Jesse Tyler Ferguson Net Worth

Jesse Tyler Ferguson's Quotes

• Ty Burrell [Phil Dunphy on Modern Family (2009)] calls shows like ours 'Trojan horses' because you sneak in there and make people feel comfortable. And then maybe you show a little bit of an agenda. But the audience is acclimated to it at a very comfortable rate...Obviously, our main objective is to be funny and make people laugh, and whatever comes out of it, comes out of it. But there were certain times, especially in our first season, when we didn't have any gay writers, when it was harder. Then in our second season, we acquired Abraham Higginbotham, who was also a writer on Will & Grace (1998)...He and Jeff Richman are our two gay acquisitions. But in the first season, some of the writers would come to me and be like: 'Is this offensive? Are we going too far with this?' And Eric Stonestreet [who plays Mr. Ferguson's partner on 'Modern Family"] was always concerned about making sure everything was up to my standards. And I kept saying: Stop worrying about it!...Once you start worrying about being offensive, you're doing a disservice to yourself and the creative process. I also begged them to get some gay writers so I didn't have to be bothered with their questions.
• [re The Class (2006)] I played a suicidal kid who had this beautiful love story with a woman he runs over with his car. [Being gay,] I never felt uncomfortable looking at her that way. It's just part of playing a character. You click over. This is the world that this character lives in, and these are the rules this character abides by...With 'The Class,' my first show, I was very excited to work in a medium I had never worked in before. I am a huge fan of Friends (1994) and Will & Grace (1998) and all these classic sitcoms. So, to be in front of a live studio audience with James Burrows, who is the icon of all icons when it comes to directing multi-camera shows, I felt like I was living in a dream.
• [re Do Not Disturb (2008)] It got canceled after three episodes. It was a three-part mini-series, I like to say. It didn't work. I played a gay character on it, and it was not a good fit. And I was nervous about going into another gay role until I read the Modern Family (2009) script. But it was such good writing. A wonderful character, a wonderful story. It didn't occur to me for a second to worry about it...but when I was in that in-between time, between jobs, I was thinking: 'O.K., that was not a good experience. Don't do yourself a disservice by playing a character that you don't particularly like'.

Interesting Facts about Jesse Tyler Ferguson

1. Made his Broadway debut in "On the Town".
2. Originated the role of Leaf Coneybear in "The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee".
3. Graduated from The American Musical & Dramatic Academy in New York City, with actress Meredith Patterson.
4. Announced in September 2012 that he and his longtime boyfriend, Justin Mikita, are engaged to be married.
5. Jesse Tyler Ferguson and Justin Mikita helped found a project called "Tie the Knot", for which they designed bow ties to be sold to raise money for LGBT-rights organizations.
6. Once worked as a singer at an amusement park.
7. He is currently starring in The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee on Broadway as Leaf Coneybear at the Circle In The Square. [April 2005]
8. Playing Flute in the Public Theater's Shakespeare in the Park Production of 'A Midsummer Night's Dream' in New York City (August 7-September 9 2007). [July 2007]
9. Grew up in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
10. Cousin of Courteney Cox. He's also the distant cousin of Anthony Rapp and Adam Rapp. All three men descend from the same English Baldwin family.
11. Father of Beckett Mercer Ferguson-Mikita (born 7 July 2020) with husband Justin Mikita.