Jesse Tyler Ferguson

Actor

• Born: October 22, 1975
• Birthplace: Missoula, Montana

Contribution: Jesse Tyler Ferguson is an actor best known for his role on the ABC sitcom Modern Family, for which he was nominated for five consecutive Emmy nominations for outstanding supporting actor in a comedy series.

Background

Jesse Tyler Ferguson was born on October 22, 1975, in Missoula, Montana. He was raised in Albuquerque, New Mexico, where he grew up Catholic. The shy child became interested in acting after seeing a production of Alice in Wonderland when he was just eight years old. He then began performing with the Albuquerque Children’s Theatre.

The actor has noted that he truly felt like himself when he was performing onstage. Though he knew from an early age that he was gay, Ferguson said he felt ashamed about his personal life and was bullied in school. He eventually overcame these feelings. In high school the aspiring actor starred in productions of Bye Bye Birdie and Li’l Abner and was on the speech and debate team.

Following high school Ferguson moved to New York City to pursue his acting career. He attended the American Musical and Dramatic Academy and made his Off-Broadway debut with the role of Chip in On the Town in 1997. He reprised his role of Chip in the play’s Broadway debut the following year.

Career

Ferguson landed his first television role in the 2000 movie Sally Hemings: An American Scandal, about the relationship between Thomas Jefferson and Sally Hemings, who was his slave. Ferguson then appeared on the big screen in the independent feature Ordinary Sinner (2001). During this time the actor returned to the stage for roles in several Off-Broadway shows, including Hair and Little Fish. In 2005 he appeared in the Broadway production The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, which was nominated for a Tony Award for best musical and won a Drama Desk Award for outstanding ensemble performance.

The actor received his big break in 2006 when he landed one of the leads on the television sitcom The Class. On the series, which followed a group of former classmates who reunite years later, he played the nerdy Richie Velch, who pines after the girl who ignored him years earlier in school. The short-lived show was canceled in 2007 after only one season. His next show, Do Not Disturb, followed the same path, lasting only one season in 2008. On this show Ferguson played an openly gay hotel worker. Around this time the actor also appeared onstage in the Off-Broadway production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream.

In 2009 Ferguson received his big break that catapulted him into mainstream stardom. He was cast in the long-running ABC series Modern Family, a comedy that follows the lives of three interrelated families. On the show Ferguson plays Mitchell Pritchett, the gay son of family patriarch Jay Pritchett (Ed O’Neill). The sometimes uptight and overly serious Mitchell is raising his adopted Vietnamese daughter Lily with his outgoing and happy-go-lucky partner, Cameron "Cam" Tucker (Eric Stonestreet). Though Ferguson was occasionally criticized for portraying a stereotypical and clichéd gay man, he admitted in interviews that he was essentially playing himself.

Modern Family was an instant hit, garnering a huge fan base and racking up numerous awards and nominations, including five consecutive Emmy Awards for outstanding comedy series from 2010 to 2014. Ferguson himself earned five consecutive Emmy nominations for best supporting actor from 2010 to 2014; the entire cast won four Screen Actors Guild Awards in 2011, 2012, 2013, and 2014 as well. The show concluded with the 2019–20 season, its eleventh on the air.

In addition to his role on Modern Family, Ferguson costarred with Matthew Broderick in the 2009 romantic comedy Wonderful World. He also had several guest appearances on the small screen in shows such as Ugly Betty in 2010 and appeared in several film shorts. In 2010 Ferguson also performed in Off-Broadway productions of William Shakespeare’s The Winter’s Tale and The Merchant of Venice.

Between 2011 and 2013 Ferguson also made several appearances as a guest judge on the competitive dance program So You Think You Can Dance and has described himself as a “super-fan” of the show. In May 2013, Ferguson appeared as Dromio in Shakespeare’s The Comedy of Errors as part of the Public Theater’s Shakespeare in the Park series, which is held each year in Central Park in New York. That same year he had a part in the humorous musical documentary One Night Stand.

Over the following years Ferguson guest-starred on several television series, including Web Therapy in 2013, The Battery's Down in 2015, and Pete the Cat in 2018. He judged contests on RuPaul's Drag Race, Project Runway, and Food Network Star, and later agreed to host the 2020 season of Extreme Makeover: Home Edition. Ferguson also provided voice-over for Ice Age: Collision Course (2016), a poorly received entry in the animated franchise.

During that period Ferguson also returned to the stage. In 2015 he played Trinculo in an Off-Broadway production of Shakespeare's The Tempest. The following year he performed the solo comedy Fully Committed on Broadway, which earned him the 2016 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Solo Performance. He went on to be cast as Mason Marzac in the 2020 Broadway revival of Richard Greenberg's comedic drama Take Me Out. For that role, Ferguson won the Tony Award for best supporting actor at the 2022 ceremony.

In addition to acting, Ferguson has coauthored the food blog Julie & Jesse with chef Julie Tanous.

Impact

Through his role as a gay man on Modern Family—and in real life—Ferguson has become a visible member of and a voice for the LGBTQ community. His television role gave him the opportunity to showcase a positive same-sex relationship to millions of viewers and help shape the public’s perception of LGBTQ individuals.

Personal Life

In 2012 Ferguson became engaged to his partner, Justin Mikita, a lawyer and Modern Family fan whom he met at the gym. They were married in July 2013 in a ceremony officiated by writer Tony Kushner. The couple has a son named Beckett.

In 2012 Ferguson and Mikita launched the nonprofit organization Tie the Knot, which sells custom-made bow ties. Tie the Knot donates all proceeds to organizations that fight for LGBTQ rights and marriage equality, such as the Human Rights Campaign and the Respect for Marriage Coalition. The foundation works with several guest designers such as actor George Takei, whose ties sold out in four days.

Principal Works

Film

Ordinary Sinner, 2001

Untraceable, 2008

Wonderful World, 2009

Television

Sally Hemings: An American Scandal, 2001

The Class, 2006–7

Do Not Disturb, 2008

Ugly Betty, 2007, 2010

Modern Family, 2009–20

Stage

On the Town, 1997–98

Hair, 2001

Little Fish, 2003, 2006

The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, 2005

On the Twentieth Century, 2005

A Midsummer Night’s Dream, 2007

The Winter’s Tale, 2010

The Merchant of Venice, 2010

The Comedy of Errors, 2013

The Tempest, 2015

Fully Committed, 2016

Take Me Out, 2020–

Bibliography

DZurilla, Christie. “Jesse Tyler Ferguson of ‘Modern Family’ Weds Lawyer Justin Mikita.” Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles Times, 22 July 2013. Web. 23 July 2013.

Ferguson, Jesse Tyler. “Jesse Tyler Ferguson on Performing in New York’s Shakespeare in the Park Comedy of Errors Production—Rain or Shine.” Interview by Andrea Cuttler. Vanity Fair. Condé Nast Digital. 19 June 2013. Web. 10 July 2013.

“Jesse Tyler Ferguson Charity, Tie The Knot, Fights for Marriage Equality: My LA.” Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 6 June 2013. Web. 19 Aug. 2013.

Keith, Bill. “Jesse Tyler Ferguson: A Gentleman in Full.” Out. Here Media, 27 Mar. 2011. Web. 10 July 2013.

Kennedy, Mark. "Jesse Tyler Ferguson Pivots to Baseball in a Broadway Play." AP News, 11 Apr. 2022, apnews.com/article/mlb-entertainment-sports-theater-richard-greenberg-7a4b1a4def54596cec0385268a571e51. Accessed 8 Aug. 2022.

Peeples, Jase. “Jesse Tyler Ferguson Is a Modern Classic.” Advocate. Here Media, 15 May 2013. Web. 10 July 2013.