Modern Family is one of the most beloved sitcoms of the last decade, bringing breakout stars Ariel Winter, Sarah Hyland, and Ty Burrell to fame. The show took the mock-documentary approach of The Office and brought a hilarious multicultural twist while providing the punchline in every scene. However, Burrell lived a cheerful and quiet life in his struggling days before becoming known for playing the role of Phil Dunphy.
In an interview with USA Today, the actor revealed that while going through graduate school, he lived in a van and went on a single date over the course of a year, but never got the girl back. “Basically, when my date found out I was living in my van, I never spoke to her again,” he recalled.
The most ridiculous thing was that Burrell was confused about the girl’s rejection. “I was like, ‘What’s the problem?’ I didn’t realize I was the creepy guy in the van.” The actor joked that the van destroyed even the smallest possibility of their dating life blossoming.
Despite going through ups and downs, Burrell admitted that he only has “happy memories” of his late 20s. He added, “Honestly, some of my best memories are from that period. I was busy with graduate school, so I had a real purpose. I had focus and a routine.”
The actor recalled how he would shower in the van, read and memorize scripts, which he referred to as a “little prison cell” except for the “horrible” parts. He continued sharing anecdotes from his past life, including the time he lived with his mentors, husband-wife professor Jodi.
Luckily, after getting the role of a lifetime with Modern Family and working on it for over a decade, she has left her days of living such a small life behind her. The series – which also starred Julie Bowen, Sarah Hyland, Eric Stonestreet, Sofia Vergara, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, and many others – ran a successful 11-season run, which ended in 2020.
