Ty Burrell describes the moving final moments of filming 'Modern Family': 'It was wet, because we were all crying so much'
Modern Family may be one of the most popular comedies of the past decade, but the last day on set was nothing but tears. At least, that’s how Ty Burrell recalls the final day of the two-part finale episode, which premieres tonight at 8 p.m. on ABC. “It was wet, because we were all crying so much,” the Emmy-winning actor tells Yahoo Entertainment about the mood on set as the end of 11 seasons and 250 episodes approached. (Watch our video interview above.)
According to Burrell, the last scene the whole cast filmed together also happens to be the last scene of the episode — a serendipitous piece of scheduling that also led to some headaches on the part of the crew. “It was the only time in my life where the director and the showrunner had to come out and ask, ‘Could everybody not cry so much? Like, cry less?’” he remembers, chuckling. “Everyone was just trying not to cry between scenes.”
Amid the tears, Burrell’s alter ego — well-meaning, if accident-prone, patriarch Phil Dunphy — had reasons to be joyful. After 11 years co-parenting three kids alongside his better half, Claire (Julie Bowen), the two are officially on their own again. “They’re finally empty nesters,” he confirms. So with Haley (Sarah Hyland), Alex (Ariel Winter) and Luke (Nolan Gould) launched into the world, Phil and Claire are focusing on each other, preferably outside the house. “They’re going to have some adventures. That’s what their decision is: The next chapter is going to be adventure.”
Burrell’s own post-Modern Family adventures will include raising his two young daughters using some of the lessons he gleaned from Phil over the past 11 years. “‘Try hard’ is really the big lesson. ... I think we’re all more forgiving of someone who is trying hard. You get annoyed at people who are trying too hard, which is what Phil’s been doing for the bulk of his life. I’ve seen my daughters exercise all kinds of new muscles around their eyes in terms of eye-rolling — new directions that I didn’t think you could roll an eye at me for trying too hard.”
In the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, Burrell is trying hard to help the restaurant workers in Salt Lake City, where he’s a part owner of two establishments. The actor partnered with the city’s mayor and the Downtown Alliance to launch Tip Your Server, which hopes to provide $500 grants to employees who have been laid off in the wake of coronavirus quarantine measures, as well as a series of earthquakes that have struck the region. “There are about 15,000 unemployed people in that industry in Salt Lake City right now,” Burrell says, encouraging those who can to donate to the program. “We’re really trying to create a stopgap to get them to federal funding and unemployment, because those things are notoriously slow and difficult.”
— Video produced by Jon San
The Modern Family series finale airs Wednesday, April 8, at 8 p.m. on ABC.
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