Jesse Tyler Ferguson
Encyclopedia
Jesse Tyler Ferguson is an American actor who portrays Mitchell Pritchett on the ABC
sitcom Modern Family
. Previously he played the role of Richie Velch in the CBS
sitcom The Class. He is openly gay.
, and moved to Albuquerque, New Mexico
, where he was raised. At age eight he decided to become an actor, and joined the Albuquerque Children's Theater, where he was a member for six years. In high school Ferguson played Albert Peterson in Bye Bye Birdie, and General Bullmoose in Li'l Abner
. He also joined his high school speech and debate team, and worked as a dancer/singer at Cliff's Amusement Park.
Ferguson graduated from high school in 1994 and attended The American Musical and Dramatic Academy (AMDA) in New York City. He worked mainly in off-Broadway and Broadway shows, including the Tony Award
-winning, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee
, where he originated the role of Leaf Coneybear.
In the summer of 2007 Ferguson starred in the Public Theatre's Shakespeare in the Park production of A Midsummer Night's Dream
, and co-starred in the 2008 thriller, Untraceable
. Ferguson appears in the ABC
sitcom
Modern Family
. and like his character in Modern Family
, Ferguson is gay. He has been nominated for Outstanding Supporting Role in a Comedy Series at the 62nd Primetime Emmy Awards
and the 63rd Primetime Emmy Awards
for this role. He submitted the season one finale episode, "The Family Portrait", and the season two episode, "Halloween", for consideration in each year.
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
sitcom Modern Family
Modern Family
Modern Family is an American television comedy series created by Christopher Lloyd and Steven Levitan, which debuted on ABC on September 23, 2009. Lloyd and Levitan serve as showrunner and executive producers, under their Levitan-Lloyd Productions label...
. Previously he played the role of Richie Velch in the CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
sitcom The Class. He is openly gay.
Life and career
Ferguson was born in Missoula, MontanaMissoula, Montana
Missoula is a city located in western Montana and is the county seat of Missoula County. The 2010 Census put the population of Missoula at 66,788 and the population of Missoula County at 109,299. Missoula is the principal city of the Missoula Metropolitan Area...
, and moved to Albuquerque, New Mexico
Albuquerque, New Mexico
Albuquerque is the largest city in the state of New Mexico, United States. It is the county seat of Bernalillo County and is situated in the central part of the state, straddling the Rio Grande. The city population was 545,852 as of the 2010 Census and ranks as the 32nd-largest city in the U.S. As...
, where he was raised. At age eight he decided to become an actor, and joined the Albuquerque Children's Theater, where he was a member for six years. In high school Ferguson played Albert Peterson in Bye Bye Birdie, and General Bullmoose in Li'l Abner
Li'l Abner
Li'l Abner is a satirical American comic strip that appeared in many newspapers in the United States, Canada and Europe, featuring a fictional clan of hillbillies in the impoverished town of Dogpatch, Kentucky. Written and drawn by Al Capp , the strip ran for 43 years, from August 13, 1934 through...
. He also joined his high school speech and debate team, and worked as a dancer/singer at Cliff's Amusement Park.
Ferguson graduated from high school in 1994 and attended The American Musical and Dramatic Academy (AMDA) in New York City. He worked mainly in off-Broadway and Broadway shows, including the Tony Award
Tony Award
The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Theatre, more commonly known as a Tony Award, recognizes achievement in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ceremony in New York City. The awards are given for Broadway...
-winning, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee
The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee
The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee is a one act musical comedy conceived by Rebecca Feldman with music and lyrics by William Finn, a book by Rachel Sheinkin and additional material by Jay Reiss. The show centers on a fictional spelling bee set in a geographically ambiguous Putnam Valley...
, where he originated the role of Leaf Coneybear.
In the summer of 2007 Ferguson starred in the Public Theatre's Shakespeare in the Park production of A Midsummer Night's Dream
A Midsummer Night's Dream
A Midsummer Night's Dream is a play that was written by William Shakespeare. It is believed to have been written between 1590 and 1596. It portrays the events surrounding the marriage of the Duke of Athens, Theseus, and the Queen of the Amazons, Hippolyta...
, and co-starred in the 2008 thriller, Untraceable
Untraceable
Untraceable is a 2008 American thriller film starring Diane Lane, Colin Hanks, Billy Burke, and Joseph Cross. It was directed by Gregory Hoblit and distributed by Screen Gems...
. Ferguson appears in the ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
sitcom
Situation comedy
A situation comedy, often shortened to sitcom, is a genre of comedy that features characters sharing the same common environment, such as a home or workplace, accompanied with jokes as part of the dialogue...
Modern Family
Modern Family
Modern Family is an American television comedy series created by Christopher Lloyd and Steven Levitan, which debuted on ABC on September 23, 2009. Lloyd and Levitan serve as showrunner and executive producers, under their Levitan-Lloyd Productions label...
. and like his character in Modern Family
Modern Family
Modern Family is an American television comedy series created by Christopher Lloyd and Steven Levitan, which debuted on ABC on September 23, 2009. Lloyd and Levitan serve as showrunner and executive producers, under their Levitan-Lloyd Productions label...
, Ferguson is gay. He has been nominated for Outstanding Supporting Role in a Comedy Series at the 62nd Primetime Emmy Awards
62nd Primetime Emmy Awards
The 62nd Annual Primetime Emmy Awards, presented by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, took place on August 29, 2010, at the Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles, California beginning at 5:00 p.m. PDT...
and the 63rd Primetime Emmy Awards
63rd Primetime Emmy Awards
The 63rd Annual Primetime Emmy Awards, honoring the best in primetime television programming from June 1, 2010 until May 31, 2011, was held on September 18, 2011, at the Nokia Theatre in Downtown Los Angeles, California. Fox televised the ceremony within the United States. Actress Jane Lynch hosted...
for this role. He submitted the season one finale episode, "The Family Portrait", and the season two episode, "Halloween", for consideration in each year.
Filmography
- 2000: Sally Hemings: An American Scandal – Young Tom Hemings
- 2001: Ordinary Sinner – Ogden
- 2002: Mercury in Retrograde – Duane
- 2006: Griffin and PhoenixGriffin and PhoenixGriffin & Phoenix is a 2006 romance film produced by Gold Circle Films, starring Dermot Mulroney and Amanda Peet. It was a remake of the 1976 television film Griffin and Phoenix: A Love Story, starring Peter Falk and Jill Clayburgh...
– Student - 2007: The Class – Richie Velch (19 episodes)
- 2008: UntraceableUntraceableUntraceable is a 2008 American thriller film starring Diane Lane, Colin Hanks, Billy Burke, and Joseph Cross. It was directed by Gregory Hoblit and distributed by Screen Gems...
– Arthur James Elmer - 2008: Do Not DisturbDo Not Disturb (TV series)Do Not Disturb is an American sitcom, which debuted as a Fall entry on Fox's primetime lineup on September 10, 2008...
– Larry - 2009: Wonderful WorldWonderful World (film)Wonderful World is a 2009 drama film directed and written by Joshua Goldin, who in this movie makes his directorial debut. The film stars Matthew Broderick, Sanaa Lathan, Michael K. Williams and Jodelle Ferland....
– Cyril - 2009-present: Modern FamilyModern FamilyModern Family is an American television comedy series created by Christopher Lloyd and Steven Levitan, which debuted on ABC on September 23, 2009. Lloyd and Levitan serve as showrunner and executive producers, under their Levitan-Lloyd Productions label...
– Mitchell Pritchett - 2010: Ugly BettyUgly BettyUgly Betty is an American comedy-drama television series developed by Silvio Horta, which premiered on ABC on September 28, 2006, and ended on April 14, 2010. The series revolves around the character Betty Suarez and is based on Fernando Gaitán's Colombian telenovela soap opera Yo soy Betty, la fea...
– Dr. Gabe Farkus (2 episodes) - 2011 So You Think You Can DanceSo You Think You Can Dance (U.S. TV series)So You Think You Can Dance is an American dance competition and reality show that airs on Fox in the United States.The series first premiered on July 20, 2005, and was created by American Idol producers Simon Fuller and Nigel Lythgoe and is produced by 19 Entertainment and Dick Clark Productions...
- Guest judge Wednesday July 13, 2011
Stage productions
- On the Town – Chip (Broadway Revival, November 19, 1998 – January 17, 1999)
- The Most Fabulous Story Ever Told – (Off Broadway)
- Little FishLittle Fish (musical)Little Fish is a musical with music, lyrics and book by Michael John LaChiusa. The musical is suggested by two short stories by Deborah Eisenberg, "Days " and "Flotsam ". It concerns a group of friends living in New York City, one of whom, Charlotte, decides to stop smoking and then swims to...
– Marco (Off Broadway) - Where Do We Live
- newyorkers
- HairHair (musical)Hair: The American Tribal Love-Rock Musical is a rock musical with a book and lyrics by James Rado and Gerome Ragni and music by Galt MacDermot. A product of the hippie counter-culture and sexual revolution of the 1960s, several of its songs became anthems of the anti-Vietnam War peace movement...
– Margaret Mead – (Encores!) - SantaLand DiariesSantaLand Diaries"SantaLand Diaries" is an essay by David Sedaris. It is a true and humorous account of Sedaris' stint working as a Christmas elf in "SantaLand" at Macy's department store....
- A Midsummer Night's DreamA Midsummer Night's DreamA Midsummer Night's Dream is a play that was written by William Shakespeare. It is believed to have been written between 1590 and 1596. It portrays the events surrounding the marriage of the Duke of Athens, Theseus, and the Queen of the Amazons, Hippolyta...
– Francis Flute – Public Theatre (Shakespeare in the Park) - The Complete Works of Shakespeare (abridged)
- The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling BeeThe 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling BeeThe 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee is a one act musical comedy conceived by Rebecca Feldman with music and lyrics by William Finn, a book by Rachel Sheinkin and additional material by Jay Reiss. The show centers on a fictional spelling bee set in a geographically ambiguous Putnam Valley...
– Leaf Coneybear (Broadway, May 2, 2005 – January 20, 2008) - On the Twentieth CenturyOn the Twentieth CenturyOn the Twentieth Century is a musical with book and lyrics by Betty Comden and Adolph Green and music by Cy Coleman. Part operetta, part farce, part screwball comedy, the story involves the behind-the-scenes relationship of a temperamental actress and a director.-Background:Comden and Green based...
– Max Jacobs (Special Concert, September 26, 2005) - The Merchant of VeniceThe Merchant of VeniceThe Merchant of Venice is a tragic comedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1596 and 1598. Though classified as a comedy in the First Folio and sharing certain aspects with Shakespeare's other romantic comedies, the play is perhaps most remembered for its dramatic...
– Launcelot Gobbo – Public Theatre (Shakespeare in the Park) - Summer 2010
Awards
- 2005 Drama Desk Award Outstanding Ensemble Performance – The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling BeeThe 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling BeeThe 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee is a one act musical comedy conceived by Rebecca Feldman with music and lyrics by William Finn, a book by Rachel Sheinkin and additional material by Jay Reiss. The show centers on a fictional spelling bee set in a geographically ambiguous Putnam Valley...
- 2010 Screen Actors Guild Award: Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series - Modern Family