‘Modern Family’: Eric Stonestreet And Jesse Tyler Ferguson On Love And Stereotypes

January 20, 2010 by admin · 1 Comment
Filed under: Actors

NPR has an interview with Eric Stonestreet And Jesse Tyler Ferguson. Here are some of the highlights:

On creating chemistry as a couple
Stonestreet: I just think chemistry comes from an openness of a performer, and Jesse is an actor that’s willing to put himself out there, and I consider myself sort of the same way, and I really feel that’s where chemistry comes from, is a sense of vulnerability for each other. It works for our relationship on the show, but it works for us as actors.

On giving Cameron a higher voice than he has naturally
Stonestreet: I feel like Cameron — and I don’t like it when actors talk about stuff like this, but — I feel like Cameron is a comfortable, comforting, nurturing sort of person that just … his idea and his intention is to soothe. And Cameron’s voice comes from that quality that I want him to have. … And it comes from my mom. I’ve said in lots of interviews that my mom gestures a lot, and the whole thing started with just watching her and observing and mimicking her and how she reacts in situations.

On the puzzling nature of viewer perceptions
Stonestreet: The best example I can give about this — and Jesse was standing right there, so he can be my witness — a gentleman came up to me at a party, and he literally said this to me: “OH MY GAWD, YOU ARE TEEEW MUCH.” And I said, “What?” And he said, “SERIOUSLY, A KIMONO? I MEAN, A KI-MO-NO? PUHHH-LEEZE. YOU ARE TEEEW MUCH. AND YOU’RE STRAAAIGHT?” And I go, “Yeah, I am.” And he goes, “Oh, please you can’t tell me you’re not questioning soooomething, come on!” He walks away, and I’m like, “Jesse, I am so glad hedelivered me the message that I am too much.”

On retaining couplehood
Ferguson: I think sometimes, since we aren’t a real couple in real life, as some people don’t realize, we forget that there is moments of tenderness and affection, and we try and find places to fuse that as much as possible. And there’s some great moments of that in the Valentine’s Day episode.

On stereotypes
Ferguson: We’re not traditional gay characters as seen on TV in recent history. We have different body types, and I think that’s also, in itself, unique.

Stonestreet: I felt like that going in, as far as my physicality goes, was — it added jokes to the character. That was sort of my pitch as far as why I should get the audition in the beginning. “Put a well-built dude in there and you’re cliche and you can be stereotypical and mean. Put me there and you open a world of jokes.”

Tags: Actor, Add new tag, Cameron, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, National Public Radio, Nature, Real life, Stereotype, Television

Does Modern Family stereotypes a gay couple?

October 27, 2009 by admin · 5 Comments
Filed under: reviews

Marconi Calindas from The Examiner asked today whether Modern Family stereotypes a gay couple:

Yet the question is about the inclusion of a gay couple, which one of them is part of the “modern” family, whether the new show is stereotyping gay men in our society. The gay couple played by Jesse Tyler Ferguson and Eric Stonestreet actually are not the physically typical gay men portrayed in most TV shows that are drop dead gorgeous, coming out of a perfume or denim jeans print ads. This couple is one of the “common” gay couples in the world: one being overly healthy and one with facial hair. The gay couple adopted an Asian baby and now is struggling to pass parenthood.
One blogger calls the series stereotyping the gay couples with baby adoption, neatness, argyle cashmere shirts, flamboyant dance moves, snootiness, Meryl Streep and Costco virginity among many others. Getback.Com says “Although on the surface Mitchell and Cameron seem like cliches, they also have an understated, genuine quality in their relationship that keeps them from being gay caricatures.”
Is that stereotyping?
Perhaps it’s the creators Steven Levitan and Christopher Lloyd’s (“Frasier,” “Just Shoot Me,” and “Back to You”) objective in the first place as they can’t put all the different gay stereotyped characters in the show.
The best thing here is that the show finally has brought back gay characters on mainstream TV after the demise of Will and Grace and Queer As Folk.

What do you think?