Ty Burrell almost didn't make it as Phil Dunphy on Modern Family after failing audition: I flopped the first test'

Despite eventually becoming a fan-favorite as Phil Dunphy and winning two Emmys for the role, actor Ty Burrell had to work hard to convince ABC that he was the right fit. His initial audition did not go as planned. He revealed that his first audition for Modern Family didn’t go well—executives even thought he wasn’t funny.

"I really flopped the first test," he admitted to Jesse Tyler Ferguson on the Dinner’s on Me podcast, explaining that he was too "stiff", and that the feedback from executives was harsh. "'He's not funny,'" Ty recalled them saying, before joking, "And some people still feel that way."

For many actors, such a reaction would have meant the end of the road, but Ty was fortunate to have strong advocates in his corner. Modern Family co-creators Christopher Lloyd and Steven Levitan had written the character of Phil Dunphy with Ty in mind and remained convinced that he was the perfect choice. However, they needed to find a way to show the network what they saw in him.

After a second audition and a screen test, they changed their approach. Instead of another traditional test, Ty was paired with his potential on-screen daughter. "We went and filmed in Steve Levitan's yard with Sarah Hyland, and we got to improvise and do a more like, single camera audition for it. And that one worked," Burrell shared.

Jesse, who was also a regular on the same series, was amased by the amount of effort it took to secure the role. "It's amasing the hoops you had to jump through. I always find it wildly fascinating," he said. At which point, Ty asked Jesse, "Have you ever had [a role] that you have to fight—" before Jesse jokingly interrupted, "Never." After a laugh, he corrected himself, "I'm sure I have."

Ty credited director Jason Winer and the show’s creators for helping him feel comfortable during the crucial backyard shoot. "Jason did such an amasing job of helping me to relax, which I was not—going into something in which I had already been told I'm terrible at, [thinking] that there's no way I'm going to get this part," he recalled.

"That's really where I owe them because they went way beyond to film it. They knew that the script needed to be filmed, but also that I needed every bit of help that I could get after stinking up a couple of screen tests," he added