Modern Family's Ty Burrell On the Joys of Making Single-Camera, Anti-Schmaltz Comedy

Phil seems very locked into his nuclear family unit, but the show is about a quirky extended family. Will the in-laws come to teach Phil a lot? Or will we see him evolve mostly through his immediate family?

It's going to be both, and that's one of the things we've really done since the pilot. We're developing the relationships with the extended family as well. Obviously, I guess all of us are more shaped by our immediate family, so I think Phil is definitely go to be shaped by the kids and his wife Claire [Julie Bowen], but I've also been excited by the development of his relationship with Jay, his father-in-law [Ed O'Neill]. And he tries to step in and negotiate an argument with Gloria [Jay's wife, played by Sofia Vergara] and Claire, so he's developing a relationship with Gloria. It's really cool, this family crisscrossing, it's a brilliant open-ended machine.

How often does the cast improvise? Is much of the show improvisation?

It is. I really enjoy improvising. The show is written brilliantly, but we will shoot the scenes until we get the scripted stuff right, and then usually, Jason [Winer] or whoever the guest-director is will double-check that we got what we need, and then we improvise different things in the scene -- not a lot, but little things here or there, and we'll see what sticks on the wall. The interviews have been particularly improvisational and open-ended, where we will shoot the scripted one maybe once or twice, and then we can improvise. I notice that off whatever silliness I end up spitting from my mouth, it starts a really fun collaboration with Jason, Chris, or Steve where we figure out to extend it, or shorten it, or add something funny. That's been an amazing treat.

Who is funniest on set?

So far it's been the kids. All the kids I think are just like, well, first of all, they're ten times more experienced than all of us. They teach me about union rules. "Oh, we get a hard-out in twenty minutes?" They crack me up onstage and off.

Do you have an ideal role? You've really played everything in your career, from theater to Black Hawk Down to The Incredible Hulk.

I genuinely enjoy and feel kind of energized by parts where the character is really well-intended. It's kind of our job to see that the character is well-intended, even if he's killing puppies. You have to figure out even if the character is misled, what it is about that that the person thinks is the right thing to do. It can also be an exhausting thing. I really love this person who's willing to get up again after getting punched in the face, whether it's serious or comic.

Tell us about your role in Fair Game, the Valerie Plame CIA thriller with Naomi Watts and Sean Penn

I'm doing what's essentially a cameo in that. I found out I had two scenes, and I was like, "Gosh, two scenes, doesn't seem like a lot of dialogue," but I found out that it's an incredible collection of actors. I knew it was going to be a great experience to be there, and it was. It was a fun couple of days of shooting. The feeling on that movie is certainly up to any buzz. Both of my scenes were with Sean Penn and Naomi [Watts]. It's always nerve-racking to go up with any of the people I admire that much, but to be totally honest, I admired everyone in that room. It was just a whole collection of actors I've admired, especially being in New York for as long as I have.

This comedy Morning Glory, about a ratings-struggling news program, sounds like a spin on Network. How was working on that?

That's a little bit more than a cameo. It's a smarmy anchorman who gets his comeuppance. I'm sure you've heard this a bunch of times, but Rachel McAdams is just an incredibly easy person to work with. It kind of is like [Network], the script of it and the performances in it. It's... well, it's really, really charming.

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