'Modern Family' Star Jesse Tyler Ferguson on Eric Stonestreet 'Chemistry'

Modern Family star Jesse Tyler Ferguson has said he and Eric Stonestreet had "immediate chemistry" when they first read together for the sitcom.

The pair played Mitchell Pritchett and Cameron Tucker in the hit comedy, which aired from 2009 to 2020. They amassed an army of fans as the lovable duo—who adopted a daughter, Lily (Aubrey Anderson-Emmons), and got married over the course of the show.

Speaking on the Table for Two podcast, Ferguson said he was cast first and did chemistry reads with a number of potential Cams. He said that when Stonestreet—who has described himself as "openly straight"—auditioned with him, it just "felt really right" between them.

"Something about when Eric Stonestreet came in, it just felt—I don't know, I had immediate chemistry with him," Ferguson said.

"I really enjoyed his take, it was incredibly—I don't know. It was so big but yet grounded at the same time. Later, I found out that he was basing it off of his mother, and so it's someone that he knows so well. And so even though he was completely flamboyant, it was based on this real person who he deeply cares for."

"It just really clicked, and it felt really right," said the actor, who has two children with his husband, Justin Mikita.

Newsweek contacted representatives for Jesse Tyler Ferguson for comment by email.

Ferguson also discussed the first time he read the script for Modern Family. He recalled "falling in love with it" and seeing an "opportunity for it to be a pop culture touchstone for the fight for marriage equality ."

"It felt unlike anything I'd ever read before because it was obviously incredibly hilarious but grounded in so much. I just could tell how much there was to mine from these characters," he added.

"I played and read many different gay roles, and it just felt like this was really going so much deeper under the surface than anything else I had ever read for or auditioned for or played."

The sitcom—which also starred Sofía Vergara —wrapped in 2020 after 11 seasons, but many Modern Family fans would like to see it return . When quizzed about rumors of a reunion, Ferguson said, "I don't think so."

However, he suggested he would be open to it, saying: "I would love to explore more. I would love to do something with the entire cast. I've been begging people to put something together. So I don't think it's for lack of interest from the cast."