Modern Family actor lifts curtain on Hollywood's hidden ugliness

Eric Stonestreet, best known for playing Cam on "Modern Family," recently dished about showbiz life, comparing his Kansas City roots to the flashy Los Angeles scene. Chatting with Graham Bensinger, the 53-year-old opened up on life after "Modern Family," giving us an outsider's take on Tinseltown.

Since wrapping up "Modern Family," Stonestreet's been living in Kansas City, but his L.A. work trips have really put the business under a microscope. "What I realized it does is it highlights everything great about our business, the entertainment business," the actor reflected. "And it highlights all the douchebaggery of our business. It amplifies it. Because I'm here, I'm dealing with people from here, and I'm going into the store and having all these authentic, real moments, and then I go to Hollywood, and you're reminded of some of the types of people that you deal with."

His take on Hollywood vs. Kansas City life is pretty eye-opening. It's not all bad in L.A.—Stonestreet joked about the fancy fruit platters as a Hollywood perk.

Despite his gripes, Stonestreet is still in the game for L.A. gigs and keeps a good attitude about his career. He just did a WhatsApp ad with his old "Modern Family" crew - Julie Bowen, Ty Burrell, and Jesse Tyler Ferguson - and had a blast. Getting back together with the gang seemed to bring back good memories, and Stonestreet was pumped to step into his old role again.

That is bad news for fans hoping for more "Modern Family," though. Stonestreet revealed that even though there was a killer script for a spin-off about his and Ferguson's characters in Missouri, the network shot it down. This decision apparently "hurt Jesse's and my feelings," as did writer Chris Lloyd. The actor's comments hint at the missed opportunity, especially considering the cast's willingness to return to their roles after a year-long, pandemic-induced break.

Stonestreet's reflections on the potential for a "Modern Family" continuation offer insight into the complex dynamics of television production and networks' sometimes opaque decision-making processes. He speculated that the network might have viewed their characters as "old, old, old guys" not worthy of further exploration, a perception he found "a little hurtful." Nevertheless, Stonestreet acknowledged the reality of the business, stating, "People make business decisions. I mean, we can't get involved in that."

Despite the setback, Stonestreet remains open to the possibility of reuniting with his "Modern Family" castmates in other formats. "I wish we would do a Christmas special or something like that," he shared. "And there's been talk of that. Like a couple writers have had that idea of, like, doing sort of like British, sort of versions of Christmas specials. Like a two-hour movie every once in a while. That'd be fun."