Modern Family star Jesse Tyler Ferguson spoke candidly with several hundred students last night in Stamp Student Union.
Last night, Modern Family star Jesse Tyler Ferguson sat in a large, black armchair, facing a crowd of several hundred students gathered in Stamp Student Union’s Grand Ballroom.
“Where are you, Julie?” he asked. “Stand up!”
As a girl sitting in the fourth row slowly began to rise, blushing at the request her friends had made, Ferguson belted out his rendition of “Happy Birthday.”
For Ferguson, holding back was not an option. The openly gay actor candidly and comfortably dished out behind-the-scenes gossip from the Modern Family set and answered student questions, which ranged from “How did you come out as a teenager?” to “If you could shoot an intimate scene with any other actor, past or present, who would it be?,” from his seat on stage.
“When I speak at colleges and events, I want people to feel like they’re having coffee with me,” he said in an interview after the event. “Sometimes these things turn into people asking me for advice about acting or their sexuality and I’ll wonder if I’m the best person to give that advice, and it’s more comfortable for others and myself if I keep it casual.”
Best known for his work on ABC’s hit show Modern Family and his advocacy for LGBT teens through the Trevor Project, Ferguson has made waves in the world of television. But his road to success, he said, was not without its bumps.
Ferguson said he finally came out to his parents at the age of 15, when he had to explain why they needed to pick him up from the police station after he had been caught stealing gay pornography.
“It’s a hilarious story now,” he said. “But at the time, it was horrifying to go through.”
Between losing lead roles to fellow New Mexico child thespian Neil Patrick Harris at the Children’s Theatre in Albuquerque and suffering at the mercy of bullies throughout his elementary and middle school years, the shy, quiet Ferguson did not have an easy time coming to terms with his sexuality and developing the confidence he prides himself on today.
“I have no other skills – if I didn’t act, I would be out of luck,” he said. “You just have to develop a thick skin and know that you are unique and special.”
Ferguson’s bevy of Hollywood stories – which range from worrying Ellen Degeneres wouldn’t like him to discovering both he and The Social Network star Andrew Garfield had tried to scale a wall in a Spiderman costume – shows he’s no ordinary actor.
Students at the event said Ferguson’s relaxed demeanor made him relatable, despite his celebrity status.
“I loved it – he elaborated on everything and he was so candid, not fake at all,” said Asmi Shah, a senior physiology and neurobiology major.
Others agreed, saying he appeared excited to be in College Park.
“He seemed really into talking to us – he was just hilarious and really inspiring,” senior international business major Ramya Tallapragada said.
Although Ferguson has built up his repertoire, he said what amazes him most is not the fame the ABC sitcom brought him but the positive feedback his on-screen romantic relationship with castmate Eric Stonestreet has received from viewers, as well as the impact he’s made in promoting acceptance of the LGBT community.
“I have people say to me every day, ‘Thank you for being on TV,'” he said. “I look forward to a day when people aren’t talking about us as being revolutionary, but as normal, and I think it will come soon.”
blasey@umdbk.com
