Dinner’s on Me with Jesse Tyler Ferguson - Eric Stonestreet — Fizbo memories and life after ‘Modern Family’

Episode Date: January 13, 2026

‘Modern Family’ star Eric Stonestreet joins the show. Over enchiladas and guacamole, Eric tells me about meeting the love of his life while our show was on hiatus and his top-secret wedding that I didn’t even know about (until the last minute). We also get into his love of clowning, his development of the Fizbo character, and what he’s mad isn’t on his IMDB. This episode was recorded at Tony's Mexican Grill in Sherman Oaks, CA.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

I'm heading up to Napa, the wine country soon for a little trip. It's me and my in-laws and my kids and some friends, I think, are also joining us. So we actually have a lot of needs. We need a space for a lot of people to stay. We want to be able to cook breakfast in the house. We want to maybe have a few dinners there. We want space for the kids to hang out and play, and we don't want to be too cramps. That's the main thing.

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They'll even talk to customer service so you don't have to, which honestly feels like a gift. And it works. Rocket Money has saved users over $2.5 billion, including over $880 million in canceled subscriptions alone. Their 10 million members save up to $740 a year when they use all the app's premium features. Cancel your unwanted subscriptions and reach your financial goals faster with Rocket Money. Go to rocketmoney.com slash dinner today. That's rocketmoney.com slash dinner. Rocketmoney.com slash dinner. Hi, it's Jesse. So today on the show, you have all been asking for this. Finally, he's here. husband. My husband, Cam Tucker, is on the show. It's Eric Stone Street. I was at the Grove

and I heard, excuse me, sir, I'm a graduate of Ringling Brothers of Barnum and Bailey Clown College and let me tell you, your costume and your makeup is perfect. Shut up. And I was like, get in here. Of all the compliments that we each have gotten, that is in the top of my compliment list. This is Dinner's on Me and I'm your host, Jesse Tyler Ferguson. So I am so excited to finally have Eric on my show. We are coming to a place that he has recommended, that he loves. It's Tony's Mexican Grill. He's been coming here since the late 90s.

He even has his own booth, apparently. And so I'm so excited to meet up with him. He is just in town for a few days. This is a place he comes all the time. He has all his favorites here. So I'm so excited to catch up with Eric Stone Street. All right, let's get to the conversation. The food here is freaking phenomenal.

You've been coming here since 99. 99. Yeah. So I would get my dog groomed and I dropped him off and they were having lunch delivered. And I was like, ooh, lunchtime. And they were like, yes, from the best place ever. Like, well, where's that? She goes, Tony's Mexican grill, Magnolia in Coldwater.

Like, all right. So my sister was in town. So I go out into the car. I'm like, Mexican sound good for lunch? She's like, yeah, Avi. So we came over here and had corn soup and she, green chili enchiladas and have been coming back ever since. Green chili enchiladas?

Yeah, well, Verde. They're not green chili. They're verde. But they're great. It's a carnival in your mouth. Yeah, I mean, they all know you. They're all so excited we're here. I used to give them Christmas.

Like, they were going on my Christmas gift. That's so cute. Yeah. Tommy's not here, Tomasina. She's going to be mad. But polo's great. Polo. I mean, they watched me my career. They said they were like, Eric used to come here when he was little.

Yeah. Like, well, never will. Here's a good one for you. So they all, once the show started, they're like, all the cooks are like, Sophia Vagana? Yeah, yeah, yeah. And they're like, you think she'd come in sometime? It was like, well, I don't know, maybe.

So I got, I had her autograph a picture to Tony's, and I said, hey, I'm bringing Sophia in tomorrow. They're like, no, I walk in. What a fun. I'm back in the kitchen. I'm sure it is. I'm surprised it's not still there. Oh, my God. You don't think it's still there?

No, it's not. That's so good. Because you've been, well, when did you move to L.A.? It was... 98. Okay, so like right after that, you've been coming here basically the entire time you've been in L.A. Yeah, yeah.

And I'm not kidding you when I say this, and I'm not ashamed at it at all. There were times I ate here twice a day. I would come for lunch and for dinner because it was on my way home from 20th. I mean, listen, I grew up in Mexico. First of all, breakfast in New Mexico is probably the greatest breakfast I've ever had. All the green chili and like the enchiladas and like that's all.

I mean, I want that for breakfast every day. So, I mean, I get it. Well, you'll love this. And I brought my dad here for the first time for lunch. He stared at the menu and he goes, well, don't you ever come here for breakfast? And I said, no, I've never been here for breakfast. He goes, well, I bet it's damn good. And I said, well, I guess we could come back.

So Tony was alive. Tony was alive. And I said, Tony, is breakfast good? He's like, yeah. I'm sure it's incredible. So we came for breakfast because my dad was like, well, why in the hell aren't you going for breakfast too? I love when you talk about your dad. First of all, I mean, you just posted about your dad.

Yeah. Four years ago he passed. Crazy. Vince. But I love when you talk about it because I was like, he really is. you are cut from the Vince Claude. Oh, yeah, very much. So much.

I mean, this is a Vince place. Like, growing up, this is where he explored all the little places. Like, and that's why my curiosity of places like this, you know, is what it is. I always always always, always. Now you want that soup. Well, they make my own, they make my own salsa. They make your salsa? So, well, there's salsa.

There's table salsa. Then there's Tony's salsa. And then there's Tony's. So this is the one he would make for me because he called me his Mexican gringo. Why is it different? Because it's spicy. Oh, it's spicy.

The ratio to chili and tomato is greater. Okay. Oh, it's spicy. Yeah. So there's more. Wait, I feel like you brought in a jar of this to work one time. I probably did. I probably did.

Ooh. The salt is a Coke. I'll have a Diet Coke. Thank you. Coke is phenomenal. They follow the rules. No, I'm kidding. I'm not kidding you. Because they don't cheap out on the syrup or the carbonation. They follow the exact rules that Coke tells them to follow. So it will be. We just Coke have a recipe that they said? 100%. That's why McDonald's folks are so good. Really? Yeah. You have to use exactly the right carbonation, the right

syrup, and then the right amount of ice. You're about to have a delicious guy. Coke approved. This is like I haven't had this food here in, you know, months. So when I come in here, it's like nostalgic and now the boys are jealous that I'm at Tonys. They're a guacamole here. Insey's Twins, yeah. Zin's twin boys, 13 now. And they've adopted that Tonys is their favorite place to go. But they're obsessed with their guacamole here because it's just avocado, lime, and salt.

It's whipped. It's whipped. By the way, this is a very good tag. Yeah. Yeah. This is. Right? It's perfectly effervescent.

It's perfectly sweet. It tastes like a good diet cake. And I've stopped drinking diet. I really miss about you. And I would get this every day on the show. It's just how you have such a relish for things you love. Like there were those grapes that you would always bring in that tasted like cotton candy. For the first 10.

You know, the first 10 cotton candy grapes tastes like cotton candy. Yeah. And then you're like, moving on. But you would be so proud of it. Like when the cotton candy grapes were like in season, you'd bring them in and be like, you've got to try these cotton candy. You got to try these cotton candy grapes. They're unbelievable. He tastes like cotton candy.

That's evincese right there. I mean, that is dad. It's like just passionate about things that are good and that you love and that I love. Yeah. I have to work on myself because one of my flaws, one of my many flaws is when other people don't enjoy the things that I want them to enjoy, it bums me out. And it shows. And so I know. I've had to live my life.

I've had to learn to like what I love isn't what everyone loves. and I have to appreciate that some people don't like what I like. Or aren't going to show it that way. That way. Yeah. Okay. I love so.

Yeah. Oh, wait, they don't normally make these? Well, you have to ask for them. They don't just, they're not on the menu. Okay. No, you can't do this. I can't? If you're freaking out over that, you can't do this.

It looks like a pickle. It's not. Is it super hot? Yeah. Are you dying? Not yet. Jesus Christ Have you had everyone

On the casting crew Except for Ariel That was the thing You wanted to be the last one I know you've had Sally and Stefan Craft service At some point I sent you a text It's like

So are you just gonna have the entire crew on before No you said you wanted to wait You said you wanted to be the last one Ariel has not been on Of the cast Ariel is the only one that hasn't been on She's great Uh Both night

I heard about this Every time I send people to Tonys, I always say whatever soup they have, get it. So good. It's so sweet. It's so good. Yeah, it's called sweet corn soup. Oh, really? It's fucking crap.

And it's hot. It's so hot. It's soup normally hot. Yes, it is. In liquidy. Now for a quick break, but don't go away. When we come back, Eric tells me about his surprise wedding, which he kind of even kept a secret from me. I mean, I only found out a few days before everyone else.

And he tells me about the Emmy afterparty that led to him realizing that he was actually ready to settle down. Okay, be right back. Big thanks to Homerser for sponsoring this episode. You know, owning a home, it's amazing until it's not. One minute you're enjoying your morning coffee and the next, your ankle deep in water from a burst pipe. Oh, here's a true story. I had a near miss with a faulty water heater a while back, and I kept thinking, if this had gone out over the weekend, how much would this have cost? Repairs. They don't care about timing. They definitely don't care about your budget. That's where homeserve comes in. It's like a subscription for your home. Covering the things your regular homeowners insurance usually doesn't, like plumbing failures, HVAC breakdowns, or electrical issues. For as little as $4.99 a month, they've got your back. And the best part, you don't have to panic searching for a contractor. You can just call HomeServe's 24-7 hotline and schedule a

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Get seafood you can trust. go to wild alaskan.com slash JTF for $35 off your first box of premium wild caught seafood. That's wildalaskan.com slash JTF for $35 off your first order. Thanks to Wild Alaskan Company for sponsoring this episode. And we're back with more dinner is on me. You see, you've just finished this house in Kansas City, which looks incredible, got married, at the house. I saved talking about getting married for you. I love that.

Lindsay was the one. She's like, you have to do Jesse's podcast now because you haven't had to go on any talk shows and talk about anything. I refuse to do a talk show the week somebody wanted me to do it. And we knew we were getting married. And I told Carol and everybody, I'm like, not doing a talk show. And they're like, why? It's like, just trust me. I've got something personal.

Well, this is what happened with 12th night because you were going to come to New York to see 12th night. Yep. Because you also know Peter Dinkledge. He had just worked with him in Dexter. And we were both like, you know, expect you to come. And then, you know, you were looking at dates. And it looked like you were maybe to be able to come one day. And then you're like, it's just not going to work out.

And I can't tell you why. Yeah. And, you know, that was fine. Life happens. And then when I found out that you were getting married, because you called me the day, like the day before, maybe two days before. We, yeah. A week before, maybe. I hate saying it.

Like, we didn't invite anyone to our wedding other than our family. So the equivalent to an invitation to our wedding was a phone call. call before the wedding, which was like, hey, this is your non-invitation, but this is because we love you and we want you to know about it first. So there was a group of people that we called and told, and then we got married, and I had a text all set up, ready to go, and then the moment we got married, we just sent it out to everyone, other people. Because, you know, I'm a popular person. Well, you are. Well, we are. And I didn't want to offend anyone, but I also didn't want to tell anyone. We wanted it to be a secret because we were keeping it from our family. So it's not like

now all of a sudden I'm going to let everyone know and not my mom. But I just couldn't imagine us getting married and you don't know about it and other people not know about it. I'm definitely glad you called me. I would have been, I don't think hurts the right word, but I would have been. Rightfully so. It was a full on conversation we had of how to do it. And yeah, excuse me. Yeah, it was great. And we, you know, And also, I mean, I love the day that you picked because you were, you were born on the ninth, because my husband was the 10th. You were the ninth, and then Lindsay's is the 11th, right? Seventh.

Seventh. So you wanted to get married between those two days. Yeah, which is the eighth. Which is the eighth, Eric. That's how numbers were. Seven, eight, nine. Sure did. Yeah, and we knew we wanted that.

Lindsay had wanted that date forever. Right. And we didn't want to wait another year. And you would just finish the house. Yeah. And so hopefully now we're married and we'll have a party at some point and invite everybody to come. And you didn't tell the twins. No, they didn't know until the day of.

Because we didn't want them to have to lie or be weird at school. Right. Right. So we told them when they got home from school, they got measured for suits. What day? What was the day of your wedding? Monday. It was a Monday.

Very popular day for weddings. Yeah, very popular day. All the venues were completely unbooked. But when we came out here one time, we had Tiana measure them for suits, and they were like, why are we getting measured for suits? It's like, oh, we have a wedding coming up that we have to go to, and you've got to look nice at it. It's kind of a dress code.

Like, okay. And then I took them to Anto, who made all Cam's shirts. Yes, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Lindsay didn't know this because they made my shirt for the wedding, and it said EAS and the date in it. And then I secretly had them measured, So the three of us had matching Anto shirts. And so when those got mailed, she was like, oh, my God.

So they got measured. And then that day they got measured. Did they have flary clefts? Oh, yeah. No. No. No. My person, this is an Anto shirt.

This is not a cat shirt. I mean, he does great shirts. They're amazing. So when they got home from school, we sat him down and just had to talk with them and told them, you know, not going anywhere, you know, and this is what's happening. and they were just like, what? Like, yeah, we're having a lot of this. So they got him from school and then you're like in a few hours.

Yes, we're going to get married. We're going to get married. You're going to go down. You're going to change into those suits you got measured for that you didn't know why. And then so everybody got to the house. My mom, her parents. And your mom didn't know. No one knew.

No one knew. And so they all got there, told them a time to be there and said. What did they think they were going for? A family picture and a meal, a first meal in the home. Like we want you guys to come over. were first. We have a chef going to cook for us. And so they all got there. We walked into the living room and said, well, you know, we just wanted, you know, you all, the closest family to be the first people to have a meal with us here. And we want to do a family picture to commemorate

this almost three-year process of building the house. And we also wanted you to be at our wedding. and they're just like my we got the photographer got a picture of my mom that is so camp like it is hilarious and he's captured the moment

and they're like what wait I'm like yeah we're gonna get married so telling me who was there was your mom my sister my brother his wife my nieces and nephew my nephew wasn't able to come and again we didn't tell him

we said hey we request your presence at our house at 6 o'clock We want you to come, but if you can't come, no big deal. But you can't surprise us and, like, walk in. Right. Is it ready to order? Yeah, we can. What are you going to get?

Well, you should definitely have a cheese enchilada. Guide me. Because they're green. Oh, I would love a cheese enchilada. Yeah. I go between a toastata with chicken or with steak and shrimp, which is in an edible bowl, which I used to eat the whole bowl, and now I just eat a couple pieces of the ball. Uh-huh.

Uh-huh. I love the cheese enchiladas. Their specials are incredible. What's the fish tonight? The fish is the Mahi-Mahi. With the mango? The black-bein mango salsa is so good. Okay.

So we get a piece and they just have a little... Well, yeah, let's do that. It'll look like I'm eating healthy. You guys want to do the Mahi? That is healthy. One for the table. No, it is. That's what I'm saying.

It'll look like I'm eating healthy because I'm going to order something else. Okay. Okay. Yeah, bring that, and we can just try it. And then bring him a cheese enchilada with the sauce. Sour cream is a can't? Yes.

Perfect. God, what should I have? I'll do a toad just so Jesse can see it. Steak and shrimp, re-fried. And sour cream, bachamol and people, do you guys? Okay. Perfect. Oh, and wacamole.

Okay. A little bowl of it for Jesse to try. Would your mom, like, able to sort of process what was going on? Did she make a speech? Did she? No. I mean, our vows were very random, just, talked about, like, her changing my life and how her coming into my life.

You remember, she came into my life, and we had, like, three or four months before both my parents were diagnosed with cancer. Right. So, like, Lindsay literally walked into my life at the exact right moment that, you know, sounds self-serving, that I needed her the most. Right. Because she's a nurse. Well, and just a calming.

I mean, you know my anxiety, you know, my tension. Oh, boy, do I ever. Yeah. And I don't think there's any question that if you guys all got together on set and talked about it, would say, Eric really calmed down once Lindsay was around. Like, he's just a different person. And she just, you know, took, she was what I was missing in my life. I do know, you know, first of all, I remember that hiatus you met her. You met her over a hiatus, if I recall correctly in the summer, right?

In summer, yeah. And when you came back, I think you told me that you had met someone and that it was, you know, someone from your hometown. and which was so different, obviously, you know, the people that you had been meeting and dating naturally, of course you would, because you were in this business with people in Los Angeles. And I just know how connected you are to your roots at home and how what a family person you are and how dedicated you are to your dad and are to your mom and, you know, how close you are to your sister and your siblings. And so it made so much sense when you met someone like kind of like in your backyard, which was so sweet. And I know you relate to this, which is I just didn't want somebody that wanted to be at the party more than me. Yeah.

You know what I mean? Yes. Oh, yeah, I do relate to that. You know what that means. And like, I had this really. And for the wrong reasons. Right. I had this really vivid moment at a CAA Emmy party.

I couldn't remember if that's a year I won or not. One of the years I won. Anyway. Dick. But we were at a CAO. Party and Ty Borel and Holly, Rich Summer and his wife were over there sitting down.

And I'm bebopping around the room, talking to people and meeting people and doing what you do. And I have this very distinct memory of looking over and being like, I want to be those people. I want the comfort of coming to a party and knowing I'm like have my person.

Yeah. And I just remember thinking like, well, that's what I want to do. I've told Ty. I told him, I told him that when I called to tell him that we're getting married. I said, you know, you don't know it, but you and Holly are meaning, oh, look at this. Wait, what is this? This is Mahi-Mahi with Black Bean. But we'll share, we'll take a bite of that.

This is great. You told Ty that. Yeah, I told Ty, like, you don't know this. but you are very prominent in, like, me getting on... That shift. Yeah, the direction of what I wanted to do. I take my meat off. I mean, I was always very grateful that I met Justin

at the beginning of the modern family journey. I mean, we met right after the show aired. We started dating. Basically, the year that we were all nominated for our first Emmys was the year that I was right, like three weeks after, we started dating. And I wasn't going to bring this kid that I just started dating to the Emmys. So I took my brother, but he, like, you know, came by the apartment and, like,

apartment house to, like, to watch us get ready. And, like, he was, you know, around. And so I've known, I've had him in my life since the very beginning. Right. But there's also a piece of me that was jealous of, you know, my friends who did have this moment in their lives and their careers. You were one of these people like that that also had, were free to like date people and meet people.

And, you know, there's that excitement around you. And like, it would be a fun time to be single as well. There was also just a real loneliness with it too, because it's like our lives change, but the normalcy gets amplified. Like, because people's expectation is like, I'll bet life's great for you. And it's like, well, yeah,

sometimes. And then other times it's real shitty, just like it is for everybody else. But people don't allow it to be because they don't think you have the right to have, like, a crappy life. You know what I mean? Right. Well, you have everything going for you. It's like, well, sure. Yeah.

But also, I'm gassy. You know, whatever it is. Or my, you know, our parents, like, are sick. You know, we suffer the deal with the same exact things. Yeah. I think people take that for granted a little bit. Yeah. That life doesn't continue to happen. Now let's take a quick break, but don't go anywhere.

When we return, we get into why playing Fisbo the Clown was so meaningful to Eric and how he demonstrated that. And we reminisce about Eric's late father, Vince. Okay, be right back. I've talked pretty openly on this show, but, you know, therapy actually has been really a very important part of my life. Not because of some big thing that happened, but because having a space to check in and get honest and talk things through actually makes everything else feel so much more manageable. The hardest part, though, can be getting started. I literally think I had start therapy on my to-do list for, well, longer than I would like to admit.

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For the first time in lipstick on the room history, a real housewife has entered the studio. And not just any housewife, Rachel Zoe, the fashion legend herself. Did we expect styling stories, glam, chaos, stories from the past decade, and a full cat eye at all times? Yes. Did we expect her to open up about divorce, rediscovering herself, joining housewives as a zero prep, and what it feels like to finally feel like her again? No. It is vulnerable, iconic, hilarious, and one of our favorite conversations ever.

The Real Housewives have officially entered the chat. Listen now. And we're back with more dinners on me. Well, I certainly, I mean, we all recognized when, you know, you started dating Lindsay that there was a shift in you. Yeah. And, you know, I was always wondering when you were going to get engaged. And then you finally got engaged. And then there was a, you know, when to get married.

And there was so many things happening, you know, life things happening. you know your dad passed away and you know your your COVID COVID happened show in showing it's like when do we fit in something that feels as important as a wedding into that and like how does that slot itself in a way that you're not feeling you're taking away from that as well right um so I'm just so happy that it's happened and that um it's something that I know I I knew was it was just a matter of time before you guys were going to get married. And I also love that her kids

were old enough to, like, be a part of it in, like, a meaningful way, and didn't feel like just like... Yeah, one was her best man and the other was my best man. I mean, they just walked in and he, she stood here. And they said, who, we'd let them choose, like, whose side, so

every stood up. Well, not really in that way, but you know what I mean. I love it, though. And we really made it as though who wants to hold whose ring. Right. Right. Right. Oh, it's so sweet. Yeah, it was great. It was exactly, and you know what blew my mind? I thought of every person whose wedding I've been to,

it was stressful for 13 people. I can't imagine how stressful it was to host a wedding in Soho. Yeah. You have no idea. I couldn't do it. I mean, in retrospect, like, Lindsay and I both were like, we wouldn't have survived like a normal, like a huge wedding. Eric, you also get so,

dress out so easily. I know. I know. I know. I mean, I think so many people, it's been certainly well documented that, you know, you modeled Cam off of your mom. Right. And, you know, found like a way to ground that character that's so different from you

in this person that you know so well. And I mean, when you meet Jamie and when I met Jamie, I was like, oh, yeah, that's absolutely who Cam is. and I know I think also about like

and also I think the first time I met Jamie was when we were doing the first FISBO episode. Yeah, she was there. And she was there and knowing how, you know, meaningful bringing FISBO to modern family was for you. I don't know, I just felt like there was an appreciation for the moment that you really had in the moment. Oh, my God.

And a lot of people don't have that until afterwards. You know what I mean? Like, I think they, like, look back on it. Like, that was really cool that I got to do that. But I just remember you that week with your mom there and being able to do FISBO and, like, doing, oh, my God. Then every time we do Fisbo, I was like, here goes Eric with the makeup. And we have to talk about their clown makeup all week. But, like, you know, and you had to do it yourself.

Oh, yeah. You know, you wouldn't let hair and makeup do any of it. And I'm still not credited on IMDB for makeup for us. Oh, my God. I keep thinking I need to submit myself from makeup. Oh my God. You know, listen, all I wanted to be was a clown in the circus. I mean, it's a line from the Fisbo episode.

Yeah. And look, you lived out your dreams. I mean, you have pictures of you in a Phantom of the Opera Mask when you were a kid. And you've done it. And like, I say I got to, I never made the circus, but I got to be in the biggest circus of the mall, which is Hollywood. And I have a very, very, very, very, very clear memory of getting that script from Brad Paul and sitting in my truck on the lot right there in front of our trailers and it's raining

and I called home and told my parents like you're not going to believe this. The script we're reading is called Fisbell. And my dad was just like, I mean, just a crazy moment. And didn't they use the photo of you as a kid in the episode? A lot of them. Because I remember they used some of the photos of all of us, especially in that first season. And there's some really embarrassing pictures of me. Obviously, I submitted to that purse.

There's one with you with a purse that's on the porch. Oh, that's right. You have a big white purse or something. Yeah, why did I have a purse? Yeah, why did I have a purse? Well, I needed something to carry my lipstick. Sure. For touch-ups.

No, but there was, I remember there was a photo of me, like, camping with my family, and it was, like, me up against a rock, and I had planned, like, an outfit for the day of camping. And for some reason, I don't know. know what this was not something people were doing like in the world but i i i tied a shoelace around my buttoned up polo shirt to be like a tiny little thin tie i thought that's cute where is this picture oh it's in the episode oh okay and i don't know if you can actually see the that the it's not super clear but like that photo exists in the episode i mean let's bring that back yeah right i mean it could

be a thing um just a little sass just a little Just a little flare for around the neck. But I remember being so proud of the fact that this version of me that I was kind of ashamed of. And certainly I remember, like, kids made fun of that version of me, that now I was being able to, like, share it with the world through the show that I was so proud of as a character that I felt was going to do so much. And, like, with you, a character that, you know,

that had this relationship that was obviously going to do so much for the LGBTQ. community, but like it just felt very full circle and very empowering. And I, I can only imagine, I mean, I felt that with just like literally a flash of a picture that they used in an episode. Like, I can only imagine what that must have been like for you with this character, with this alter ego that they strung through the entire series. Well, think about like all the things that we wish would have happened in her life. You know, one of the things I wish would have happened in my life, or I used to wish would have happened in my life was that I got accepted to Ringling Brothers in Bonham and Bailey Clown College.

And I got rejected twice. And I was devastated both times. And so for me to continue an interest in clowning and do birthday parties and, you know, in college and continue doing it and having that in the back of my mind. And then to get to do it at the level that I got to do it, I was ecstatic. I mean, we had the saying, are you happy? are you happy as Eric on a Fisbo day? Yeah. Because there's a difference.

There's happy, and then there's happy as Eric on a Fisbo day. But then also if there was like a joke that we would pitch or something and you would have an idea and you're like, you'd always say, well, and you know, that's just, that's clowning. That's clowning. That's clowning.

That's clowning. It's clounding. Basic clowning. Jesse, all we were doing is clowning here. Well, Steve Levittant and I got into some very impassioned conversations about what Fisbo needed to look like. And I told him it was a non-starter.

I said, and he'll tell you. What did he want? Well, it's not that he wanted anything. I just told him from the, he didn't have a conception of it. I just told him if we're going to do this, it's my, it's my vision of what the clown looks like. Right. Because my, I had a huge pet peeve. I have a huge pet peeve on how drums are set up on TV, and I have a huge pet peeve of what clowns look like on TV. Uh-huh.

It drives me crazy. They don't look like real clowns. Yeah. Circus clowns, they look like, you know. And we have a town full of talented makeup artists. Oh, let me ask you this. It's like, look at a fucking picture. Let me ask you this, though.

What? Because there was an episode where Bobby Canavale came off. I designed his makeup. Oh, no. You did? 100%. I designed his costume. I told him what wig to get.

I told him everything that Bobby would look like. Oh, I did all that. My God. I don't think I knew that. I did your makeup on that one picture that we did. Remember the picture that we did of the circus theme? Right. Yes, yes, yes.

And we did the promo. I made you like a character hobo. That's right. Oh my God. That's right. Right, because you came in that day, you're like, so listen. We have to embrace your beard. There's several different times.

Yeah, but you're like, there's several different types of clans. Right. And you were like, there was an agouti clam to me with it. A goose. Which is what Fisbo is. And what was I? I was, I was a hybrid. Well, you were a hybrid because what I said to you is we have to embrace your beard.

We can't try to cover up your beard. Right. And I didn't want you to be like a straight up hobo, like a, like a sad clown. Emmett Kelly type of clown from Kansas. So we just kind of came up with a little bit of a hybrid for you We'll find that picture It's one of our gallery photos I remember that picture

That's a great photo Steve wasn't against anything It's just that I told him like Hey it has to be a real looking clown Like it has to be like what a circus clown would watch And be like well that guy knows what he's talking about Right I'm not kidding you I was at the Grove

And I was at Barnes & Noble And I'm there In the back walking around And I heard, excuse me, sir? Like, yeah? It's like, hey, I'm a graduate of Ringling Brothers in Barnum and Bailey Clown College. And let me tell you, your costume and your makeup is perfect. Shut up.

And I was like, get in here. Like, it was, of all the compliments that we each have gotten, that is in the top of my compliment. An actual clown from the circus said, good job. so listen that paid off I mean well and it's not like I think you know

Steve Steve's like the type of guy he's not like he's okay with you having a vision but I think it's just the idea of knowing that he has nothing to do with it and I told him and I said hard for him yes and he's going to have to be completely hands off yes and I said Steve

yeah you've got to just no matter what you think of my costume no matter what you think of my makeup like don't have an opinion about it. It has to be this way. And he was like, of course. Like, he was always very fine about it. Yeah.

But I just had to set that tone with him with the clowning from the beginning because I couldn't, I couldn't imagine me sitting in the makeup chair and then them deciding what Fisbo the clown looked like. Right. That was not going to happen. Oh, oh, everybody's tense.

Oh, my God. It was great. It was great. What do you miss most about? doing the show. This is a good example. Just like chatting. I mean, talking.

I mean, I always think about, like, when you're talking about being in the makeup trailer and, like, putting the Fisbo makeup on, like, that time in the makeup trailer and just, like, having time with the cast. Yeah. We actually started working. Craft service. Jeff Greenberg walking into the glass that day. Oh, my God. It's the greatest moment ever.

No. We taped off his face mark, remember? His face spark lived that whole season. I can't believe. happened and he just walked right he just walked right towards us do i tell this story in case it stays in the podcast yes so season two no three because they built they didn't build the craft service thing until we were on for sure normally on set the craft service area it's like a table in the corner and because we were a hit quote unquote they built like this tiny little glass box in the

middle of the stage. And it was like a little kitchen. And like that's where they put all the food and like they had the coffee machine. But it was glass windows. It was a glass box. It was a glass box with doors and windows. And we were inside having breakfast and Jeff Breenberg, our brilliant cast and director, came strutting across the way walking right towards us and face planted into the glass.

And we watched it coming from a mile away and didn't do anything about it. I now realized that there was a glass box around this craft service. And we... And then when he walked away, when he walked away, we went, his face print was still on the glass. So we blue taped his face print. And it just lived in the morium for like months. Like at least a few months.

And then they finally put like, I think because other people started running into the glass store. And so they put like modern family, like or like some sort of signage on it. Like craft service. So like you could see that it was a... In that moment, there was, like, love Jeff. No better person could have walked into that glass in that moment than Jeff. It wouldn't have been as funny.

Poor Jeff. Christ. Wait, oh, oh. Oh, I remember what I wanted to talk about. I don't remember this at all. You told me, and I kind of vaguely remember, because you'd always bring in people. you had like the most interesting friends

that you're like this is the lead singer of such and such and like he just wants to I mean I know weird Al Yankovic through you yeah yeah like you had just like the coolest friends this is our famous dessert let me have one more by this before you take I'm just to know I'm gonna take this now that cold

tomorrow out of the refrigerator oh it's cold now so good thank you thank you and take your form what's on the fruit what time to put out on the fruit is Our sweet cream that we've had special recipes since forever. Did your dad or your grandma? My dad made it.

My dad created it. Yeah. It's, it's, oh my God. My friend Gary, who I bring here, he just wants a bowl of the cream. Believe it or not, we've had a lot of people just always the cream. Really? You could bottle that.

Right? Yeah. He said that the real recipe actually includes alcohol, but you can't get people drunk here. Oh, I could see how like a little like Bergen in there would be nice. Really? I was just telling somebody about our audition because they want to know

Have you worked with Pam Fryman? No, I like her though. She is so nice. Is she doing Reeveau? Yeah. She's great. She's so nice. She did all of how I met your mother. Right.

Yeah. And she, it wasn't her, but another one of the producers was asking about the audition process and I had just told them about, you know, how you'd gotten your partner. first and then I came in late to the process and that it was so stressful. At that point, like, was the biggest thing you'd done CSI and?

Like, I had a couple good little parts in, like, almost famous. Right. And then, um, and then I'd done like 16 episodes of CSI. And then I had done lots of good guest star roles on procedural dramas. Like West Wing. West Wing and all the killing shows and NCIS and Cold Case and all those type of things. I had gotten to do parts on that. But mostly, you know, your comeuppance was through Broadway and mine was through commercials.

Right. And so I always, you know, tell people we arrived at the same location but from very, very different places. Yeah. Yeah. No, I still remember when you came in. And I was reading with, like, I think, three different people. that day. And it was back when you,

you know, we still read in front of people live. It wasn't, you know, Zooms. And, um, it was such a obvious shift in,

like, the room. Like, it was just like, it worked. The pairing worked. And then I always tell people, you know,

that we, like, went out to, like, get to know one another and we realized half with through. Valentine's Day. We were both single at the time. So we were,

you know, one of us had Valentine's Day on our minds. And neither, Neither of us knew. Like, we walk into Cafe Intelligente in Silver Lake, and we're like, oh, there's a lot of couples in here. Yeah. It's Valentine's Day. It's how lonely we each were.

Yeah. We didn't know that other lovers were there. I know. And we literally broke bread for the first time. That's right. That's like literally how we used to be started getting to know another. And I remember calling my dad on the way home saying, well, I met Jesse and, like, had actually. had lunch and stuff.

And do you remember when my one of my favorite moments, when my dad basically told you it was okay to be gay? Yes, yes. Yeah. It was unbelievable. I was so, like, mortified, but also, like, knew what he was meant

at the same time. And that's credit to you, like, also being a good person, because it's not like you questioned at all what he was trying to say, you just knew, oh, that this is a good place. Well, I have a parent from like the same era. Yeah, that's true. That's true.

You know, I get it. I knew what he was saying. I knew it was coming from such a good place. My cousin has a very similar story with his partner. I can remember hearing it. It's like, well, David, you and your friend Brett are welcome in our business anytime. Your friend Brett. Yep.

Sweet. David, you're welcome in our home. in my business anytime. You're a friend and you would come over. You're welcome. That's so sweet. Is there any questions you ask people at the end? Like a speed round?

Yeah. No, I usually just say something like, if you have any cash? Okay. And you'd be like, no. And I'd be like, that's okay. Dinner's on me. And then we go, we joke because that's the name of the podcast. And then it's like the music comes in and the credits.

This episode of Dinner's On Me was recorded at Tony's Mexican Grill in Sherman Oaks, California. Next week on Dinner's On Me, you know him as Jacob Hill on Abbott Elementary. It's Chris Perfetti. We'll get into his background in theater, as well as his pivots to television and so much more. Dinner's On Me is a production of Sony music entertainment and a kid named Beckett Productions. It's hosted by me, Jesse Tyler Ferguson.

It's executive produced by me and Jonathan Hirsch. Our showrunner is Joanna Clay. Our associate producer is Alyssa Midcalf. Sam Bear engineered this episode. Hans Dale She composed our theme music. Our head of production is Sammy Allison. Special thanks to Tamika Balance Kalasni and Justin Makita.

I'm Jesse Tyler Ferguson. Join me next week.