10 Clips from the “Modern Family” episode of “Inside the Actors Studio”
June 7, 2011 by Lance Carter
Filed under TV
On tonight’s Inside the Actors Studio, the cast of Modern Family sits down and talks with host James Lipton.
Ok, the whole cast minus the kids. What? No Manny?
The clips are all great but my favorite is Ed O’Neill telling the story of how he got the part of Al Bundy.
Check them out after the jump!
Ty Burrell: “Modern Family”, improvising and single-camera comedies
October 8, 2009 by Lance Carter
Filed under Performing Arts News
What did you first think of the show’s concept?
It’s funny because I have worked with Chris Lloyd on three shows and for Steve Levitan, this is my second. I loved the concept, but they could’ve told me it was about two guys who sit in the same room for 20 years, and I would’ve loved it. I have so much faith in their writing, but I mean I loved the idea and thought it was something totally new, using this style for a family comedy. I was really excited about that.
How was this experience with Chris and Steve different?
I think everybody’s getting to do new stuff, which is exciting for the writers and us. I’ve never gotten to do a show that give us some things that are more intimate, that get into the nooks and crannies of the character, and allow more room for movement as far as minor amounts of improvising and stuff. For them, I sense that it’s similar, that they’re getting a chance to write in a way that allows for some humor that doesn’t always work well in multi-camera comedy. You know, it’s such a precise medium, multi-camera. This one really allows for movement, for lack of a better word, a lateral movement. The longer silences, awkwardness, and also just some humor that’s a little bit more abstract. The good thing about it is an old-fashioned comedy still works in this medium. You can still do slapstick too.
Modern Family seems to stand out even among single-camera comedies. How would you categorize it?
I think it’s different from a lot of single-camera comedy in that Chris and Steve are writing it with heart, and it’s not so much so that it’s schmaltzy or saccharine, but it’s also not keeping you at arm’s length with irony. It makes it different from single-camera comedy that way. And it’s different from multi-camera in that we take some of the pressure off the jokes; the precision is gone, and you can’t see the punchlines coming as much as you can with most multi-camera.
