Modern Family - Eric Stonestreet on Playing a Gay Parent

of course you know portraying Cam and Mitchell as loving pair couple and loving parents that is even for 2012 you know a statement I would imagine that it's your roles as parents especially on the show that generates a lot of feedback probably I definitely look forward to the day when this is not a revolutionary couple I'm think that but I I do I I mean I'm so grateful that first of all I have a partner in Eric who's who's so careful and meticulous with his character but also that we have riders who who treat them with so much respect and dignity and put them in the same circumstances that they would any of the other couples on the show and um we're just lucky to be playing these characters and what you know when we acknowledge that they are sort of pop culture touchstones at this point and there's a lot circulating and that the civil rights movement with with you know marriage equality and we're happy that they're sort of front and center but at the same time Eric always reminds people you know we're here and I agree with him that we're here to make a comedy we're here to make people laugh and sometimes sue laughter you can make big messages and big statements but that's enough that's number our goal we find people all the time especially some of the areas that I go to because of where I'm from in my interest Jesse doesn't go to NASCAR races with me for example so but you know I'm I'm I'm in a different environment than sometimes jesse is on in with a different audience if you will and there's nothing more gratifying when I am in a place like that and I have a guy carrying of giant tire or a tank of gas at a NASCAR event it goes my wife and I love your show man like man where do you get those shirts and it's like I love those shirts and my wife she's always trying to dress me like a mime like hey man I love cam alright you know so we're we're you know we're opening people's minds and hearts no doubt to realize that you don't have to be a man and a woman to give a baby a proper healthy happy loving home but that's not ours that's not the show's agenda or the agenda is to make people laugh and through laughter comes change I firmly believe mm-hmm mm-hmm and as Steve you've said that you were surprised actually I think you've said in the past that you surprised actually at the relative lack of sort of organized protest about how could ABC put this on the air that you were a little bit bracing for more of a potential backlash from certain quarters so yeah or that that it wouldn't you that certain people would not even give it a chance so you would say no on that's not that's not for me but yeah the the greatest stories we hear you know by far are the stories from you know gay teens who say they couldn't not in a million ever have talked to their parents their parents were very you know there was it was not a good environment for for that and and their parents would what they'd watch the show with their parents and the parents would start would fall in love with Cameron Mitchell and because of that they were able to talk to their parents and they were able to tell him and their parents accepted them and we've gotten a ton of letters like that and then and that's the most amazing and when Jesse when Jesse and I are at events I think he and I both on multiple nights in the same night have had kids come up to us and say you made it easier to come out to my parents I mean that's there's no better compliment that you can get you never think of those things when taking on a role on a comedy and one one that stands out to me it was at the out 100 party a kid came up to me and he said hey I just want to tell you that you know I had the courage to finally tell my mom and I'm gay and her response was well are you Mitch or cam who wants oh he was he was Morecambe and I could tell

Channel: The Paley Center for Media

Views: 1,097,234

Rating: 4.9082227 out of 5

Keywords: Cynthia Littleton, Steven Levitan, Julie Bowen, Claire Dunphy, Ed ONeill, Jay Pritchett, Ty Burrell, Phil Dunphy, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Mitchell Pritchett, Eric Stonestreet, Cameron Tucker, Sofia Vergara, Gloria Delgado Pritchett, Sarah Hyland, Haley Dunphy, Ariel Winter, Alex Dunphy, Nolan Gould, Luke Dunphy, Rico Rodriguez, Manny Delgado, PALEYFEST, The Paley Center for Media, TV, Sitcom

Id: Ycb-_v2v3Qs

Length: 4min 44sec (284 seconds)

Published: Thu Dec 06 2012