Sarah Hyland may make you laugh as Haley Dunphy on Modern Family, but don’t be fooled, the young actress is wise beyond her age
Modern Family is doing really well over here. What do you love about the showIJ
It’s funny. Some of my favorite parts are the interviews.
How similar are you to your character HaleyIJ
Not that similar. I mean we have a few things in common. I’m not the best cook or baker like she is not the best cook. I always have my phone in my hands, but I am really bad at getting back to people. I always forget. I see their text message or their missed call and I be like, “Oh I’ll call them back in five minutes,” and I’ll forget. Other than that, not really much in common with her.
What’s been your favorite episode so far in the seriesIJ
Oh gosh that’s really hard. I don’t even know what the episode was about but probably the episode when Julie Bowen was in her underwear. That was really hot. (laughs)
What do you guys do between the takesIJ Who do you tend to hang out withIJ
Usually I film a lot with the immediate family like Julie and Ty. So usually I just hang out with Julie and Ty, or Nolan.
And Ty Burrell is hilarious as your dad, Phil. What is he like to work withIJ
He’s amazing. He’s so funny and he’s such a good person. He’s so sweet and giving He’s honestly like one of my favorite people.
Have you ever been star-struckIJ
Yes I have. Oh my God, yes I have. When I was five I did the movie The Object of My Affection, Paul Rudd came in the makeup trailer on my first day and he played the best-friend uncle type. And he said, “Hi I’m Paul. Nice to meet you.” And I couldn’t speak. I put on a smile and giggled because I had recently seen him in Clueless. I was in love with him in Clueless. And then he goes on to do things like I love You Man and Forgetting Sarah Marshall and all my favorite movies. I have not seen him since The Object of My Affection, but I don’t even know if he’ll remember me. I just remember being five years old and being completely star-struck and like, “Oh my God, it’s Josh from Clueless.”
What’s your number one confidence trickIJ
Probably just like if I’m auditioning for a role or something like that, to just be like, “This role’s yours. Just go in there and own it,” and “If you don’t get it, something else was wrong. Somebody else was better than you or somebody else had a different look than you and try to get over it.”
What’s the best thing about being an actorIJ
It’s a lot of downtime and it’s a lot of work. So when it rains, it pours, and when it’s dry, it’s dry. It’s awesome because I love to work, but I also like to relax and chill and sleep in. So it’s kind of a perfect job for me.
Awesome. If you weren’t an actor, what would you be doingIJ
I’ll probably be flipping burgers at McDonalds, I don’t know. (laughs) I would probably be in college. I’d probably be in NYU. I grew up in New York and that was my dream school. So if I wasn’t acting, that was probably the only thing I would be thinking about. I probably would be in NYU as a film or psychology student, or something like that, and doing essays every night - pretty boring.
Who is your celebrity crushIJ
I don’t know. See, when I’m asked this question, I always don’t know who. But then I go into a 7-Eleven or watch a movie or something and I’m like, “Oh my God, I love them!” and then I completely forget about them. (laughs) Celebrity crush, I’d say Paul Rudd.
What’s your most embarrassing high school memoryIJ
I have a lot of moments that would probably be called embarrassing but they weren’t embarrassing to me. That’s kind of inappropriate, when I was in sixth grade we had a teacher and she always wore long sleeves. And I made a joke in front of the entire class. She was a really chilled, so you could make jokes about her in front of everybody and she would laugh. So in sixth grade, I meant to say, “Why do you wear long sleeves all the timeIJ Do you have tentacles or somethingIJ” But instead of tentacles I said testicles. I messed up the joke. And I do that all the time. Sometimes I say, “Shoe-she” instead of “Sushi”. like my brain works faster than my mouth. So it comes out wrong. So I said, “so you have testicles or something on your armIJ” And everybody started laughing and I was like, “Oh gosh! I said testicles instead of tentacles. That’s weird.” I wasn’t embarrassed but it was pretty funny.
What are you listening to at the momentIJ
Music wise, I’m listening to Kanye’s new song. I don’t even know what it’s called, but it’s awesome. Eminem’s new album Recovery is amazing. Eye Alaska is one of my favorite bands. They’re a new band, if you haven’t heard of them. And love the Way You lie on Recovery by Eminem and Rihanna. I love that song.
Modern Family Season 1 – 8 will air from April 5 at 8:30pm Monday to Friday only on Star World and Star World HD