TY BURRELL — on almost not getting the role of Phil Dunphy on ‘Modern Family’ and his family’s tip for evading the cops
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Hi, it's Jesse. Today on the show, I mean, he really needs no introduction. He played my brother-in-law on Modern Family for 11 seasons. It's Phil Dunphy himself. It's Ty Burrell. It's a great lesson to every young person out there. If the police are chasing you, just leave. Just leave. Just leave. They give up. They do give up. They'll give up. It's best to give a baby. Yeah, have a baby. Get yourself a baby. Have a baby and leave.

This is Dinners on Me, and I'm your host, Jesse Tyler Ferguson. I've been lucky enough to witness some truly unforgettable moments. Let's see. Okay. I was there for the birth of my sons. I should definitely start there. Unforgettable moment. I sat beside Audra McDonald as she belted Les Miserables during carpool karaoke. That was amazing. I met President Obama in the Oval Office.

Truly incredible. And I watched Ty Burrell turn Phil Dunphy into a sitcom legend. For 11 years, Ty and I played in-laws on Modern Family. The entire cast of that show shares a rare, unshakable bond. And like any real family, my relationships with each of them are very unique.

My dynamic with Ty, it's a mix of close friend, younger brother, though it's anyone's guess which of us is the mature one, and co-conspirator. We slip effortlessly into our default mode, which is buddy comedy. Taking things seriously, now that that's nearly impossible. For this episode of Dinners on Me, we switch things up a little bit. Instead of our guests coming to us, we went to them. Specifically, we hopped on a plane to Utah to track down my friend Ty.

Now, I had about eight hours on the ground before I had to turn right back around and catch another flight. So efficiency was key here.

The obvious solution, an Airbnb. And not just any Airbnb. This place was straight out of a cozy winter dream. A crackling fireplace, snow falling outside, the whole ski cabin fantasy. I might need to come back here just to live my best apres ski life, minus the skiing. But back to business. We're setting up, the clock is ticking, and we've got a meal to eat and a podcast to record. Oh, here's calling me. Hello? Hi.

- I think I'm here. - Okay, okay. - Is this a-- - It's not gonna look like a soundstage or anything. I'm gonna pop out and wave to you. - No soundstage. - No soundstage. It's just an Airbnb. - No green screen? - No green screen. Hair and makeup's waiting for you. Wait one second.

We ordered in from Ty's restaurant, Beer Bar, in Salt Lake City. His brother Duncan, who you'll hear off mic, graciously brought us a smorgasbord of goodies for us.

The spot is known for its bratwursts and fries, but it has tons of other great things like sandwiches and burgers and salads. Ty has done something really cool here in Salt Lake City and Park City. With his partners, which include his brother Duncan and his wife Holly, he revitalized bars and restaurants that really mean something to the community. From the historic Cotton Bottom Inn, which is an Opry ski favorite, to Bar X, which harkens back to Prohibition.

So it felt special to come to his neck of the woods and try some delicious bites from his spot, Beer Bar. Also, I should note, anytime you hear us say Julie, Eric, Nolan, Aubrey, Sarah, Arielle, etc., we're obviously talking about our modern family castmates. Sorry, we don't use last names, but we should start referring to each other by our full names, I think. Okay, let's get to our conversation with Ty Burrell.

I miss you so much. When was the last time we saw each other? I think when we did the SAG Awards last year. Yeah. Yeah, it was one of those. But yeah, the SAG Awards were hilarious. That was so funny. We were so bad. It was such a shit show.

It was like, they haven't lost a step. Right. Oh, my God. But in a weird way, you know, in that, like, meta way that that can be even better. Yeah. Like, that was so – I laughed so hard being there with all the people that I loved and just screwing the pooch completely. It wasn't that bad. No, it wasn't that bad. But –

Actually, weirdly, it just immediately became one of my favorite memories. Yeah, same. Yeah. I mean, we had been trying to get you also, we had had a few reunions before. This was the first time that all six of us had been together. Yeah. Since the show had, the six of us had been together since the show ended. Right. We had that one big reunion. That I couldn't make it to. That hilariously. Well, I died. Famously, you died. Remember how I died? The internet decided you had died. Do you remember when I died? Yeah.

My favorite part of this, though, was that we had all planned it. And you said, I think I'm going to be able to come. I think I'm going to be able to come. Yeah, yeah. And then you're like, oh, you know what? I forgot I have surgery. Yeah. But it actually added. So, you know, after that whole thing, you know, everybody in the cast was telling me that, you know, apparently I'd passed. But the only photos I had of me missing that were me in the hospital from the surgery. Yeah.

It was so funny. It was. When we look back on that, because we brought a photo of you to sort of include you in all the family pictures. And we're like, well, yeah, it does sort of look like we're having an memorial for you. But I think the joke was that that photo was one of your least favorite press photos you had ever taken. You're basically punishing me for missing, which I deserved. It was the photo of me in the headphones.

doing the rock and roll heavy metal sign. I'm only in my early 80s. But that was the first real lesson we got in PR. Yeah. Like if you do something, it will end up...

the photo that is in Times Square that you have to editorialize beforehand like not after the fact I had the same thing the same thing I actually got my picture changed so Phil was the obviously cool dad so he had headphones and was doing the rock and roll obviously obviously Haley had her cell phone that she was busy on right Sarah was putting on lipstick and me and Eric

Because there was a line about cream puffs. They're like, well, they're gay. They're gay. And we had a line about cream puffs in the pilot. So it was us holding a cream puff. And me, I'm probably like...

Maybe like the last shot of like a series that we were taking decided to do like a really insane face of like, isn't this wild? I'm a wacky gay man. And that's the photo that they chose and used on all these posters. And it ended up in Times Square. I stood in Times Square and looked up at your cream puff face. But then I actually was successful in getting them to change it. Yes. I learned a lot of lessons on that. I said, let's just, can we find any photo?

Anywhere. It could be of me in seventh grade that we can like where my face is just calm. Yeah.

Just a nice, like, loose smile. I was very impressed with that, that you got that changed. What I leaned into and what I was like, I was like, listen, I'm playing a gay character on network television. I'm really proud of this relationship that they have. It's a committed couple. We're meeting them in the first scenes of, you know, like they're adopting a child. Like, can we just pick the photo where I don't look like I'm doing a cliche? Yeah, yeah. I just wish there was something...

culturally inappropriate about the headphones that I could have used. I had nothing but just my own fault. And after that photo shoot, anytime we'd walk in and we'd see a table of props, we'd all be like, no, no, no. We're not using any of these props. I think there was a...

time there when photographers didn't love us. And I don't think we were mean about it. No. But we were just like, no, no props. Yeah. No, thank you. No props. But we had a whole... Yeah. They didn't know our baggage. Oh, no. Yeah. Oh, man. Yeah, yeah, yeah. First of all, people have been...

Dying to have you on this podcast. Oh my gosh. You're like on my 92nd person that I've had on this podcast. Well, in preparation, I listened to our mutual friend Josh Gad's episode. Yes, yes. Which was fantastic. Yeah. And I listened. I'm in the middle of Ed's. Ed's is great. Which is amazing. And I just have to say, you are so good. You're so well suited for this. Thank you. Really, this is like.

Right in your wheelhouse. I'm so happy for you. I'm having fun with it. Are you? Yeah, it's nice to be doing, yeah. But really, you're such a naturally curious person. And for people listening, if you don't know, I mean, you know how funny Jesse is, but he is...

He is probably the funniest person in terms of quantity and quality I've ever met. Nobody has more bits that are solid. No, but you are one of the cast members, obviously, now that people get so excited when I have any of the Modern Family people on. But, you know, I think because...

You also don't do a lot of press when you don't have to. I mean, why would you? And you know you're not on social media. And you have a private life, which is great. You live out here in Utah, which is why I didn't – you would have come to me, but I wanted to come to you. I would have for sure. This is – I mean, you want to feed my narcissism. Just come all the way to Utah to do a podcast. And eat food from your restaurant. Speaking of food. Dunk.

Duncan. Is he here? I think it might be. It might be. Brother Duncan. It's a family affair. My brother's bringing us food this morning just because he's a nice person. He is. He's just a good person. He's a great guy. He'll wait to see him. From Beer Bar. From Beer Bar, yeah. Yes. So, wait, let's talk about that for a little. Well, first of all, I just want to finish my thought and just say that I'm so happy you're doing this because so many people have been really jonesing for you to be on this. I am happy to do anything with you, friend. Thanks for doing it. Really, truly. Yeah. Ooh.

Ooh, that's my brother. I think the wieners are here. Right on cue. I think the sauerkraut's here. Speak of the devil. Hi, bro-bro. Hi. We, a few months ago, led by Dunk and Rich and the other owner, we decided that brats were, you know, we've kind of been doing them for a long time, so let's really, like, step up our game. And so we...

Turkey. We did something much more sophisticated and we started making sandwiches. Oh, and how did you think of this? So between two breads? Yeah, so now we're doing different ingredients between bread. You know, before, let me just be clear, before it was bratwurst between bread. Between bread. And then we were like, no, let's do something much more exciting. This is genius. People might steal this idea. Right. So this is, which one is this?

The turkey? Yeah, the turkey. Turkey and that's pastrami. And then we got the French dip. French dip is... That one. I brought this closer. Okay. All right. All right. Oh, my God. All these swasses. Cheers, pal. Cheers. Good to see you. So good to see you. Under absolutely normal circumstances. Absolutely 100% normal. So there's Bar X and Beer Bar.

Bar X came first. Bar X came first. What was Bar X before? It was a functioning bar, and then it was closed for a while, right? Yeah. Really, the credit there goes to one of our owners, Jeff Bernard, who kind of started this accidental brand that we've stumbled into of finding places that are a little bit run down or on their last legs in some cases.

and sort of, you know, trying to restore the spirit of them and, you know, bring some newness to it, but also just sort of like

kind of keep an institution going a little bit, a local institution. And beer bar came afterwards, which I've eaten at before I've gone in. I have been inside. Yeah, you've been here before. You came up a couple of times. Yeah, we've been a few times. Yeah, I was going to say. Well, I know one time I stayed with you, and then another time we stayed in a hotel. Okay, this French dip is incredible. It's really good, huh? That's awesome. You're supposed to play it down. No. Are you sure? Thank you, thank you.

This is so good. But it is interesting that, like, I mean, you've always been, you know, a family man. Family's been very important to you, which I think is why. I mean, from my understanding, when you talk about Utah, when we were doing Modern Family, it just felt for you a very comfortable place to sort of get away. You know, obviously you had a place in Los Angeles because you spent so much time there, but it was really important for you to raise a family here in Utah and be near your in-laws and your family. And, I mean... Yeah.

I was a tad envious of just the fact that you got to sort of separate work and, you know, your family life a little bit. Talk to me a little bit about just like why you chose to sort of make this your home. Yeah. So Holly's from here. That was a big part of it. I did some of my first theater at Utah Shakes, which is in southern Utah. And I just I fell in love with it. But this is before I met Holly.

When you say shakes, what do you mean? Shakespeare, sorry. Oh, sorry. What an inside baseball dumb thing to say. Will shakes. Will shakes. Billy shakes. The Shakespeare Festival. And I fell in love with it. And then when Holly and I got together, it had always been in the back of our mind to live here at some point.

To be 100% honest, I don't think we really thought it through when we did it because it's impacted work in a serious way because any job that I would take means leaving home. I've sort of become...

I mean, outdoorsy, for lack of a better term. Become? I have always known you to be like the poster child for outdoorsy. Well, but I think early on it was sort of like cosplay. Okay. Like I was a little bit like... Really? A little bit, yeah. Like even though we grew up in the woods of Oregon, I wasn't really like super outdoorsy. I think eventually I just...

I did it enough that I genuinely have fallen in love with it. So we spend a lot of time outside here. And also Salt Lake is just a welcoming place. I mean, it's growing like crazy. Yeah. So, you know, you have to kind of, I think everybody who's been here for a long time is a little, you know, curious and concerned about how the growth will go. How it's growing. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

And I'm sure, you know, raising a family here must be such a, you know, there's so much to do. And there's just, it's, I feel like there's just a wholesome, and part of it is it's such a, you know, the Mormon culture is so prevalent here. But like, I think it's just a very wholesome family-oriented place. It is. It is. That's one of the real strengths of the LDS culture up here is they have figured out every possible family issue.

entertainment thing. I mean, when our kids were younger, there's just an endless amount of stuff to do. And like you said, it's all kind of like

It's all super dialed in and a lot of it is connected to nature and it's really cool. So I know you're not Mormon yourself, but you've been embraced by... My in-laws are LDS and they are some of the most wonderful people I've ever... They really are, yeah. Yeah, you know them. Justin was reminding me, speaking about being an outdoors person, how a few years ago, you and Holly very generously invited us to do a...

backpacking camping trip tour thing in the Grand Canyon. And it's something that you know you have to sign up for years in advance. All these spots fill up very quickly and you had two spots available. And Justin was like, oh, 100%. We absolutely have to do that.

And I was sort of surprised. I was like, oh, Justin, that's not what I thought you would say yes to. Okay, let's do it. That sounds great. I used to camp when I was a kid in Albuquerque. I haven't done it recently, but I was like, yeah, Ty and Holly are doing it. And I consider you an outdoorsman, even though some of your stuff was very performative. I remember one Christmas you got one of those axes from Huckaberry or something. It was like a beautiful...

beautiful axe with that was in full cosplay yeah yeah yeah yeah where i was just like if i buy enough of this stuff and dress up eventually i'll be it's like you have like a compass but it's really like you know gold plated it's brass if you know it's like and it like sinks to your apple watch or whatever you read me like a cheap yeah i know so anyway i was like i feel safe going to to the grand canyon with with ty and holly they're really gonna know how to do this and uh

At one point, I was like, Justin, just let me gather a little bit more information from Ty about what this is. And he was like, well, what's the shower situation? Yeah. The shower situation is called the river. It's the river. It's the river, which is extremely cold. Yeah. So sometimes people just don't shower for the week. Yeah. It was hardcore. Interestingly, yeah.

Holly ended up being way more into it than I was even. Like she got super into it. I got really scared about the rapids. The rapids. Well, you're a – I'm a wimp. Yeah, you are. I didn't want to say – I wasn't going to use that word, but you're gentle. I'm gentle. You're a gentle little flower. I'm a gentle little flower. Press me between two panes of glass. I –

Yeah, so as the rapids got more intense, and then the last day, I think, were these really hardcore legendary rapids. And she was the one who was fired into it. She was screaming into the wild. Didn't Nolan join you? Nolan was there. Oh, my God, that...

Have you heard those stories? He's told me some of them. I wonder if this is a good place for those stories. Nolan, for listeners who don't know, Nolan is just a really intrepid person. He is really adventurous. He loves a challenge. We start out and he, not having kayaked before in his life that I know of, decided to kayak the Grand Canyon, which...

By the way, Nolan is somebody who could do that. Like, it was not like, what are you thinking? I was like, yeah, I mean, if anybody can do this, it's Nolan. And I think it was the first day. He went under. He got tipped. And he can correct me if I'm wrong here. And got out relatively quickly and got back in and wanted to continue doing it. So he'd already been in the water. It was cold. Right.

cold weather and you know, like not quite hypothermic, but very close. Yeah. By the way, also your, your bathtub, if you're wanting to cleanse yourself. Yeah. Also your bathtub. Yeah. Just, yeah. Just so you know. Um,

And then a little bit later in the day, he tipped and went under and was under for, this doesn't sound like a long time, but I think he was under for like 16 seconds. That's scary. He was being held down by a hydro, you know, whatever that is, a hydraulic system for 16 seconds. And he came up, you know, I could see him start to kind of come up and reach his hand up and pulled him onto the boat. And he was white as a ghost.

He still wanted to get back on. Incredible. That's Nolan. I would have been like, that's it for me. No, I said no more. I got to play dad. I got to play TV dad. I was like, you're done. You're done. But that was probably the most dad moment I got to be with Nolan. Incredible.

Incredible. I mean, that's so Nolan. Yeah. Oh, he's awesome. I'm so glad that he was able to go on that with you. He speaks of it often, actually. Yeah, it was awesome. It was awesome. I mean, I certainly understand. I'm very close with Aubrey. I've gone to see several first school plays. Beckett, my son, is...

a little older than Aubrey was when she started. So I look at him and I'm like, I can't believe I've known her since she was around his age. Which is, how old was she? I think she was four, in Beckett's time, four and a half. Whoa.

I mean, I know you, you stay close with, with obviously all of us, but like, what is it like for you to, to see Sarah and, you know, Ariel and Nolan? It's awesome. It's awesome. I, I just love all three of them so much. I don't get to see them very much. You know, it's a lot. You don't get to see any of us very much. No, I don't. Cause you live on a lake with just coordinates as your address. It's true. It's true. I have no excuses, but, um,

There are times, by the way, I've called you and you're like, oh, I've been off the grid for the past 10 days. That's spring through fall. It's just dodgy. But it's a lot of like birthday communications, you know, that kind of thing where we check in around.

significant dates and stuff, but I adore all three of them. And when I get a chance to be with them, I love it. I think the world of them, they're all three so different and just such awesome people and just easy company. I'm sure it's the same with Aubrey, right? You kind of like

From afar, I'm just rooting for them. Yeah. In a semi-parental way. Yeah. Yeah, from far, far. Yeah. It's so far, very far away by a lake. Aubrey's really into theater, right? She's not only really into theater, but she's really good. I believe it. She's really good in a way that like I thought she was good on the show. Yeah. But there's something about...

And it's kind of the same reason why I love theater and probably some of the same reasons you love it. It's just that preparation time you get with it. Yeah. And you get to really, I don't want to sound pretentious, but peel back the layers of the onion. Yeah. But like, you know, you really know what you're doing. And it's not like you rehearse something for five minutes and then you're shooting it and you're just like, you barely know what you're doing. I just really see Aubrey...

Blossoming in such a beautiful way with that type of work and I think that she's got so much potential I think she's really good. That's awesome. There's also no better way to develop like real chops Mm-hmm, you know because there's just so many hours of actually performing Yeah like what we're doing on the show or what a lot of like young actors are doing when they're making something is often like a

Six lines in a scene and you do it seven times. You do your prep. Yeah. You know, you do your prep and then you do it like seven takes and you're done. And that whole time you're just, like, especially you. You were always really good with your lines, but...

If you were wanting to talk to Ty during a scene, it's not possible because you were holed away, looking at a corner. In a corner, yes. Like literally facing a corner. Truly. Running your lines, hand to forehead, like looking like you were about to have a nervous breakdown. Blinking like crazy. Blinking like crazy, which is your tell when you're focused or stressed. Stressed or excited. Or excited. But –

But if I'm like trying to memorize, it's just a blink. It's like a breeze is coming from the eyelashes. In fact, that dates back to the moment we met. The moment we met, I was doing that. And why? Why, pray tell. I was auditioning for Modern Family, and I was standing in the corner, facing the corner, creating a breeze with my eyelashes. Oh, God.

Going over my lines and you came up and tapped me on the shoulder. And I think it was, you said, hey, I think we're both friends with Josh. That's right, Josh Gad, yeah. And yeah, I remember I said, I think we're both friends with Josh Gad. And we knew of each other, but that was the first time we were meeting. And you were very, very nervous because this was not your first time

coming in and testing for the part in front of the studio. But also I was so struck by how relaxed you were. What was I doing? Do you remember? You were just being a human. I was reading the New York Times. Were you? I was. I was like doing the New York Times crossword puzzle or reading like the style section or something. I do remember that. Was it self-conscious or was it really like I just, I really genuinely am not nervous? I wasn't nervous. It wasn't like a thing? I was nervous. I had anxiety around it, but I...

I was coming at it from a different place. You had been going in. You already kind of had the role. I don't know if that's true, but I was being very – it was a very encouraging process up to that point. You did not have the same experience. I mean, I know you've talked about it before, but, like, it took a lot of fighting to get that part. Now, like, I don't think anyone could imagine anyone else doing it, but it's just sort of –

testament to how crazy this business is. You can have so many people rooting for you. You could have the people who wrote the show rooting for you. You could have the casting director rooting for you. And it takes one person who's saying, I'm not quite sure to pump the brakes on that. Totally. So yeah, so I really flopped the first test, like just so tight and stiff and nervous. Second one, when I saw you, was a little bit better. But once again, thumbs down.

And then... Do you remember what feedback you got? Or did you get feedback? Or was it just... He's not funny. Wow. Yeah, he's not funny. Yeah, so pretty straightforward. I don't know if that's feedback. I think that's just...

Yeah, he's not funny. And some people still feel that way. Well, Holly, after you've been doing a bit for about 10 minutes, also thinks you're not too funny, but you know. Then we went and filmed it in Steve Levitan's yard. With Sarah Hyland. With Sarah and Jason Miner. Who was being tested for it. Yes, exactly.

And we got to improvise and, you know, do a more like single camera audition for it. Right. And that one worked. But yeah. It's amazing the hoops you had to jump through. I always find it wildly fascinating that that's how you can jump off. Have you ever had one that you had to like fight? Never. No, no, I'm sure. I'm sure I have. You never tested with Julie then? No. No.

No, I met her first one of the table reads. Okay. I met her. Yeah. I remember this table. I think it was the same table. She was very pregnant. She's very pregnant. She's nine months pregnant. Yeah. I think this is a table read where we all met for the first time. Then it was like a pre table read before reading the script for the network before shooting the pilot. And Chris and Steve, our creators brought us into our creators.

The people who birthed us. Chris and Jesus. Chris and Jesus and Steve brought us into a room and that we all, that was the first time we met. So that was the first time we met Julie. Yeah.

I mean, that could have gone so many different ways. I mean, she's just so gregarious, luckily. Yes. You know? I mean, she's a very welcoming person. Yeah. You know? I was nervous for those table reads because I've been fired from table reads before. A lot of people don't know that, but table reads aren't really like done deal. No. People get cut from table reads a lot. Yeah. A lot. Yes. Like at a shocking rate. Right.

Oh, yeah. So those table reads, I was really nervous. Or they'll shoot the pilot and decide, oh, we want to reshoot this with a whole other actor. Yeah. You're not guaranteed the job when you're given the job. No. It's like you need to be like two or three episodes in. In fact, I don't know if you know this, but Eric Stonestreet, when we did that very first table read for the network, and remember we were at a big conference room at the Disney Studios and –

It was a room that we never did a table read in again. Like, we did it at the business studios. And Eric, he was convinced. Like, he had said it was some lousy, just didn't get it, and bombed. He was convinced he was being fired. Wow. And right after we finished that table read, they pulled Eric and I into the hallway to take a photo of us because they needed to have –

a template to paint the mural that Mitch and Cam paint over Lily's bed. Oh, yeah. And basically, they were going to impose our faces onto this mural. And Eric took these pictures in a panic. In his eyes, you could just see, I don't know why they're taking this picture. I'm going to be fired anyways. And so, of course, he wasn't fired. But

What we love so much, and every time we looked at that mural, was that Erica's like, the eyes in that mural. Are terrified. In season five. I don't know how long that mural stayed up for the show. That's amazing. Because at one point they painted over it, but he's like, those are the eyes of an actor who thinks he's being fired. But those eyes are attached to Pam as an angelic angel in the sky. The eyes of Mitchell are just steely confidence. I nailed it. That's amazing.

That was the table read. I don't know if you remember this. When I walked in very confidently and said, I rented an apartment nearby so that I didn't have to drive to work. And you guys all had to tell me that we weren't filming there. What? Don't remember that. What?

I rented a place right near by ABC. And I was like, well, guess who's not, guess who doesn't have to drive to work? And they were like, we're filming at Fox. That is so funny. I went from like a 10 minute walk to the longest commute in the entire cast. Well then, okay, well, I just wanted to talk about this for a while because you did get, you ended up moving very close to the studio. And, um,

You know, I mean, as the show went on, like one thing you always notice if the show's successful is the cars that you drive onto the lot get a little nicer. You know, I then had a Prius, you know, as before I had like a little mini coupe. And you kind of went the opposite way and you purchased...

A renovated VW Bug. I did, yeah. Which was incredible, by the way. I love that car. I still have it. You do? I do. That dark green car. It's now, I'll show you pictures later, but I'm in the middle of getting it painted. Oh, nice. Yeah. I bought it from a gentleman in Louisiana. So it came on a flatbed truck and they pull it off the truck. We're in Culver City. Yeah. You know, kind of not huge blocks. Yeah.

pulled it off the truck and I'm like, I got to take it for a spin. Frankie, our daughter is probably nine months old, 10 months old. It's there and I go, I got to drive it. I get in it and I drive around the block and I notice that the transmission, you don't know when you're buying something like this, what condition it's in. Sure. I noticed transmission's a little loose, but I'm finding the gears and stuff and I get around and Holly loves to drive stick shift.

So she was like, I want to give it a shot. And I also was kind of coaxing her, like, you got to just try it. Like, we have a vintage car. I mean, this is how fun it is. The way this thing hums. Yeah, the way this thing hums. So she hands me Frankie, and I'm holding Frankie, and she gets in the car, and it's sort of haltingly going down the street, and I see her turn right. And between there and basically like another 100 yards, the transmission is now like,

It's worse. It's looser and she's having a hard time getting it into first gear. Anyway, cut to about a minute later. I see her kind of like jerking around the corner little by little, followed by a police officer. And she pulls the car not all the way off the street.

about just the front wheels are into the driveway of where we're at and she gets out and she leaves. And she knew there was a police officer there. And I was like, honey, honey. She's running from the law.

I'm holding a baby. And the cop was like, where's she going? And I was like, I don't know. I don't know. She was so mad. She was so mad at me. And she was like, this is not my problem. And he was sort of like, this isn't how the law works. It's a great lesson to every young person out there. If the police are chasing you, just leave. Yeah.

Just leave. Just leave, change your name, and move to a lake with unknown coordinates. Just leave. They give up. They do give up. They'll give up. It's best if you have a baby. Yeah, have a baby. Get yourself a baby. Have a baby and leave. And then leave that baby. Now for a quick break from my very special episode with my Modern Family co-star, the one and only Ty Burrell. It has been way too long since we've caught up, but...

Every time we do, it's like no time has passed. And what better way to reconnect than over some incredible takeout from his very own restaurant, Beer Bar. It's great food, good conversation. Honestly, it's the perfect recipe. Speaking of gathering with close friends, that's exactly why I love Airbnb. Whether you're traveling for work, planning a little getaway, or just looking for a space to bring people together, Airbnb has something for everyone.

cozy apartments, stunning homes, or even a chic chalet like the one I'm currently recording from. Oh, did I mention there's a hot tub? There's a hot tub. And if you have a space to share, hosting on Airbnb is easier than ever, especially with their new local co-hosting feature. You can have a trusted local handle the details, guest messages, check-ins, even styling, so that you can focus on, well, you know, dinner with friends.

So whether you're looking for a place to stay or thinking about sharing your own, check out Airbnb.com because the best trips start with the perfect place to stay and also maybe some really good takeout. Okay. And we're back with more Dinners on Me. I will say I was always a little jealous that you and Julie –

your families as early as you did because... Well, it's funny you say early because I was 40, 41, but yeah. But in the midst of having a steady job and having a place to go and knowing you had a paycheck, you became a dad very quickly. I mean, the process, I know you and Holly adopted and there was a process where...

It was a stop and go process for a while. Yeah. And kind of a heartbreaking one at the beginning as well. There was a lot of disappointment. Yeah. And I remember sitting with you and Holly. We were filming the episode in Hawaii. But you were like, well, I think there's been a lot of disappointment and heartbreak. And we're just going to wait and see. We're going to take a break from it. We're stepping back from it. Yeah. And literally...

Maybe the next day or a few days later, there was word that there was a baby that you could... There was a baby that was in need. Yeah, and you jumped on it. And it happened literally overnight after a lot of heartbreak. Yeah, well, it's funny because I think there's a lot of misconceptions, obviously, about adoption. But one of them is that it's sort of tidy now.

in that way. But it's a lot like biological, having a kid biologically, you know, that it's just, it's, there's a lot of ups and downs and chapters and, you know, a lot of that. And that one was unbelievably abrupt. Yeah. I think we had 36 hours. And you were, were you in Hawaii when you got the news? We were filming that. We flew home. Okay. Holly flew straight to Utah. Yeah.

We were filming, so I actually stayed and then went to Utah. I think we had a week off after that episode and met her there. And then, and this has impacted my career choices a lot, about, do you remember this? About five weeks into that, I took a job. I took a film in Louisiana, and it was the worst decision of my life. I left Holly.

to try to take care of that baby. And I was gone for five weeks and I regretted it from the minute I left. - Ty, do you remember when I went to go visit you in New York and you were in a hotel, I think it was for Upfronts, like, yeah, we were all there and I went to your room, so it's like, we were gonna go travel to whatever we're going to together and you were getting ready and Holly was there, I remember this.

And your phone was ringing. And I didn't hear it? First of all, you didn't hear it. But it was like an old, it was like your cell phone was ringing. And then when you finally did hear it, you went to the hotel phone and picked it up. And were like, hello? And Holly was just like, Ty, Ty. She's thinking I'm doing a bit. Yeah, you don't have great hearing. Is it still bad? I have. I wish I knew the brand.

Because I would absolutely plug them at no cost. I have hearing aids now. Oh, really? That are so far up my canal, they're like in my brain. Yeah. But they are awesome. They're incredible. They really, like, I don't know the brand, but they're just called Way Up the Canal. WayUpTheCanal.com. I mean, I'm glad you're hearing better now. But it's not as funny now that I can hear. It's not as funny.

I mean, one of my favorite stories is when you and Holly were getting a massage, a couple's massage together. And, you know, they already whisper in those circumstances. You can't hear to begin with. It's the first and last couple's massage we ever had. We're laying down. You know, they've got the like. And then, you know, massage. What's that? Holly's. Is the pressure good enough for you?

Yeah, it is. Thank you. What's up, Holly? You can turn over now. For an hour and 20 minutes, Holly was like... Just tense. Yeah, she... Oh, my God. That's so funny. I love it so much. Yeah, she was not happy. Oh, God. Never again. Really, really funny. How...

How has... What else? What else? I do want to know. I mean, I know some of this myself, but I feel like people find this so interesting is what I've been talking about with all the people from Modern Family who we've had on, but just that transitional period of coming off...

Before you got Modern Family, they were both Back to You and Out of Practice, which were two sitcoms that I think had a lot of promise. And people were really thinking that these were going to hit big. They had huge stars. Chris Lloyd was involved with both of them. Off of, of course, huge hits like Cheers and stuff. The first one was Stalker Channing. Henry Winkler and Chris Gorham. Right. Great cast.

And then the next one was Kelsey Grammer and Patricia Heaton. Fred. Fred Willard. Josh. Josh Gad. Great cast. And both of those, you know, didn't go. I mean, all I ever wanted was a sitcom. I knew that was sort of like what I truly loved. After having done it a little bit, it was like, this is what I love. I like the life around it.

And specifically those multi-camera sitcoms where you get to perform in front of an audience. Yes. And because your lifestyle is so great and the work is so great, that's all I wanted. And after those failures, I was kind of like, I mean, there was a moment when Duncan and I were thinking about making T-shirts for a living. Those tracks. Yeah. But, yeah, I got gun-shy.

And then to end up with the ultimate version. Yeah. Which really was like a job that cannot be replicated, where you really like the material, you like the people you work with, and the schedule was unbelievable. Yeah. But you had done other sitcoms, right? I did Abraham Higginbotham, who was one of the Roger Modern Family. I had done his show the year before, and it was the first show canceled of that season. Okay. Yeah.

Yeah, so you'd have the same experience. But to go from the first show canceled in 2008 to the show that won the Emmy in 2009 was quite the rise, if I must say so myself. Not because of me, but what luck, you know? Incredible. Truly. I remember specifically that last season...

being so emotional like I just every step of the way it felt like a new flagpole of like okay that's last time we're gonna be doing that that's last time we're gonna be doing that um yeah me too what were your what was that last year like for you yeah same same I think um yeah it's just it it's it was such a dream such a daydream of a show that it was hard to like um

it was hard to make sense of what a perfect job it was. And as it got closer to the end, it started to become clearer that like, you know, this is just, this just doesn't happen. Yeah. So I think, you know, as time went, got closer, you started to really like spend more of your downtime on set with the crew and with everybody just kind of chatting. And then I think that last scene of the show was very much like,

you know, it was pretty meta. Yeah. Because it was, it was really just us saying goodbye, I think. I don't think anybody was really in character or anything. Didn't feel like, it just felt like. No, and like our loved ones had come to the set. Justin was there, Holly was there. Yeah. Yeah. It was, it was amazing. I mean, you have to,

Make peace to that that that those jobs don't really exist. It was sort of like the last one in some ways Yeah in some ways it was like the maybe the last show that people watched I don't know this is maybe I'm wrong, but It's true. Oh great. I don't know Great great. It's on the record. Yeah, so it's the greatest show of all time

Some would agree. And nobody's ever watched more of a television show. Some would agree. Yeah, I totally lost my train of thought. No, but it was – I think it was the last of – Oh, yeah. That's what I was saying. Yeah, it felt a little bit like that too. Like, oh, gosh, this is an era. Yeah, for sure. I completely agree with that. Brian Krentzer, when he was on, he was talking about the show that you two are working on together. Yeah, yeah. We're –

We're getting closer to that, actually. There's some challenges because it's called Tightrope. It's all on green screen. And it's this bonkers idea that Brian had about putting me into an old TV show. Did he explain this? Yes, a little bit, but tell me your version of it. I'm playing the lead character in this pretty poorly made TV show from the 50s. The show is called Tightrope, and they're just putting me into the actual show.

Yeah. And then changing my dialogue. Everybody else's dialogue stays the same and my dialogue's the same. But it's great to do from here because it's all green screen. So I don't actually have to- Oh, you get to do it from here? I either do it here or be gone for a week or something to shoot the whole season. Do they, is, like if the director will come to you, right? Well, that or I don't, I can just be gone for a minute. Or you just put up a green sheet in your bedroom? Yeah, in my bedroom.

And wear green clothes. And wear green clothes. But yeah, it's really, it's such a fun, we shot a little bit of it, just sort of like a proof of concept. Have you seen it yet? It was a blast. The way it looks? Yeah, I think it looks great. That's exciting. I think it looks great. Yeah, he was really excited about it when he was talking. Yeah, yeah, I think it's going to be fun. I think we're angling for the spring, so. Yeah, I'm really excited for that.

I am so happy that this worked out. Me too. I feel like we've really achieved something here. We've traveled to you. I can't believe you did. I love you for it. We've talked about your beautiful restaurants. Oh, man. I got to see you. I got to see you, my friend. I love you. It's snowing out. I know. So we are going to do a quick photo shoot in this hot tub out here. Great. Let's do it. Let's do it. Fully clothed. I love you so much. I love you too. And you know what? Dinner's on you.

Hey, new podcast. Oh, hey. It's mine now. It's mine now. Hey, you thought you had a podcast? Guess what? I'm the captain of this podcast now. This episode of Dinners on Me was recorded at an Airbnb in Sandy, Utah. And shout out to Beer Bar for the meal.

Next week on Dinners on Me, we have Broadway icon Sutton Foster. We'll get into our mutual geeky love of musical theater, coping with her mom's mental illness and how it impacted her, and so much more.

And if you don't want to wait until next week to listen, you can download that episode right now by subscribing to Dinners On Me Plus. As a subscriber, not only do you get access to new episodes one week early, you'll also be able to listen completely ad-free. Just click Try Free at the top of the Dinners On Me show page on Apple Podcasts to start your free trial today.

Dinners on Me is a production of Sony Music Entertainment and A Kid Named Beckett Productions. It's hosted by me, Jesse Tyler Ferguson. It's executive produced by me and Jonathan Hirsch. Our showrunner is Joanna Clay. Our associate producer is Alyssa Midcalf. Sam Baer engineered this episode. Hans Dale Shee composed our theme music. Our head of production is Sammy Allison. Special thanks to Tamika Balance-Kalasny and Justin Mikita. I'm Jesse Tyler Ferguson. Join me next week.