to be the props who pop in, “I’m going up to my room to do my homework.”  In many ways, and quite often, they’re the antagonists of our stories, or they provide the inticing incident.  It’s their problems that the parents have to get into, so they’re an integral part of the show, and we feel really fortunate to have the kids that we do.

JW:  I think, when it comes to the kids, something that started out as a challenge for us we now see as a tremendous strength.  Each of the kids has their own amazing special strength as an actor.

SL:  We believe this so much that we have hired a 15-year-old director. [Laughs]

JW:  What I like to say is that a small dog is always a puppy. [Laughs]  Just think about it.  Soak it in. But let’s see.  I was going to say Ariel Winter, who plays Alex, is actually a tremendous little improvisor.  She’s always throwing in her own touches.  Sometimes we have to ask her not to. [Laughs] But her strength is that she’s super smart and always thinking.  Nolan [Gould], who plays Luke, is actually a really smart kid who is playing a kid who is a little off and maybe not as smart as the kid who’s playing him is.  But I think he’s Mensa.

ES:  He is.

JW:  So he’s in Mensa, and he’s playing a kid who is supposed to be a little slow.  But the way that he’s a little smart and kind of crazy smart for his age…

TB:  It’s almost the same effect, though.

JW:  It’s the same effect.  It makes the character seem equally off-center, which he’s supposed to be.  And then Sarah Hyland, who plays Haley — frankly, a tremendous actress, just tremendously natural and at ease.  It’s not hard to ask her to text in a scene because that’s what she’s doing immediately off camera. [Laughs]

TB:  Rico [Rodriguez], who plays Manny, is just — we wanted not the typical TV kid and somebody who just seemed different, seemed more real.

SL:  The thing we keep saying: “What’s the real?  What’s the real?  What’s the real?”  Coming off of doing a series of multicamera shows and all that, which are fun and great and all that, the biggest appeal of doing this show, for Chris and I, was just to delve into what is real at every stage of the game. What are the conversations we’re having with our kids, with our wives…what are the funny situations we are witnessing in our schools, and to just mine them and to mine them — keep going deeper and smaller with them as opposed to getting bigger with it, like you do in a multicam.  Nothing against multicam.  Love them.  But this is something that we really wanted to do here, was just be real.