WEBVTT - Bonus: At the Super Bowl with Chiefs superfan Eric Stonestreet 0:00:00.160 --> 0:00:03.279 Hi everyone, I'm Katie Kurrig and welcome to Next Question. 0:00:04.320 --> 0:00:07.560 It's a special day in a special bonus episode because 0:00:07.720 --> 0:00:15.480 I'm in Miami, everybody for Super Bowl fifty four. It's 0:00:15.480 --> 0:00:19.040 the Kansas City Chiefs versus the San Francisco forty Niners. 0:00:19.480 --> 0:00:23.200 Two teams, was something to prove to their die hard fans. 0:00:25.760 --> 0:00:28.320 The forty Niners are headed to their seventh Super Bowl. 0:00:28.560 --> 0:00:34.280 We support archy hard times, the low time. It's been 0:00:34.320 --> 0:00:37.879 so long, so many bad years. Are taking it all 0:00:37.960 --> 0:00:46.120 the way, are you. It's been fifty years since the 0:00:46.200 --> 0:00:51.519 Kansas City Chiefs were lasting the Super Bowl. After a 0:00:51.640 --> 0:00:55.920 lifetime watching the Chiefs, this is an incredible within sple. 0:00:56.720 --> 0:00:59.880 This just means so much, not only to me, citizens 0:01:00.000 --> 0:01:06.039 Iron City fans for both teams have been streaming into 0:01:06.040 --> 0:01:09.240 this city all week, all wearing red and gold. By 0:01:09.240 --> 0:01:11.880 the way, because for the first time in Super Bowl history, 0:01:12.319 --> 0:01:15.920 the teams share the same colors, even though the forty 0:01:16.040 --> 0:01:20.160 Niners are a little more on the scarlet side. While 0:01:20.200 --> 0:01:23.600 the crowds are gathering all around Hard Rock Stadium, I've 0:01:23.640 --> 0:01:26.640 set up shop nearby and the Sleep Number booth at 0:01:26.640 --> 0:01:31.480 the Media Center, a giant space where their camera crews 0:01:31.520 --> 0:01:35.360 and makeshift studio set up. People milling around a lot 0:01:35.440 --> 0:01:38.800 of football players and it's kind of crazy here, but 0:01:38.880 --> 0:01:42.160 a lot of fun. My guest today is a devoted 0:01:42.200 --> 0:01:45.200 football fan. In fact, he might be the biggest Chiefs 0:01:45.240 --> 0:01:49.080 fan of all time, and he's here wearing head to 0:01:49.240 --> 0:01:53.400 toe Kansas City Chiefs gear. Eric stone Street, who plays 0:01:53.480 --> 0:01:57.760 Cam Tucker on Modern Family. It is time for some 0:01:57.800 --> 0:02:00.920 farm justice back home. When we have two alphableles, we 0:02:01.040 --> 0:02:03.520 lock them in a pin and let them fight it out. 0:02:03.960 --> 0:02:07.080 This is between Nanny and Luke. Come on, let's go. 0:02:08.600 --> 0:02:11.399 Oh and help yourself to a gingerbread person. They're both 0:02:11.400 --> 0:02:16.960 gluten and gender free. Hi, Eric stone Street, I am 0:02:17.040 --> 0:02:19.320 so happy to see you, so happy to see one 0:02:19.360 --> 0:02:21.919 of the nicest people on the planet. You are well, 0:02:22.280 --> 0:02:24.440 thank you. That means a lot coming from you, because 0:02:24.440 --> 0:02:26.919 you're one of the nicest people we try. Don't wait, 0:02:27.720 --> 0:02:32.000 and you are obviously pretty darn jazzed, Eric, because you 0:02:32.080 --> 0:02:39.279 are here to cheer on your team, Kansas City chief 0:02:40.880 --> 0:02:44.240 So excited you got your hat on? Oh, I got 0:02:44.280 --> 0:02:48.040 everything on? But but about come September or October. This 0:02:48.120 --> 0:02:51.600 is basically all I wear in my wardrobe. Really, you know, look, 0:02:51.639 --> 0:02:55.839 it's comfortable, it's it's it makes a statement. It represents 0:02:56.360 --> 0:03:00.880 what I love football Kansas City. But no, I'm very excited. 0:03:00.880 --> 0:03:02.560 I've been a fan of the Chiefs since I was 0:03:02.600 --> 0:03:04.359 a little kid. You know. My aunt and uncle got 0:03:04.400 --> 0:03:06.680 me um to go in their season tickets, and then 0:03:06.720 --> 0:03:09.520 my dad got me season tickets when I was maybe 0:03:09.560 --> 0:03:12.600 in eighth or ninth grade. I had season tickets all 0:03:12.639 --> 0:03:14.800 through college. Then of course moved away to Chicago and 0:03:14.880 --> 0:03:19.480 Los Angeles. But I've always maintained my Chiefs fandom. Um 0:03:19.480 --> 0:03:23.360 and knowledge, you know, I football knowledge, you know. I 0:03:23.440 --> 0:03:26.160 just I mean, I recognize all these guys walking around legends. 0:03:26.160 --> 0:03:27.919 I just saw, Oh my god, there's John Randalls, like 0:03:28.000 --> 0:03:30.240 there's Anthony Munos. You know. So I know so much 0:03:30.280 --> 0:03:33.600 about football. So being here and now representing the Chiefs 0:03:33.639 --> 0:03:35.680 and representing my team and having a reason to be 0:03:35.680 --> 0:03:37.680 at Super Bowl is so fun. Now, did you play 0:03:37.720 --> 0:03:39.680 football when you were younger? I did. I just told 0:03:39.680 --> 0:03:42.000 Anthony Munio so I had a poster of him in 0:03:42.040 --> 0:03:44.880 my room, even though he was a Cincinnati Bengal and 0:03:44.880 --> 0:03:46.000 I was a Chiefs fan. I said, I had a 0:03:46.000 --> 0:03:47.800 poster in you in my room because I wanted to 0:03:47.800 --> 0:03:49.960 be an offensive tackle, but I never got big enough 0:03:50.120 --> 0:03:54.280 or good at football. I played in high school and 0:03:54.360 --> 0:03:57.120 you know I was fine, but never to the level 0:03:57.160 --> 0:03:59.760 that I would ever have garnered any kind of stuff. 0:04:00.240 --> 0:04:02.600 You grew, I mean, you grew to love the sport 0:04:02.760 --> 0:04:05.400 to play it, but also just as a super fan, 0:04:05.840 --> 0:04:08.640 just a just a fan and just love the game 0:04:08.640 --> 0:04:10.840 and love love everything about it. And you've met a 0:04:10.840 --> 0:04:13.240 lot of players, I know, Eric, when you were younger 0:04:13.800 --> 0:04:16.600 growing up in Kansas City. And there's one actually very 0:04:16.680 --> 0:04:20.080 moving story. You met a young player at a mall's 0:04:20.120 --> 0:04:24.080 signing named Joe Delaney. Can you tell us that story? Yeah, 0:04:24.120 --> 0:04:26.200 I was at I was at Indian Springs mall and 0:04:26.240 --> 0:04:29.480 there were two players out signing autographs, him and J. T. 0:04:29.680 --> 0:04:31.560 Smith I believe was the other one. But I got 0:04:31.640 --> 0:04:35.200 Joe Delaney's autograph, and that sort of was the moment 0:04:35.240 --> 0:04:37.360 that you know, you look back of like when did 0:04:37.400 --> 0:04:40.120 your fan fan hood start? For me? And it was 0:04:40.520 --> 0:04:44.719 were you then well six, I mean seven, seven or eight, 0:04:44.800 --> 0:04:47.800 you know, um, because I don't remember what year he 0:04:47.839 --> 0:04:50.440 passed away, um. But then of course I got his 0:04:50.480 --> 0:04:53.120 autograph and he played I think that next season, and 0:04:53.160 --> 0:04:55.520 then he passed away trying to you know, save a 0:04:55.600 --> 0:04:58.240 kid and uh who was drowning and drowning and he 0:04:58.320 --> 0:05:00.880 drowned and self. Yeah, I mean he was going to 0:05:00.960 --> 0:05:03.280 be that was so heartbreaking, going to be one of 0:05:03.320 --> 0:05:06.880 the greatest that was back in I guess three or something, right, 0:05:07.240 --> 0:05:09.320 I'm not sure what the year was. Yeah, yeah, he 0:05:09.400 --> 0:05:12.680 died in nineteen three, so I would have been probably 0:05:13.120 --> 0:05:15.800 uh ten when that when I met him, And so 0:05:15.839 --> 0:05:19.440 it was shortly thereafter where this accident took place, just 0:05:19.720 --> 0:05:21.880 a year or so afterwards after that. You know, I 0:05:21.920 --> 0:05:25.120 can't help but ask you one question about this, Eric, 0:05:25.160 --> 0:05:28.599 because I just came from Los Angeles because I was 0:05:28.640 --> 0:05:31.960 at a stand up to cancer scientific summit and Eric, 0:05:32.000 --> 0:05:34.840 by the way, has been incredibly supportive of the work 0:05:34.880 --> 0:05:38.440 we're doing its stand up, but boy, Los Angeles was 0:05:38.600 --> 0:05:42.880 just uh it just like if a city could cry, 0:05:43.360 --> 0:05:47.159 Los Angeles was crying stunned. I was in Kansas City 0:05:47.520 --> 0:05:50.960 when I found out the news, and immediately reflected on, 0:05:51.000 --> 0:05:53.400 you know, as we all do, what our personal experience 0:05:54.360 --> 0:05:56.960 was and has been with people that we've lost or 0:05:57.000 --> 0:05:59.640 passed away, And the story that came to mind for 0:05:59.680 --> 0:06:01.919 me was, um, he came to the set of Modern 0:06:01.960 --> 0:06:04.679 Family one day. He we got word that hey, Kobe's 0:06:04.680 --> 0:06:07.400 coming to Modern Family. We're like what, And so he 0:06:07.440 --> 0:06:11.080 comes and watches this rehearse and shoot and he was 0:06:11.120 --> 0:06:15.359 just sitting there, just taking it all in. And I said, so, 0:06:15.400 --> 0:06:16.880 what do you think, Kobe, And he goes, well, it's 0:06:16.880 --> 0:06:18.880 cool how you guys rehearse because it's like us setting 0:06:19.080 --> 0:06:21.400 an offense. You know, you have to be here so 0:06:21.440 --> 0:06:23.160 she can be here, and then if you move that way, 0:06:23.240 --> 0:06:25.240 then this person counters and does this. So it's really 0:06:25.240 --> 0:06:27.960 neat for me to see all this happen. And then 0:06:28.000 --> 0:06:30.919 at the end, I said, so what made you, you know, 0:06:31.040 --> 0:06:32.520 come today? And he goes, you know, I woke up 0:06:32.520 --> 0:06:34.159 this morning and I just I felt like I wanted 0:06:34.160 --> 0:06:36.960 to watch something funny. And what I thought that he 0:06:37.160 --> 0:06:38.600 was so cool is like most people just turn on 0:06:38.640 --> 0:06:41.279 the TV and watch something or but Kobe Bryant's like, no, 0:06:41.320 --> 0:06:43.360 I'm gonna go to a set in the sound stage 0:06:43.400 --> 0:06:45.839 and watch something. And then he says, and plus, you 0:06:45.880 --> 0:06:48.440 told me to stop by sometime. And I'm like, Kobe, 0:06:48.960 --> 0:06:50.839 and he goes, you did last year he told me 0:06:50.880 --> 0:06:53.520 to stop by, And I'm like, well, yeah, but like, 0:06:54.760 --> 0:06:56.520 who knows if he was serious. I know I told 0:06:56.600 --> 0:06:58.000 him to stop by, but he knows I he was 0:06:58.000 --> 0:07:01.320 serious about probably in passing, like yeah, fine, but the 0:07:01.360 --> 0:07:03.480 fact that he remembered that and then referenced and made 0:07:03.520 --> 0:07:06.800 a joke about it, but came and so hungry to learn, 0:07:06.920 --> 0:07:09.240 and and he referenced that, you know, why would I 0:07:09.240 --> 0:07:11.000 go to any other show? You guys are the best. 0:07:11.040 --> 0:07:12.720 I want to watch the best do what they do. 0:07:13.640 --> 0:07:16.160 And and every time I saw him was just so 0:07:16.240 --> 0:07:18.760 delightful and such a nice person, and always with his 0:07:19.000 --> 0:07:23.400 family and would always introduce and ppictures and whatever. Just 0:07:23.600 --> 0:07:27.040 heart heartbreaking, tragic, and so sad for all those families, 0:07:27.000 --> 0:07:30.720 all those families, and those young girls, and a lot 0:07:30.760 --> 0:07:34.840 of the surviving children left that one family without a 0:07:34.880 --> 0:07:38.720 mom or a dad or a sister. It's just I 0:07:38.720 --> 0:07:43.239 don't know. But obviously we're continuing to keep Vanessa Briant 0:07:43.360 --> 0:07:46.320 in our prayers because, uh, it's going to be a 0:07:46.360 --> 0:07:49.240 long difficult road for her. And I thought, what what 0:07:49.800 --> 0:07:53.040 Barack Obama? President Obama said? You know, he was just 0:07:53.120 --> 0:07:55.840 getting started on his second act, and I do believe 0:07:55.880 --> 0:07:59.040 he would have done great things. But I hope. Absent 0:07:59.160 --> 0:08:01.680 of that, you know, people will be inspired to do 0:08:01.760 --> 0:08:04.120 great things. But that's what he did. I think that's 0:08:04.120 --> 0:08:05.560 what he did while he was living, and I think 0:08:05.600 --> 0:08:09.080 that's his legacy. He'll continue to do that, um after 0:08:09.120 --> 0:08:12.120 he's gone. Yeah, Well, getting back to I'm going to 0:08:12.200 --> 0:08:15.119 talk to you about modern family, which is ending soon 0:08:16.560 --> 0:08:18.720 and I'm sure you're sad about that, but but let's 0:08:18.840 --> 0:08:21.800 let's get back to football just for a few minutes. Um. 0:08:21.920 --> 0:08:24.200 You you go to almost every game? How do you 0:08:24.240 --> 0:08:28.080 do that with your schedule? Well, this season with Patrick Mahomes, 0:08:28.440 --> 0:08:30.800 I just decided that this was a year I wasn't 0:08:30.800 --> 0:08:32.600 going to miss a game. So I went to every 0:08:32.679 --> 0:08:36.839 Chief's home game this year. UM, with the notion that 0:08:36.880 --> 0:08:40.240 we would be here. I having gotten to know the 0:08:40.240 --> 0:08:42.360 general manager of the Chiefs, Brett Beach and Andy Reid, 0:08:42.360 --> 0:08:43.920 the head coach a little bit, and marked on him 0:08:43.920 --> 0:08:45.800 and the president. You know, I just really felt like, 0:08:45.880 --> 0:08:49.720 given what I listen to them say, this was we 0:08:49.720 --> 0:08:51.240 were going to make it to the super Bowl this year. 0:08:51.320 --> 0:08:55.880 And there's plenty of documentation of me saying that. And 0:08:55.960 --> 0:08:57.880 I'm not a cocky guy. I don't like to put 0:08:57.920 --> 0:08:59.800 the cart before the horse is type of thing. But 0:09:00.920 --> 0:09:03.120 it just felt like we were so close last year. 0:09:03.200 --> 0:09:07.199 Our roster got better this year, so given that we 0:09:07.240 --> 0:09:09.200 shouldn't make we should go to the super Bowl. Now 0:09:09.200 --> 0:09:11.160 it's called any given Sunday for a reason. Any team 0:09:11.200 --> 0:09:14.320 can beat any team any day. But I just felt 0:09:14.320 --> 0:09:15.640 like we were going to be here now when you 0:09:15.679 --> 0:09:17.920 went to those games where you're do you still have 0:09:17.960 --> 0:09:21.480 family in Kansas City? And you do? So are they 0:09:21.600 --> 0:09:25.040 all so into it? Are they coming to the super Bowl? No? Well, 0:09:25.200 --> 0:09:27.320 just Lindsay and I are here at the super Bowl. Um, 0:09:27.360 --> 0:09:28.880 but my mom would come to all the home games, 0:09:28.920 --> 0:09:31.319 would get her there, and my sister would come and um, 0:09:31.440 --> 0:09:33.400 and what about like friends from high school? Friends from 0:09:33.600 --> 0:09:36.080 are you still close to them? Some? Some? For sure 0:09:36.160 --> 0:09:37.600 we stay in touch. I have a lot of friends, 0:09:37.600 --> 0:09:39.559 and I'm still in touch with college buddies a lot. 0:09:39.679 --> 0:09:42.480 And um, where'd you go to college? Kansas State? Oh god, 0:09:42.720 --> 0:09:47.520 my god, you are hardcore Kansas you know. But there's 0:09:47.559 --> 0:09:50.160 something to that, though, and something that I think you appreciate, 0:09:50.160 --> 0:09:53.000 can appreciate and other people can appreciate it. I'm proud 0:09:53.080 --> 0:09:56.360 of where I'm from, you know, I'm my parents chose 0:09:56.400 --> 0:09:58.400 to raise me in Kansas because that's where they're from. 0:09:58.440 --> 0:10:01.320 And I don't like it when places get painted with 0:10:01.320 --> 0:10:03.640 with broad brushes. I'm not a fan of broad strokes 0:10:03.640 --> 0:10:06.280 in that way. I don't want people to just think 0:10:06.280 --> 0:10:08.520 that everyone from Kansas is a certain way or any 0:10:08.679 --> 0:10:10.600 everyone from that part of the country. There are good 0:10:10.600 --> 0:10:14.160 people everywhere. I agree with you. I love to put 0:10:14.160 --> 0:10:17.280 the spotlight on where I'm from and draw attention to 0:10:17.400 --> 0:10:20.600 where I'm from because they're great food there, there's great entertainment, 0:10:20.600 --> 0:10:23.480 there's great culture, there's great people, great sports, obviously with 0:10:23.480 --> 0:10:27.360 the Royals and the Chiefs. So I love being from 0:10:27.440 --> 0:10:29.920 Kansas and I love telling people about it. That's so nice, 0:10:29.960 --> 0:10:31.640 and I think you should be and there's no reason 0:10:31.679 --> 0:10:34.800 to be proud. But I think in the current culture 0:10:34.840 --> 0:10:37.800 and landscape that we're in, you know, people people that 0:10:38.040 --> 0:10:42.280 I identify, we're so tribal, and we make assumptions about 0:10:42.320 --> 0:10:46.440 people that are completely untrue, and you know, I just 0:10:46.480 --> 0:10:49.360 wish everybody would be not not be so hard on 0:10:49.360 --> 0:10:52.680 each other. You know, has your relationship with the game 0:10:52.760 --> 0:10:56.760 changed at all? Obviously the game has gotten some some 0:10:56.880 --> 0:11:01.319 tough press, and understandably so, with the number of injuries 0:11:01.320 --> 0:11:05.200 with ct E and and on field collisions and traumatic 0:11:05.240 --> 0:11:08.320 brain injuries, and I'm just curious, Um, you know, has 0:11:08.360 --> 0:11:10.920 it changed your relationship with football at all? You know 0:11:11.040 --> 0:11:13.640 it has It hasn't for me. I haven't played the game. 0:11:13.720 --> 0:11:16.800 Of course, I'm empathetic to people that you know, have 0:11:16.920 --> 0:11:22.040 suffered you know, health issues because of playing football. I 0:11:22.080 --> 0:11:26.160 think of the people that have suffered that. And of 0:11:26.200 --> 0:11:28.080 course I don't know this for a fact. I'm just 0:11:28.120 --> 0:11:30.600 basing it off. My interviews that I've seen would all 0:11:30.640 --> 0:11:33.280 say they would do it again, like they would all 0:11:33.320 --> 0:11:36.120 play the sport again the same way because of what 0:11:36.480 --> 0:11:39.320 they got out of it, you know, So I have 0:11:39.400 --> 0:11:43.240 to yield to players. I think the NFL is is 0:11:43.320 --> 0:11:45.600 doing a lot to make the game safer. They are, 0:11:45.600 --> 0:11:48.920 They're improving helmets, there are some changes in the rules, 0:11:49.080 --> 0:11:51.800 and a lot of resources have been devoted to making 0:11:51.800 --> 0:11:55.040 the sports safer. Um. And it starts with youth football. 0:11:55.080 --> 0:11:57.880 It starts with you know, a generate teaching this new 0:11:57.920 --> 0:12:00.400 generation of kids how to tackle and how not to 0:12:00.440 --> 0:12:04.120 put yourself in the situation to potentially get you know, injured. 0:12:04.160 --> 0:12:08.320 So hopefully they're making the right strides and um uh, 0:12:08.480 --> 0:12:11.360 you know, I feel like concussions in general in all 0:12:11.400 --> 0:12:15.560 sports are taken are treated much more seriously. Now. I 0:12:15.600 --> 0:12:17.480 was talking to someone the other day. They said, oh, 0:12:17.559 --> 0:12:20.600 you bang your head and be like, give them smelling salts, 0:12:20.679 --> 0:12:23.480 get back out their kids. And now, of course I 0:12:23.520 --> 0:12:27.320 think that there's so much more medical information that that 0:12:27.440 --> 0:12:29.959 people take it much much more serious. I think so. 0:12:30.080 --> 0:12:32.360 And I think as long as the NFL, and I 0:12:32.360 --> 0:12:34.920 know they are in colleges and everyone's you know, making 0:12:34.920 --> 0:12:38.040 strides and using the technology for good to make the 0:12:38.080 --> 0:12:42.079 game safer than I think that's obviously moving in the 0:12:42.160 --> 0:12:45.400 right direction there. So, um a Super Bowl prediction from 0:12:45.440 --> 0:12:47.240 Sleep Number. By the way, because we're here in the 0:12:47.280 --> 0:12:50.360 Sleep Number booth. Um, you know, Sleep Numbers working with 0:12:50.400 --> 0:12:54.480 a lot of NFL teams, including the Fansas City because 0:12:54.520 --> 0:12:57.199 they're really trying to help sleep is kind of very 0:12:57.320 --> 0:13:01.840 underrated and it's so critically important and it's a lack 0:13:01.840 --> 0:13:04.920 of sleep is an epidemic in this country. So according 0:13:05.000 --> 0:13:08.640 to Sleep Number, Kansas City is a slightly more well 0:13:08.760 --> 0:13:12.559 rested city than San Francisco. So they're putting their money 0:13:12.559 --> 0:13:15.040 on the Chiefs. What do you think of that? I 0:13:15.120 --> 0:13:17.040 love it. I love it. I know a lot of 0:13:17.040 --> 0:13:19.240 the Chiefs players, and they all have their sleep numbers. 0:13:19.280 --> 0:13:21.960 They all use them. Really, as we're talking, Travis Kelsey's 0:13:22.040 --> 0:13:24.280 right above us talking about his sleep number. Yeah, isn't 0:13:24.320 --> 0:13:26.960 that great? And uh others I think that's his mom 0:13:27.040 --> 0:13:32.160 or something. Yeah, that's awesome. Uh. I'm happy to hear 0:13:32.240 --> 0:13:35.920 anyone predict the Chiefs to win from any angles. So 0:13:36.040 --> 0:13:39.559 what are the what are the bookies or whatever they are? 0:13:39.559 --> 0:13:41.800 They one and a half point favorite, which is essentially 0:13:41.840 --> 0:13:44.160 a coin toss. Yeah, it's a good It's gonna be 0:13:44.200 --> 0:13:46.199 a great game, that's what we have. Do you think 0:13:46.200 --> 0:13:47.880 it'll be high scoring? I do. I think it's going 0:13:47.920 --> 0:13:49.640 to be in the thirties because I guess people were 0:13:49.640 --> 0:13:51.920 a little bit disappointed last year, right because it was 0:13:51.920 --> 0:13:54.480 such it was a defensive battle. I don't think this 0:13:54.559 --> 0:13:57.280 is gonna be a defensive battle. I think it's going 0:13:57.320 --> 0:13:59.800 to be an offensive juggernaut. I think we're gonna go 0:13:59.840 --> 0:14:03.400 back and forth on each other a little bit. I'm 0:14:03.440 --> 0:14:06.520 just so nervous. I'm so excited. It's just a control thing, 0:14:06.559 --> 0:14:08.679 you know. It's the same reason you get nervous, you know, 0:14:08.800 --> 0:14:11.120 doing things that you don't have any flying for example. 0:14:11.160 --> 0:14:13.040 You know, you get nervous about that because you're you're 0:14:13.080 --> 0:14:15.200 not making any of the decisions. I'm not I'm not 0:14:15.240 --> 0:14:18.040 a coach, so everything's in the hands of and it's 0:14:18.040 --> 0:14:19.560 a good thing. I'm not a coach. Let's be very 0:14:19.560 --> 0:14:22.320 clear about that. Would you'd like to be a coach, 0:14:22.400 --> 0:14:24.080 but you are You're not a coach, but you play 0:14:24.080 --> 0:14:27.240 one on TV. And speaking of that, we're going to 0:14:27.360 --> 0:14:33.520 talk about the last season of Modern Family. We're gonna 0:14:33.680 --> 0:14:35.680 We're done. We're going to do it right after this. 0:14:47.720 --> 0:14:49.960 We're back with Eric stone Street. We're here. If you 0:14:49.960 --> 0:14:52.560 guys are hearing some ambient noise, we're in the media 0:14:52.720 --> 0:14:56.280 center for the Super Bowl. So we've got a lot 0:14:56.320 --> 0:15:00.680 of crews milling around, a lot of football players, uh, 0:15:00.800 --> 0:15:04.360 people with microphones kind of in search of right anything 0:15:05.160 --> 0:15:08.760 to them. So, um, let's talk about Modern Family. I 0:15:08.840 --> 0:15:14.000 can't believe it. You must eleven years and twenty two Emmys, 0:15:14.040 --> 0:15:18.880 including two for you, my friends. Um you, I mean, 0:15:18.960 --> 0:15:22.560 you must be feeling so many different emotions, right and 0:15:22.680 --> 0:15:24.200 it has to do with what we just talked about, 0:15:24.240 --> 0:15:28.280 which is football, which is the most exciting time in 0:15:28.320 --> 0:15:30.840 my sports life. The Chiefs are in the Super Bowl, 0:15:31.040 --> 0:15:33.400 while at the same time it's one of the saddest 0:15:33.440 --> 0:15:36.760 moments in my professional life. Saying goodbye to a dream 0:15:36.840 --> 0:15:39.280 role in a dream job for the last eleven years. Well, 0:15:39.320 --> 0:15:43.040 I mean, how lucky, right, What is Dr Seussa say, 0:15:43.120 --> 0:15:47.040 don't cry because because it's over, smile because it happened. Yeah, 0:15:47.080 --> 0:15:49.840 something like that. Yeah, yeah, And that's definitely our approach, 0:15:49.880 --> 0:15:54.080 like we are most definitely thankful and grateful that it happened. Um, 0:15:54.120 --> 0:15:57.240 it's gonna be hard. You know, I've kind of said 0:15:57.520 --> 0:15:59.840 I didn't go to acting school, but I know one 0:15:59.840 --> 0:16:02.480 thing they don't teach you in acting school is how 0:16:02.520 --> 0:16:04.800 to be on the show eleven years and develop a 0:16:04.880 --> 0:16:07.840 hundred and some odd different relationships with crew and cast, 0:16:08.360 --> 0:16:10.000 and then all of a sudden say goodbye to that. 0:16:10.320 --> 0:16:12.360 You don't learn how to do that. You have to 0:16:12.400 --> 0:16:16.160 do that. And you know, you've said goodbye to jobs 0:16:16.200 --> 0:16:18.760 and people that you've loved and worked with for years 0:16:18.760 --> 0:16:20.520 and years. This is the first time I've ever had 0:16:20.520 --> 0:16:23.480 this extended period of time in my life with the 0:16:23.520 --> 0:16:27.400 same people for nine some eleven some five six years. 0:16:28.400 --> 0:16:32.880 So I'm just gonna try to keep my heart and 0:16:33.000 --> 0:16:35.520 mind and eyes open and enjoy every moment of it 0:16:35.560 --> 0:16:38.960 and let the emotions hit me when they hit me. Um, 0:16:39.000 --> 0:16:42.680 and they've started to most definitely. You know, was Cam 0:16:42.840 --> 0:16:45.280 the role of a lifetime for you? Eric? Oh? I 0:16:45.360 --> 0:16:49.640 think so there's you know, people have always said like, oh, 0:16:49.680 --> 0:16:52.440 aren't you worried about being typecast? And you know, and 0:16:52.480 --> 0:16:55.000 that's a popular question, I guess for people to ask. 0:16:55.080 --> 0:16:59.800 But if that, if that's it, I mean, it's great. 0:17:00.520 --> 0:17:03.960 I mean, it's just I never imagined it for my career. 0:17:04.000 --> 0:17:05.560 I was going to ask you, how did you get 0:17:05.600 --> 0:17:09.959 that role? And it was it was it competitive? You know, 0:17:10.600 --> 0:17:13.679 how did it happen? It was competitive. I came into 0:17:13.680 --> 0:17:15.320 the process late. They had cast a few of the 0:17:15.359 --> 0:17:18.000 other parts, and I you know, had four auditions for 0:17:18.080 --> 0:17:21.199 the for the for the for the role, you know, 0:17:21.240 --> 0:17:23.560 which is an uncommon in Hollywood to keep kind of 0:17:23.560 --> 0:17:26.320 having to jump through hoops. But you know, Stephen Chris, 0:17:26.359 --> 0:17:28.080 the creators of the show, they had an idea of 0:17:28.119 --> 0:17:30.080 what maybe Cam looked like. And I don't think I 0:17:30.119 --> 0:17:33.960 was it at first, and so they you know, passed 0:17:34.080 --> 0:17:37.040 on me, not meaning I was a terrible actor or 0:17:37.480 --> 0:17:40.840 terrible performer, but they just didn't think it. But to 0:17:40.880 --> 0:17:46.480 their credit and thankfully to them, they kept being reminded 0:17:46.520 --> 0:17:49.199 by my audition and they kept their minds open and 0:17:49.200 --> 0:17:50.840 their hearts open, and they were like, you know what, 0:17:50.960 --> 0:17:53.359 bring that guy back in because we keep thinking about 0:17:53.359 --> 0:17:55.879 his audition. And then they decided to test me. And 0:17:55.920 --> 0:17:58.560 I tested it twentye and tested at ABC and got 0:17:58.600 --> 0:18:04.120 the party and us that's the rest of the story. 0:18:03.680 --> 0:18:07.680 So in two thousand nine, when this show started, Eric, 0:18:07.760 --> 0:18:12.199 it was truly groundbreaking, and I was so thrilled that it. 0:18:12.480 --> 0:18:17.600 You know, it showed all kinds of underrepresented people on 0:18:17.760 --> 0:18:22.399 television living normal lives. How did that evolve? Because I 0:18:22.440 --> 0:18:26.359 feel like the country has evolved and attitudes have evolved, 0:18:26.800 --> 0:18:30.640 perhaps in some ways because of of what you did 0:18:30.640 --> 0:18:34.040 on Modern Family. How did you continue to kind of 0:18:34.240 --> 0:18:38.040 update and push the envelope during the course of the show. Well, 0:18:38.080 --> 0:18:40.000 just as life happens, you know, that's the beauty of 0:18:40.040 --> 0:18:43.080 the blueprint of that show is is that as a family, 0:18:43.160 --> 0:18:47.639 you know, it ebbs and flows right right. Tragedies happened, 0:18:47.800 --> 0:18:54.159 Shocking things happen, growth, you know, job changes, financial issues, whatever, 0:18:54.160 --> 0:18:57.240 those all things, those things all happened. So with Mention Cam, 0:18:57.280 --> 0:19:01.760 the goal always was from the beginning, that make people laugh. 0:19:01.920 --> 0:19:03.520 You know, we want to make We want these characters 0:19:03.560 --> 0:19:05.040 to make people laugh. We want these characters to be 0:19:05.080 --> 0:19:09.000 a mirror for everyone, not just a mirror for gay people, 0:19:09.640 --> 0:19:11.879 just a mirror for a lesbian couple, but a mirror 0:19:11.880 --> 0:19:14.359 for everyone. And I think the writers did such a 0:19:14.359 --> 0:19:18.320 good job of putting us in situations that that weren't 0:19:18.359 --> 0:19:21.240 defined by our sexuality. I always said from the beginning, 0:19:21.240 --> 0:19:23.000 Mitch and Cam's goal was to prove that they could 0:19:23.040 --> 0:19:27.000 be terrible as terrible parents as anyone else. And as 0:19:27.480 --> 0:19:31.240 as you know, it's like gay marriage. People would say, 0:19:31.320 --> 0:19:34.360 why can't gay people be as miserable as the exactly 0:19:34.520 --> 0:19:37.080 and and and you know, we just wanted what defined 0:19:37.080 --> 0:19:40.520 Minch and Cam to be that they were men, that 0:19:40.640 --> 0:19:43.719 they were partners, that they were fathers, and they were sons, 0:19:43.760 --> 0:19:46.439 and they were you know, all these other things, and 0:19:46.520 --> 0:19:48.480 let the fact that they were gay be one of 0:19:48.520 --> 0:19:51.600 the things that they are. But certainly isn't at the 0:19:51.640 --> 0:19:53.959 top of the list of what everybody needs to know 0:19:54.040 --> 0:19:57.239 about them. You know, it's like it's not important. I 0:19:57.280 --> 0:20:01.439 was gonna ask you how much of you was in camp, 0:20:01.520 --> 0:20:04.800 because listen, you know, you grew up on a farm. 0:20:05.280 --> 0:20:07.439 Can grew up on a farm. You guys have a 0:20:07.440 --> 0:20:09.959 lot of similarities. You like to clown? Do I use 0:20:10.000 --> 0:20:14.280 that as a verb? Yeah? Yeah, yeah. What does that mean? Clowning? Yeah, clowning. 0:20:14.320 --> 0:20:16.440 It means you like to dress up as a clown. Well, 0:20:16.480 --> 0:20:19.400 but clowning is comedy. I was I was clowning earlier 0:20:19.440 --> 0:20:21.399 because I keep tripping on this carpet out there for 0:20:21.440 --> 0:20:24.399 some reason, and I literally tripped leaving that way, and 0:20:24.400 --> 0:20:26.400 then when I came back, I tripped at the same place. 0:20:26.400 --> 0:20:28.800 I'm like, how did I trip at the exact same place? 0:20:28.800 --> 0:20:30.439 And then there was a group of firemen there, and 0:20:30.440 --> 0:20:32.120 I knew that they were listening to me, So then 0:20:32.119 --> 0:20:34.639 I said, I tripped at this same exact place, and 0:20:34.640 --> 0:20:36.439 then I tripped again just for their benefit. That's like 0:20:36.440 --> 0:20:39.360 an example of clowning, you know, uh, just having fun 0:20:39.440 --> 0:20:41.359 and you know, entertaining people. I wanted to do that 0:20:41.400 --> 0:20:42.480 when I was a kid. I wanted to be in 0:20:42.480 --> 0:20:44.600 the circus and to get to be on Modern Family 0:20:44.600 --> 0:20:47.639 and play Bisbo the clown in the greatest circus of 0:20:47.680 --> 0:20:52.840 all time Hollywood. Um was just a complete, complete dream 0:20:52.960 --> 0:20:55.439 come true. But did the writers take some aspects of 0:20:55.480 --> 0:20:59.119