Jesse Tyler Ferguson
Amy Sussman/Getty ImagesJesse Tyler Ferguson he recalled having to choose between working at his craft or being unemployed in order to eat early in his career.
“I started in the theater. I got my equity card pretty easily (when) I was doing Shakespeare in the Park,” Ferguson, 49, said Kathy Bates during the Tuesday, January 14, episode of his “Dinner is on me” podcast, which was recorded before Wildfires in Los Angeles broke out last week.
He noted that when the show moved to Broadway, “it only lasted a few months” and his career stalled. To make ends meet, he worked several odd jobs.
“I worked in a souvenir shop. I worked in cafes – Ferguson recalled.
While he was still engaged in theater during that period, the money was minimal. “I would do things off-Broadway. But there (were) times when the wages you’d make doing those off-Broadway shows weren’t as good as unemployment,” he explained, adding, “I’d really have to think, like, ‘Do I want to eat, or do I want to develop my artistic self and take on these great roles?’ And there (were) times when I was really nervous about it.”
He pointed out that “taking a job would actually mean a pay cut because my unemployment was higher.”
Ferguson made his Broadway debut in 1998 In the city. He later starred in the original cast of the film 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Beewhich began in 2006. His performances at Shakespeare in the Park include the 2007 A Midsummer Night’s Dreamin 2010 A winter story and Venetian merchant and in 2015 Storm.
Jesse Tyler Ferguson has nothing but love for his Modern Family co-stars — even if his TV daughter, Aubrey Anderson-Emmons, sometimes leaves him at a reading. “I just called her the other day, and it went straight to voicemail,” Ferguson, 49, exclusively told Us Weekly of Anderson-Emmons, 17, while promoting his partnership with Toval for their (…)
His career on the small screen took off in 2006 when he started playing Richie Welch Class before landing his biggest TV role to date playing Mitchell Pritchett Modern family In 2009, the sitcom ran for 11 seasons, ending in 2020. (It was nominated for five Emmys during the series’ run.)
In 2022 Ferguson caused a stir on Broadway once again with Take me out. He won the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play for his portrayal of Mason Marzac. It’s back on the big screen in 2023 for Cocaine bear and built on it Everything we love in 2024, Ferguson also had a guest starring role Elsbeth last year.
Outside of acting, Ferguson runs his own podcast and raises his two children with his wife Justin Mikita. (The couple greeted their sons Beckett and Sullivan via surrogate in 2020 or 2022)
Jason Mendez/Getty Images Jesse Tyler Ferguson is just like us — he has a cute but simple nickname for his significant other! “We both call each other this, but it started as ‘Baby boy,'” Ferguson, 49, exclusively reveals in the latest issue of Us Weekly, referring to her husband, Justin Mikita. “I say, ‘Hey, (…)
“Sometimes we’re a little overbearing and we want to hug them and cuddle them,” Ferguson exclusively said Us Weekly in December 2024 of his parenting style.
“Together, they’re both like, ‘OK, that’s enough, back off and we decide together that you guys are a little underwhelming,'” he teased. “I like that they’re kind of already drawing a line in the sand about us.”
Ferguson noted that he was fine with his children uniting against their parents, he said Our“That’s really sweet. I love that they will have each other for life.”