Not that funny

Ty (Burell) and I were most definitely pulling for Jesse or Ed this year. But, you know, the way we look at it is we’re on a TV show that’s very popular right now, and we’re getting a lot of critical acclaim. We’re getting a lot of award nominations, and we know that that’s not always going to be the case. 

So while it is happening, we want to enjoy it and get as much of it and soak up as much of it as we can because we know it’s fleeting.

But you won two...

Well, I think my character resonates with people. I think it’s a flashy character, you know. Jesse doesn’t get the credit that he deserves to play what is, in a comedian’s duo, the straight man role. Typically it’s the bigger, flashier characters that gets attention. I hope people look at it and say, “Eric’s a good actor.” 

Your character Cameron is a music teacher. Do you have a background in musicIJ

I play the drums but not the guitar or the piano or anything like that. I wish I would have focussed on an instrument like that. You can’t really romance a girl with a drum so well (laughs). I just like that the writers have created an environment to see Cam outside of the relationship that the audience are used to seeing him in. Just the line alone in the episode a few weeks ago, “Now let’s form an orchestra of my favorite instrument, your beautiful bodies.” I mean, that’s a great, hilarious thing for my character to say to a group of 14-year-old kids. It’s crazy and inappropriate. But because it’s Cam, you know it comes from this really warm, lovely place. So I just like that they’ve created an environment potentially where I can continue to be saddled with these sort of inappropriately wrong things to say.

You said before that you look at your mother as inspiration for Cameron but you play the role really well. Do you have gay friends you look upto for the roleIJ

Yes, I have a lot of gay friends. My cousin’s gay, and I’ve known him my whole life. But more than that, I have never looked at Cameron as gay. I just never thought of it that way, particularly because it was already written that he was. So as an actor, my approach or my technique, as silly as that sounds, is that its written. So I don’t need to comment on that anymore. For the audience, it’s a given circumstance. You know that Cameron Tucker is a homosexual man, so I need not comment on that at all. 

So then it really becomes about, “Well, what’s this character likeIJ” Well, on the page it said he’s the more passionate of the two, he’s the more paternal of the two, he’s the more emotional of the two. 

There was a recent rumour of you dating Charlize Theron...

Yeah, it was good. I shudder to think what she thought when she heard that. It was interesting. It was the night before the Emmys, actually, when that article came out. And I got a text from a friend of mine that just said, “Is it trueIJ” And I’m like, “Is what trueIJ” he told me story and all of a sudden I was, like, in the tabloids. 

Are there any family shows you remember from your childhood that somehow inspired you or which you felt was good TV entertainmentIJ

I was and still am a fan of TV. I didn’t know I was watching shows critically at the time. I was probably learning and paying attention to things. Every show was in repeats for me as a kid, but The Dick Van Dyke Show was always a favorite. That apart, I loved The Brady Bunch and The Cosby Show while growing up. I was also fond of The Andy Griffith Show. You know, Barney Fife was probably one of my favorite characters of all time and Don Knotts played it. 

What are the shows that you watch nowIJ

Well, I watch American Horror Story because I love that show. Occasionally I also watch Justified and Homeland.

What do you like to do when you’re not working on a show or not watching oneIJ What do you like to doIJ

Well, right now I’m in the middle of, like, a home renovation. So when I’m not at work, I’m making decisions on this patio and this stone and this tile, you know.I’m sort of operating as my own general contractor. It is really fun and a challenge and I’m enjoying the project. I like building, and I like the smell of construction at my house. 

I also like to travel and went on some fun vacations this summer. I went to the UK, and I went to the South of France and went to the Monte Carlo Grand Prix, which was quite a treat for this Kansas boy to see that. 

You’ve also been down to Australia. Do people recognise you abroadIJ

Yeah. Being in london was a real wake-up call to know how popular our show is because it’s such a different sort of hub than New York in that you get a lot of people from the East there as well. And I think the one that stood out time was a guy that walked up to me and said, “I’m a Kuwaiti who lives in the Czech Republic, and I’m a huge fan of Modern Family.” And we were right there by Buckingham Palace. I was just like, “I’m in london, and a Kuwaiti who lives in the Czech Republic is a fan of the show.” That pretty much says it all.

How do you deal with the massive success of the series and the fame that comes with itIJ

Well, I mean, I just try not to really acknowledge it. Fame is something somebody else sort of puts upon me. I think my challenge is just staying true to who I am and trying to live my life the way I lived it that got me here. I think there’s a reason that I’m a successful actor, and I certainly don’t want to abandon those values and those beliefs and those things that make me, me. I do think there is a challenge to that, because people will definitely sort of push me in a way that makes me sort of make some decisions. 

And, you know, I feel like I’m an actor because I’m expressive. I’m opinionated, curious and an upward and outward person. And I certainly don’t want to, all of a sudden, put a ball cap on and sunglasses and put my head down and walk through an airport. That’s not who I am, and I don’t ever want to be that. But by the same token, I can no longer stare at somebody because I know they’re thinking, “The guy from Modern Family is staring at me, and I don’t know why.” When I’m just looking at them and thinking, “Wow, I really like the way that guy uses his hands. I want to remember how to do that.” I observe people and that’s what I am. I want to be a sponge.

Now that there is a new baby in the show, the focus is going to be off you for some time...

Yeah, I mean, I think so. I just think that’s a storyline that was played out the way Chris and Steve (producers) wanted to play it out. So I don’t think we’ll revisit it until they’re ready to revisit it. We can’t keep just adding people to the family (laughs).

We can’t have a new person every year. But that’s the beauty of a family show, is that it’s an organism that’s growing and changing and living and adapting. That’s what we have, is we have a family. And you never know what will happen.