Actor Eric Stonestreet Discusses Playing Gay Character On 'Modern Family'

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) - Actor Eric Stonestreet from 'Modern Family' discussed the impact and response from playing a gay character on a popular television show, saying he hoped he has played a role in changing perceptions about the gay community and helped make people more comfortable with who they are.

Stonestreet told Chris Stigall on Talk Radio 1210 WPHT that he's never approached the role with an agenda and just wanted to develop an well rounded character.

"The job of the comedian and writer is to satirize situations and take a stance on them by not taking a stance on them or really just holding a mirror up and reflecting different viewpoints. When the guys created the show, they knew they couldn't do a show called 'Modern Family' and not include a gay couple and it's just the lay of the land right now and will always be. We wanted to create a couple characters that people could relate to and enjoy watching and the agenda has never been to do anything other than make people laugh. That's all we want to do is make people laugh and if that, along doing that, opens people's hearts and minds with the idea that people are people no matter their race, creed, gender, sexual orientation, then we're successful in another area. That's a positive."

He says the response he's received from viewers was very encouraging.

"Read my fan mail, read my tweets where people relate to Jesse and I and thank us for bringing our character to tv and giving bullies a place to go or making it easier to come out to their parents or their parents being more accepting of them. People are critical. We can't represent every sort of person the gay community just like a straight actor in movie can't represent every type of straight guy. We can only play the characters that are given, that are created on the page and the words that we do and, hopefully, we do that as truthfully and honestly as we can. Again, people laugh and open their hearts and minds and understand that Cam and Mitch just like everybody else."

Stonestreet will be performing at the Sugarhouse Casino Events Center on July 16th.