Jesse Tyler Ferguson Tells the Craziest ‘Modern Family’ Story

“Modern Family” may be long gone, but Jesse Tyler Ferguson And Eric Stonestreet prove that the show’s funniest moments didn’t always happen on camera. Ferguson recently hosted Stonestreet on his “Dinner’s On Me” podcast, and the longtime TV spouses took a trip down memory lane, revisiting what they say was one of the most ridiculous moments in the show’s filming history. The two, who played Mitchell Pritchett and Cameron Tucker for all 11 seasons, were discussing what they “missed most about the show” when their conversation led to a behind-the-scenes incident so memorable it apparently survived…literally.

While reflecting on their favorite memories from filming, Stonestreet immediately knew what was at the top of the list. “Craftsman service. Jeff Greenberg walking into the glass that day. That’s the greatest moment ever,” Stonestreet said in the episode.

The “Jeff” in question was the show’s casting director, Jeff Greenberg, and according to both actors, his accidental collision with a glass wall instantly became legend among the cast and crew. “We registered his face mark, remember? His face mark survived the entire season,” the 54-year-old actor added.

This single detail made Ferguson collapse. At the mention of the on-set gaffe, Ferguson responded with a laugh, “I can’t believe that happened. He just walked towards us.”

According to Ferguson, the only reason this moment was possible was because the craft service area of ​​the salon was located in the most chaotic place imaginable. Ferguson explained that this moment happened because the show’s craft service area, which is often in an out-of-the-way corner, was built into “this little glass box in the middle of the stage.”

The “box” wasn’t a small partition either, it was essentially a completely transparent room. The area included a kitchen, coffee machine and space for people to sit and have a meal, but was essentially “a glass box with doors and windows”. And one day, all the actors were eating breakfast in the club when their “brilliant casting director came crossing the path, walking towards us,” Ferguson recalls, “and his face planted in the glass.”

The funniest part? They say it wasn’t a sudden surprise. It was a slow comedy. “And we saw it coming from a mile away and we did nothing!” Stonestreet admitted with a laugh.

If you’re wondering if anyone felt guilty, Stonestreet made it clear that the timing was just too perfect. He added: “No better person than Jeff could have walked into that glass at that moment.”

“His face print was still on the glass, so we recorded his blue print with tape, and it stayed in memory for months,” Stonestreet added.

Ferguson and Stonestreet played Mitchell and Cameron for all 11 seasons of the hit ABC series, which ran from 2009 to 2020 and became one of the most successful sitcoms of its era. Ferguson previously spoke about how “Modern Family” sparked a lot of discussion about representation, particularly when it came to how Mitchell and Cameron were portrayed.

“One of the pressures I always felt, especially after being on a show like ‘Modern Family,’ where I play a gay man on a TV show on a network as popular as it is,” Ferguson said on an episode of his podcast last year. “You take criticism, as you do with everything you do, but the criticism I think I heard the loudest was always from the gay community.”