Eric Stonestreet

I tell people all the time that producers, writers, and directors really don't know what they want until it walks into the room - you have to show them what they want. Everyone is rooting for you when you walk into the room. Everyone wants you to be good because it means their day is over!

I got dared to audition for a play by my best friend Paul. He got cast in 'Hamlet,' and I got cast in 'Prelude to a Kiss,' and that changed everything.

I'm always open to meeting people, but I would be lying if I didn't say that my trust issues have changed because of 'Modern Family.'

All I ever wanted to do was get a great job on a TV show. When I read 'Modern Family' and started looking at what was available - I obviously couldn't play Gloria; I couldn't play Claire. When I saw the character of Cam, I was like, 'I have to have a shot at this,' because I thought it was a character that would be really fun to play.

I'm a full-contact actor, meaning that I love to act in my toes and in my fingers, and I just try to keep it surprising.

On an animated television series, you pretty much read the script as written. Whereas on an animated feature, you'll sometimes record the same scene multiple times over the course of a year as the filmmakers continue to tweak that part of the movie.

My job was to give 'The Secret Life of Pets' production team lots of options when it came to Duke. So that's what I always tried to do.

A lady passed me a note in Australia one time that said, 'My daughter gets bullied at school because she has two moms, and you know, we told her just to tell them to watch 'Modern Family.'

I like the Open Window Fresh WetJet scent; it smells pretty good as you are using it. I like fresh and clean smells, so it makes sense that I would also be partnered with Swiffer because that is what they are all about: making your house all fresh and clean.

I like to be at a party and be a quiet observer, be in conversation. I wouldn't say I was a class clown growing up, but I would definitely sit back in class and take snipes at the teacher.

I've gone out with a couple girls in L.A. that I met on Tinder, like on real dates. It's hard to meet people.

I've never lived in New York. I've never done a play off or on Broadway, so I think that's in my future. Have that experience - get a little apartment in the city and grow a beard and walk around with earbuds in my ears, and a stocking cap and a big giant scarf.

I probably became an actor because of my vivid imagination, and doing voice-over really sort of takes me back to that.

Right outside of Kansas City is Leavenworth, and there are, like, five prisons there. It was kind of the tapestry of my childhood. I was always fascinated. I wanted to know what was behind those walls.

I don't think guys inherently don't want to clean. I think the roles are most definitely changing, but I think in a good relationship, it's never been defined as 'a lady does this and a guy does this.' I think, in most working, healthy relationships, everybody does a little bit of everything.

Don't we all think picky eaters are a pain in the rear end? The good thing about the holidays is that it's a buffet-style thing, so you can pick what you want. It's about filling your belly, not theirs.

My mom has this ugly Santa ornament, and one year, I took it off the tree and clipped it to her pillow. We've been trading it back and forth ever since - 16 years now. I wore it to the Golden Globes and even put it in her bird feeder. As the birds eat, it's slowly revealed.

I like day-after-Christmas omelets, day-after Christmas pizzas... Or you take croissant rolls, put gravy on top, turkey, mashed potatoes, cheese, more gravy. That sounds good!

Listen, re-gifting is fine as long as there is transparency. You just have to be like, 'This is something I got that I couldn't use, and I thought you might like it.'

I love cheeseburgers, really good Italian food, and really good Mexican food. I look the way I look because I've practiced a lot.

I'm a good boy! I do what I'm told; I'm on time. I'm always where I'm supposed to be when I'm supposed to be there. I don't mess around with other people's time and schedule. And I eat my vegetables. And my meats. And my carbs. And my dairy.

I sort of look at music as helping me get through situations.

I don't think I could keep my position as a well-standing man in the world if I thought there were roles for men and women.

I like fresh and clean. I don't ever want anyone to smell me and say, 'Oh that guy is wearing a lot of cologne.' I want people to smell me and say, 'You smell really good!' I think there is a difference.

My dad had a retail business in Leavenworth, Kansas, and there's a whole bunch of prisons there, so it was a backdrop of my childhood, these ominous prisons sitting off the road.