Jesse Tyler Ferguson recalls Jane Krakowski recognizing him as her Starbucks barista
"You said, 'I don't remember, where did we meet? Where do we know you from?'" Ferguson remembers Krakowski asking him
When Jesse Tyler Ferguson first met Jane Krakowski officially, he was extremely confused.
In 1995, Ferguson waited at the stage door to see Krakowski after a performance of a revival of Stephen Sondheim's Company, in which she portrayed dim-witted flight attendant April. Ferguson had only moved to New York City the year prior. Though Ferguson was waiting as a fan, he was astonished to find Krakowski greeting him like an old friend.
"I was waiting by the stage door, and then you came out, and you come out and you walk right over to me, and you're like, 'How are you? How have you been? I haven't seen you in a while!'" Ferguson recounted to Krakowski when she guested on his podcast, Dinner's on Me With Jesse Tyler Ferguson. "And you give me a great big hug. Meanwhile, I'm thinking, 'I do not know this woman.' I mean, I know who you are. I was a fan. And I had already, like I'd been a fan of yours since Grand Hotel."
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Jane Krakowski and Jesse Tyler Ferguson"But I was like, oh my gosh, Jane's hugging me," he continued. "And, and then you were, you said, 'I don't remember, where did we meet? Where do we know you from?' And I said, 'I don't know,' and so you started naming, 'Well, maybe we did a commercial together' and you were trying to like place it. And you're like, 'Well, I don't know. I'll figure it out later, but it was good to see you. Thanks for coming.' And I was just sort of speechless."
"I was very touchy feely," Krakowski quipped in response to the memory.
Related: Jesse Tyler Ferguson reunites with Modern Family daughter Aubrey Anderson-Emmons for her school play
Ferguson left the encounter feeling verklempt, but still utterly befuddled by how Krakowski recognized him. The answer finally came a few days later while Krakowski was on her coffee run.
"I was very taken by the encounter," he finished. "And so then fast forward, I don't know, a week or two later, and I'm working my job at Starbucks on 79th and Broadway, and you come in, and you see me and you say, 'This is where I know you from!'"
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Ferguson was particularly touched that Krakowski then recognized him as a fellow actor trying to make his dreams come true. "You went right into like, 'How are auditions going?'" he added. "I felt so seen by you because I was like, I don't want to be a barista forever. I had such high dreams and hopes for myself. Having you ask me how things were going was really powerful, and that was one of the first times I realized the Broadway community is actually a community of people. I have such fond memories of you before I ever really knew you."
Though they have since become friends and have appeared together on several awards shows and a memorable Broadway edition of Carpool Karaoke, the two have never actually shared screen time. Krakowski was even a guest star on Modern Family, which propelled Ferguson to fame, but they never had any scenes together.
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