List of Modern Family characters
Modern Family is an American TV comedy series revolving around three families interrelated through Jay Pritchett, his son Mitchell Pritchett, and his daughter Claire Dunphy. The families meet for family functions and cross-family bonding.
Main cast
The Dunphy family
Phil Dunphy
Philip Humphrey "Phil" Dunphy is Claire's husband of 15 years who sees himself as the "cool dad". He dotes on his wife Claire and constantly tries to find ways to bond with his three kids. He is seen as very competitive, one example being his always beating his son in various sports or other competitions. He has a very juvenile attitude and is referred to by Claire as the "kid married to." He uses a parenting method that he calls "peerenting", which is a combination of talking like a peer but acting like a parent.Phil is a realtor who is very confident in his work, once saying, "I could sell a fur coat to an Eskimo." Phil has a severe case of coulrophobia, which is first revealed when despite Mitchell's objection, Cameron comes to Luke's party dressed as a clown. This may stem from Phil's having found a dead clown in the woods when he was a child. Phil once dresses up as a clown for a kids' party but has a panic attack when he catches his reflection in multiple mirrors. Phil appears to love home repair yet never seems to get around to any of the jobs requested by Claire. Throughout season 1, his ongoing project is fixing the step. He at times shows a sort of crush-like affection for Gloria. However, he says he "would never stray from Claire," although Gloria did kiss him during a "kiss cam" segment at a basketball game in the final episode of season 1, "Family Portrait", however he was immediately regretful for not preventing it as he didn't want to do it. In college, he was a cheerleader at Fresno State and his birthday is on April 3.
Phil seems oblivious as to what he says by miscalculating the consequences of his expressions, such as "Phil Dunphy is no straight guy" or "If you ain't white, you ain't right". He often seeks approval from Jay, who generally does not openly show approval of anyone. In the Season 3 episode "Dude Ranch," Phil shows considerable skill both on horseback and with a shotgun, notably shooting two clay pigeons on one foot.
In moments of acute adversity or shock in which most people would curse or swear, Phil utters humorous exclamations: references to food such as, "Sweet Potato Fries!" or "Chicken in a basket!", etc. or he might make a historical reference such as "John Philip Sousa!" It is revealed in "Tableau Vivant" that Phil had once tried to break up with Claire but didn't dare to do so.
A running gag in the show has Phil running up the stairs and tripping on a loose step, causing him to say some variation of "Gotta fix that step!"
Critical reception
Ty Burrell had received many positive reviews for his performance. Hank Stuever from The Washington Post wrote, "A standout performance from Ty Burrell's new twist on the doofus-dad stereotype." Paige Wiser, a reporter for the Chicago Sun Times, wrote, "Ty Burrell is a genius as a dad who stays hip by keeping up with the numbers from High School Musical." Robert Canning of IGN in a review of the season loved Ty Burrell's performance of Phil Dunphy and named him one of two characters that stood out to him saying "actor Ty Burrell owned this part, and his well-intended faux pas throughout the season were stellar."Accolades
In 2010, Ty Burrell received a nomination for the Television Critics Association Award for Individual Achievement in Comedy, winning in 2011. In 2011 and 2014, Burrell won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series, also receiving nominations in 2010, 2012, and 2013. In 2012, Burrell won the Critics' Choice Television Award for Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series. In 2014, Burrell won the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Comedy Series, receiving nominations in 2011, 2012, 2013, 2015, and 2016. In 2010 and 2011, Burrell was nominated for the Satellite Award for Best Supporting Actor – Series, Miniseries or Television Film.Other appearances
On May 4, 2016, Burrell appeared in character as Phil in the first commercials for the National Association of Realtors talking about his "Phil's-osophies." Arnold Worldwide executive creative director Sean McBride said Phil was written as a Realtor on his show and "embodies many of the attributes that are important in a Realtor: He's honest, he's helpful, he's sincere."Claire Dunphy
Claire Dunphy, née Pritchett, is the daughter of Jay, Mitchell's older sister, and is married to Phil Dunphy. She is the helicopter soccer mom of the Dunphy family and its three very different kids. She was once a wild child who made a great deal of mistakes over the years, and she is fearful that her children could make the same mistakes, especially her oldest daughter, Haley. She is often exhausted from the stress created by her family but is still a loving mother. When it comes to her kids, she has difficulty controlling Haley's independence and irresponsibility, Alex's sarcasm and perfectionism, and Luke's lack of common sense. She also gets annoyed with her husband, Phil, constantly.Claire is very competitive, especially in her obsession with being right, and has a brittle personality that causes her to get angry, paranoid, and freak out easily. She is very strict about a clean house. She is seen as an experienced parent by Cameron and Mitchell, so she is called upon for her parenting advice. She enjoys running and reading. She could also come across as uptight or arrogant at times, especially during her scenes with Gloria. She is also very attached to Halloween and describes it as her "crazy lady holiday." In the episode "Open House of Horrors," it is revealed that the neighbors are frightened of Claire's very graphic and realistic decorations around the house. Claire is also the most active family member when organizing family get-togethers. When a former co-worker visits, it is revealed that Claire had a successful job in hospitality management but left her job and married Phil a few months after she became pregnant with Haley. She shows resentment towards the abandonment of her working career due to seeing one of her former peers' success but later realizes her family is more important.
Claire is a perfectionist; according to Phil, "when everybody else sees something beautiful, all she sees is the teeny-tiny flaw." She is also terrible at giving gifts. As her husband Phil once bought her a bracelet for their anniversary, she made him coupons for five free hugs, which she was very proud of.
Her step-brother is Manny Delgado. Claire received another sibling through Jay's second wife, Gloria: Fulgencio "Joe". She often despises the attention that Gloria gets for her voluptuous figure and is thrilled to learn that Gloria was pregnant because of all the weight that Gloria would be gaining. However, she generally has a good relationship with Gloria, with them sometimes doing yoga or spa days together.
Critical reception
Julie Bowen's performance was praised by Ken Tucker of Entertainment Weekly who said, "Bowen's Claire could have been a blank blonde cipher. Far from it: Bowen's wide array of silent gazes at the camera, her slow-burns at her clan's bad behavior, and her ability to freak out without seeming nutso crazy makes her an essential, stand-out part of TV's best freshman ensemble cast."Accolades
In 2011 and 2012, Julie Bowen won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series, receiving nominations in 2010 and 2013. In 2012, Bowen won the Critics' Choice Television Award for Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series. She has also been nominated twice for the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Comedy Series in 2012 and 2014. In 2009, Bowen was nominated for the Satellite Award for Best Actress in a Television Series – Musical or Comedy, and then for Best Supporting Actress – Series, Miniseries, or Television Film in 2010.Haley Dunphy
Haley Gwendolyn Dunphy is the elder daughter of Claire and Phil, who is portrayed as the stereotypical teenager. At the start of the series, Haley is a high school sophomore. Haley is depicted as being a flirt, who focuses more on social status than studies. She is a little naive, especially when it comes to arguing with her parents.She is concerned about her social standing at school, including her sex life, and is frequently embarrassed by her parents' conduct. Haley contemplates moving in with Dylan before learning that she got into college in the final episode of the third season. After a run-in with the law on campus in Season 4, she is expelled from college and moves back into the Dunphy home. She begins a fashion blog and goes to community college to study business and photography, eventually showing and selling her photos in an exhibit. In Season 6, she gets a job working for fashion designer Gavin Sinclair as his assistant, doing some of her design work. In season 9, episode 13, she starts working at a lifestyle company called Nerp.
Throughout Season 6, Haley develops feelings for Jay and Gloria's hired nanny, Andy, with whom she comes to spend much of her time and with whom she begins a relationship in "White Christmas." At the end of Season 7, Andy is offered a job in his hometown in Utah and initially turns it down, but Haley encourages him to pursue it, insisting that they will figure out a way to be together. As they say goodbye at the airport, she admits that Andy is the first man she has ever really loved. As of "Weathering Heights," she is dating weatherman Rainer Shine, though they break up later in the season after he proposed, and they both realized they weren't ready. In season 9's "In Your Head," she starts dating Dr. Arvin Fennerman, Alex's astrophysics teacher at Caltech. However, a divorced Dylan reappears in the season 10 premiere and confesses that he is still in love with her and wants to be worthy. They sleep together, and Haley finds herself in love with both men. Later that season in "Torn Between Two Lovers," she finally decides Dylan is "the one" and breaks up with Arvin.
In the episode "Did the Chicken Cross the Road?", she finds out she is pregnant. In the episode "Can't Elope," she marries Dylan. In the episode "A Year of Birthdays," she gives birth to twins, Poppy and George. In the series finale, the new family moves into Mitch and Cam's former duplex.