Kevin Harvick's Happy Hour presented by NASCAR on FOX - Eric Stonestreet Interview

Episode Date: May 16, 2024

On Episode 26 of “Kevin Harvick’s Happy Hour,” join NASCAR Legend Kevin Harvick as he sits down with 2x Emmy Award Winner, actor Eric Stonestreet. Prepare to be captivated as Eric shares anecdotes from his illustrious acting career, offering a glimpse into his experiences on the acclaimed series "Modern Family" and his enduring passion for the craft. From his upbringing in Kansas to his ascent in Hollywood, Eric provides a compelling narrative of his journey. Beyond the realm of entertainment, Eric delves into his unwavering support for the Kansas City Chiefs, offering reflections on his roots and the cultural significance of having Taylor Swift as part of the Chiefs Kingdom. Next, Eric shares his deep-seated enthusiasm for racing, shedding light on his childhood influences and ongoing connection to the sport. Don’t miss out on this amazing interview! Don't miss this exhilarating interview where Kevin and Eric take a deep dive into Eric's career, passions, and personal journey. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Submitting that for an Emmy that next year and winning the Emmy all within a year was the most incredible thing I think I could have ever imagined. I never could have written that down. So that's the easiest one to look towards and say that moment, those moments around that episode are the coolest moments for me. Welcome to Kevin Harvick's Happy Hour, presented by NASCAR on Fox. We encourage our closers to subscribe on YouTube. YouTube or wherever you're listening to your podcast. And today we have one of my good friends as our guest, Eric Stone Street, award-winning actor and writer.

Let's just talk about that first. Because when we're together, I think a lot of people look at the modern family role and everything that you did as spectacular as you talk about those Emmys and everything that you have done. Do you miss that interaction on a weekly basis, a monthly basis, year, you know, the time that you spent with all those people, whether it was the cast or the crew, just knowing that routine, is that something that you miss? Yeah, it'd be, I'd be lying if I said I didn't miss it. I think we all miss it.

You know, we all stay in touch, obviously, the cast and I, we have a great text thread with all of us, but we also, I also have a great text thread with our camera operators and our hair and makeup people and our grips and things like that, our props people. And then when you get the opportunity to dive back into the business, I was on the Santa Claus's and for Disney. And our props guy showed up for a day or two. And all of a sudden, Miller and I are back like we were for 11 seasons on Modern Family. We all miss the camaraderie. We had a great situation there, a utopia, if you will, of everybody loved each other.

We had worked reasonable hours. We had a great product, obviously, for 11 seasons. And it really was, I think, if you interviewed and asked most of the crew, it was the best job they ever had and they wish they could go back. And I feel exactly the same. So when you first started that, I would assume that it's like, I'm a little naive or a little, I guess, out of touch with how this whole process goes. But when you first started the modern family show and you go in,

and did you have any idea the, the camaraderie or the relationships that you had. Did you have a relationship with anybody or did you not know anybody you were working with at that time? The only person I had a relationship with even remotely was the person that they eventually hired to direct the pilot. His name's Jason Weiner. He directed the pilot in half of the first season. And I knew him from my Chicago improv days and my Los Angeles performing days. And he had kind of moved up the chain in Hollywood as a director.

and when they hired him, I'd already gotten the job, but when they hired him, I was like, oh, cool, a familiar face that I'm going to know. But otherwise, I was walking into it just like everyone else would have. As a fan of Ed O'Neill from married with children, as a fan of Julie Bowen from Ed and all of the shows she had been in and Boston Legal and Ty Borell, all those people were all fans of.

I had interactions with some of the writers who had had pilots that they were, attempting to get made back in through the years some of the writers i had auditioned for steve levitan i had auditioned for many years before but no connection with them personally anyone so when you when you go through that and and you you you start this whole process i mean you went to you went to school to do something that had nothing to do with acting so you start this show you go through and you have all the success but i i know i'm going backwards here And that's typically what I do is I get things completely backwards from how I want to start. Well, because you're coming off of a career, because you're coming off of a career of constantly moving forward.

So now in retirement, you're going to, you know, do things backwards. And you know what the great part about that is? I always, I have everything written out. And I say, okay, this is how I want this show to flow. And then whatever your first comment is, is that usually throws me off and I work backwards. So here we are. So we're going to work backwards. That's great.

And so as you as you go to college, you wanted to go to, you went to college for criminal justice. Is that right? Yeah, I wanted to be a prison administrator. I went to school. I didn't want to go to college. My parents sort of made me go to college. My dad said, you're going to college. I wasn't a good student.

Don't claim to have been a good student. Did the very least I could to get by. But he said, find something that's interesting to you. So when I went to Kansas State, I was friends with. a couple of the football players and basketball players and they were in something called criminal justice and i was like hmm that sounds fun what's that so i went that direction and and enjoyed those classes and within that curriculum i was like i want to be a prison warden in the federal system so that's what i was on my track to do until i auditioned for a play at kansas state and that

sort of changed everything so did you have any previous acting experience before you auditioned for that Not acting experience. You know, I had performance experience. I was a funny kid, and I wanted to be a clown in the circus when I was younger, which is where the Fisbo, the clown stuff on the show comes from. My dad named me Fisbo when I was just a little boy, and I was performing for kids' parties when I was 11. You know, I was going to a six-year-olds party when I was 11 doing magic and balloon animals.

And so I had a penchant for performing, but never any sort of structured acting experience or anything like that. And that's first came at Kansas State. Yeah. So you go to Kansas State and then you go through all the things that you went through there and you get out of school and you start auditioning. When did you go to L.A.? When did that change directions as far as where you focused your career?

Yeah. First two years I went to Chicago because I wanted to go study at the second city, which is where, you know, a lot of famous comedians that your viewers know, Tina Faye and Rachel Dredge and Chris Barley and Akroids and Chevy Chase all kind of started at the second city. And so I wanted to move there. I was familiar with the city of Chicago. So that seemed like an easy move to kind of see like, okay, well, can I do this?

Even though people in Manhattan, Kansas said, hey, you're pretty good at acting. I needed to figure that out on a bigger scale. So Chicago seemed like a good move. spent two years there, figured out, like, you know, I could have some success here, but why am I going to stay here when I really want to move to L.A. eventually? So I moved to L.A. in 1998 and started auditioning. And, you know, 12, 13 short years later is when modern family happened. And along the way, I had success, I don't think I would have stayed with it if I wouldn't have been having some success. I was an actor that, you know, got work in commercials and

guest stars and co-stars and it had a career that I think other actors, you know, would have exchanged places with me on, but never having that full creative, like, meaningful role. And then Modern Family happened. So you get the opportunity to go to Modern Family. What do you think the moment was that made you recognizable enough to just get a shot to actually have a shot to try out for the role? Is there a moment that sticks out to you that got you that opportunity? Well, my small part in the movie called Almost Famous is probably the most meaningful step in my career, meaning I had done lots of commercials, over 100 commercials.

I had done lots of co-star, or at that point, not a lot of co-stars, but lots of commercials. And then I get this small part in a major motion picture directed by a very respected director, Cameron Crow. And what that gave me, it's not like my five lines were record breaking or anything like that. I think it was I did a good job and people laughed at that moment. But what it did was give me credibility walking into other rooms. Because in our business, I'm sure you can, we can find parallels in all businesses. Everybody's insecure at some level of their job and they want someone else to validate them. Well, me being an almost famous hired by Cameron Crow, produced by Steven Spielberg,

immediately gives a casting director something to point to and say, see, somebody else thinks he's good, too. Here he is auditioning for this. So that literally was the most important moment for me to get into rooms and have people think, like, well, he must be good if Cameron Crow hired him. So you get on to modern family. you go through all the years with all the cast. I know this is always a hard question, but is there one particular moment that you look back on in the show and say,

that was the coolest role that I played in an episode that because it was hard to prepare for and I pulled it off? Well, again, modern family in a lot of ways represented circles for me in life. you know, me wanting to be a clown and me wanting to be in the circus. And then in season one, me getting a script delivered to me on a rainy day at 20th Century Fox that was titled FISBO was a huge moment for my life, my career, my parents. I remember calling them and saying, you're not going to believe this, but the next episode of shooting is called FISBO. And then shooting that, my best friend Stacy, who you know, he's the guy at the gas station when we get into the confrontation to be in the episode with him. My mom flew out while we shot that episode, and she's got a little cameo at the end when I bring the birthday cake into the hospital for Luke after he broke his arm.

And then submitting that for an Emmy that next year and winning the Emmy all within a year. was the most incredible thing I think I could have ever imagined. I never could have written that down. So that's the easiest one to look towards and say that moment, those moments around that episode are the coolest moments for me. But getting this, you know, auditioning and not getting told no and then asking to be having them have me back and then being told no again and coming back and then finally getting it.

But I always tell people my job was to get the part, right? Your job is to win races. That's like I always thought like getting stickers for making tackles on a football field didn't make any sense to me. It's like, well, that's what you're supposed to do. And in my world, getting the job is what I was supposed to do. It's the day that the network divided to pick the show up for what's called the back nine. because they picked the show up for 13, and I knew for the first time in my 14-year career

that I had a job for more than eight days. I'd never been employed for more than eight days in my entire career in a row. And so I knew I had a job for 13 weeks. But the day they picked up that back nine, meaning that we were going to shoot 22, 24 episodes. I know back 913, 913 isn't that, but that's just what it's called. the back nine meant that we were going to do a full season. And then in my mind, I could say, well, if we're going to do one season, we're sure going to do two seasons. And if we're going to do two seasons, they definitely want three seasons.

And then it's at that moment that I can visualize my life changing. I can see that even though I got the job and I was really excited about that, but again, I always looked at it as like, well, that's my job. This moment, this time when they said, we're going to pick you guys up first. an additional back night. That's when I thought, okay, now I can see my life changing. Do you ever see it coming out as a movie? Or is that just with everything that's changed? Is that just a tough scenario at this point?

I don't think it's an impossibility. I mean, look, Chris and Steve created a great, a great group of people. Like, they put together an incredible group of people cast and crew. And everything has its time. We had our time. Eleven years is incredible. But as you've seen with the office, the office had an incredible run, and they've had a resurgence, and now people want more of them. I don't think it's an impossibility that something will come along and say, hey, let's check in with those people for modern family again and see where they are in their life.

I think we would all jump at the opportunity, jump at the chance to get together again and do that. It just is going to take somebody to want to do it and Steve and Chris to say yes. So what's on the what's on the horizon? What's next? What are you working on on this side of the world? Well, you know, I did that the show, the Santa Claus's and I really enjoyed that. I love being with Tim Allen and I love being in that world with the North Pole. They didn't unfortunately pick it up for a third season.

I was hoping they would and was really disappointed that they didn't. I think families really enjoyed that. We need more shows like that where we can all sit around and watch those kinds of shows. And I'm pitching ideas. I'm out there in the world with things talking to studios and networks and have some ideas in the hopper. But, you know, I wanted to just be the right thing. And I was so fortunate when Modern Family ended to have Lindsay, my fiancé, who was home in Kansas City where I'm from.

My dad, unfortunately, was at the end of his life and getting sicker and thicker, and then the pandemic happens. So I made the choice to move back to Kansas City. And it's been an incredible experience. It's been so fun. As you know, we're building the house, and that's an exciting thing. That's really where most of my creativity is going right now is the conception and visualization and thought and process of building a house.

But the right TV thing will come along. and, you know, I'll know when it happens and we'll see what it is. I don't know what people want to see me do. You know, so many people know me as the character, and I look forward to, you know, showing a different side of my abilities, you know, and something a little more closer to who I am as a person. Maybe. Yeah, and I think that's the, that's always the unique part for me and you and just knowing you,

you know, your personality and, you know, your life and the way that you live in the things that you do are always, always so fascinating to me. So, you know, I think that would, that would be, that would definitely be fun to see. But let's talk about, let's talk about the thing that I consider you to be probably, if not the most passionate about, but one of the most passionate fans that I've ever met in my entire life, you are a very passionate Kansas City Chiefs fan. I was fortunate to be in Kansas a few weeks ago, and we got to go to rookie camp. Yeah.

Beach was kind enough to let us come visit, and you were fortunate, we were fortunate to have you make that all work. And I just, I found that to be so interesting because of, of, you know, the draft just happening and the players all of a sudden just showing up in a new city. You only got a few guys that are expected to stay and you got 90 guys sitting in camp. Tell me where that's evolved to.

What did you think you saw that day? How's our, how's the, how's the rookie crop looking? Well, first of all, we got to acknowledge Brett Veach. You know, you had him on the podcast. I was, we joked with you and I popped in there at the end of it. I can't tell people that are watching this enough. And it doesn't matter if you're a Kansas City Chiefs fan or not. Brett Veach is an incredible human being.

He's a great general manager. He is so smart. He is so dedicated. And as a fan of the Chiefs, we are very lucky to have him. But just know when you want to hate on the Chiefs and want to, you know, think bad of the Chiefs play on the field, that Brett Veach is a good person and he takes care of his players. He looks out for him. And he's an extraordinary guy.

He invited us over there. He keeps me up to speed as much as we can. He's busy. I'm busy. But look, I'm excited for a couple of those guys. That tight end out of TCU is huge. He looks like a Travis Kelsey clone, but even bigger, leaner, longer. The tackle out of Brigham Young, BYU looks the part.

seems the part, I think is the part. A couple running backs that they brought in look really great. And the two guard centers that they drafted late are awesome. The guy that I was most impressed with, just because I focus on the offensive line stuff, is the free agent that they signed out of Marshall, who is 6-8, 330, and just looks like a real bad, you know what. So I'm excited to see how he develops. We got Coach Andy Hack, who develops those guys great.

And look, we're loading up to go for something that nobody's ever done before. And if anybody can do it, it's Patrick Mahomes and Andy Reid. Well, you mentioned their success, and you've been able to experience that with them. Tell me about the celebration and the party and all that came with post-Super Bowl, because you know, you put so much into it. and then you get those guys into a situation where they can relax. Was there any cool, fun stories that came out of the, you know, the post-super Bowl celebration that you can tell us about?

Well, post-Malone played at our post-celebration, which was really cool. I'm a big fan of his, and I think he's just an awesome, extraordinary human being, and the fact that he was in that world was incredible. But, you know, for me, it's, you know, I try to balance because it's like, why am I there? I'm just a fan of the team, and I've gotten to know Brett, and I've gotten to know coach. And, you know, so many people would gladly exchange places with me in that moment. And so I've always, in all my fandom, whether it's being on the pit box with you,

running to Victory Lane and Fontana, that's one of my greatest sports moments is jumping down off your pit box with all my friends and running to the victory lane to have you come in doing donut. That was incredible. I always try to experience those things, yes, for me, but also for all the people that are true fans as well, because 16-year-old me can't believe that that's happening, right? And so I want to experience those moments graciously and proudly and also know how lucky I am to be doing those things.

So for me, after the game, the idea that I get to go into the locker room and high-five my homes and high-five Kelsey and take pictures and smoke a cigar with those guys, I am as respectful as I can be and gracious as I can be, but also just giddy inside on behalf of every person. But sitting on the bus with Brett after, I mean, Lindsay and I just, we couldn't, you know, twice now we've walked to the bus after the Super Bowl and it's a long time before you ever leave and just sitting there with the offensive line where I all inevitably ends up seems that Brett's with the O line on their bus get leaving and just getting to talk to those guys and hearing

what it feels like you know talking this year to Nick Allegretti that he popped his UCL or whatever this tended here and your elbow is and hearing him just fresh off the Super Bowl talking about oh yeah I knew my elbow was gone but I wasn't coming out of that game I'm just like I can't believe I'm witnessed all this stuff. It's so cool. You know, that's what I love. Or those, those real human moments. The party is awesome. Post-Malone was great, but I loved all that. Yeah, it is. I mean, you're a lot like I am. You grew up with, you know, your life that you lived. And it's nothing like the life that you live now. And you're just, I'm the same way. You get in those moments and you just have to laugh. You're like, oh, I'm just a, I do. I say I'm just a dumb kid from Bakersfield that, that's, you know, just had.

normal life and now you get to experience all these these unique things and and so what what are the differences like you talk about you know the the race win and the super bowl win talk to me about that that fan experience from both sides from both sports how does that differ from nascar to the NFL like what are your experiences but between the two and how are they the same how are they different you know explain to me that interaction because i find that interesting Well, I don't have to tell anybody watching this. It's watching you. The access in NASCAR is unrivaled.

Like, I couldn't believe it when the first time I went to a NASCAR race that I was like, that's the car right there. That's Jeff Gordon right over there. Like, I couldn't believe that everyone was this close to the stuff, right? I'm a little close to the stuff with the cheese, but the average fan isn't that close to the stuff. Like, I might go down on the field before the game every once in a while and say hi. I would never approach Coach Reed before the game. And to know that, like, fans can say, hey, have a good game, Kevin, and you're high-fiving,

and you're taking a picture. I'm standing next to you during the National Anthem and Delana and we're all right there. And then you literally go from, all right, see you guys, into the car, 200 miles an hour. That's mind-blowing to me from that sports perspective. In football, you know, you might go down on the sideline, but not everybody that goes to the sport is going to have that access. and I know not everybody that goes to the NASCAR's going to get down there, but there is that possibility. I've never watched a game from down on the sideline.

I hope someday that I can see at least part of a game from a sideline in the NFL because I've watched college and I'd love to see. I've done that. Really? Yeah, I won't even tell you how because I don't want people to get in trouble. But I did watch a Panthers game from the sidelines one time standing in the corner. So, but anyway, sorry. Sorry.

It was. Yeah, no, I wanted. I want to do that at some point. It was insane because the only thing that I worried about the whole time was when you're down on the field, how much faster the game is. I was worried about getting somebody flying through the out of the balance into the sidelines because it would happen quick. And I felt like I was half the human of most everybody standing there.

Yeah, that's that. And that's exactly why they don't let us down there, right? They don't need anybody getting injured. But, you know, watching. football and you know, it's it's it's the only sport that I would never root for anyone else. You know, like I'm a Dodgers fan. I had Dodgers season tickets and I'm a Royals fan. You would never see me having Chargers season tickets or Brainer season tickets or Panthers season tickets. The chiefs are my only team.

With NASCAR, you know, once I met you, it's like, well, I don't need any other drivers. Like I'm good. I'm rooting Kevin Harvick to win every race. Every time he's out on the track, I don't care if other people win, but I'm not actively rooting for anyone else. The Chiefs, that's it. I want us to demolish every team we play. And I want everyone in the AFC to lose as many games as they possibly can. So we've talked about you being a race fan.

And I think there's a piece of this puzzle that a lot of people don't realize. but correct me if I'm wrong. Your family farm was part of Kansas Speedway, correct? Yeah, I grew up going to Lakeside Speedway, which our boy, Clint Boyer, has a long history of a role. And I was, my dad took me to the original Lakeside Speedway, which is gone. And now the new Lakeside Speedway is right by where I grew up, I mean, a mile. And then my grandma's 80s acres where my mom grew up is kind of, part of turn turn three and the casino area over there and i would always tell you when you're rolling

through well turn two i guess it's turn to turn to uh say hi to helen and she'll bless you with with a nice with a nice groove there and turn two because that is right on the right on the border of where the driveway was to go down to my grandma helen's house that's awesome you just you never you never know these types of things until yeah so we got we got we got to we got a i i got to i I got a couple of fun questions for you. So we have this incredible perception only through what we see on TV of what it's like to have Taylor Swift as your, I don't even know what to say, but I know how big of a Chiefs fan you are.

Is it some, like, do you like the fact that Taylor Swift is there all the time? And every time that Kelsey scores a touchdown, you probably don't see it, but they show her on TV and her celebration. Because for me, it's kind of annoying to be perfectly honest with you. And I live with a Swifty. I have a little six-year-old Piper who is absolutely a Swifty. So are you a Swifty? And what's your favorite Taylor Swift song?

Okay. So I had met Taylor years ago. I handed her an award in a very awkward exchange where I thought I was like doing. her a favor. When she came up to win the award, I, like, showed it to her. Like, here it is. And then I pulled it back because it was heavy. And I thought, well, she needs her hands to read her paper that she had pulled out. Well, then the internet blew up and it's like, why there's no, there's no, I'm not giving Taylor Swift her award. I mean, that was my first interaction with Swift deeds as far as like, no, I thought I was helping. I was just, I was just holding it

forward until he could hold it with both hands. So I had met her. So the idea that these worlds of mine, because I knew her a little bit in Hollywood, and obviously I know Travis, and the fact that these two things are now connected is pretty crazy, pretty incredible. When I got wind that they were dating, I have to admit, thought it was a perfect match. I really did because I know Travis. I know how Travis is with my mom. I know how Travis is with my sister. I know how Travis is with the boys.

I know what kind of guy he is. And I didn't know as much about Taylor's dating life or whatever she had been going through. But I thought, well, here's a confident dude that's not going to be intimidated by her. She obviously is at the top of her game. So she's not going to be intimidated by him. They don't, aren't competing with each other. So I thought it was going to be a great match. Am I a Swifty?

I am in the sense that it's been thrust upon me. I have had to listen and watch the albums or the shows here on the TV quite a bit. I like the song. Hi, it's me. I'm the problem. It's me. I think that is a, I don't know what the name of that song is, but I do love that song. I love all of the mystery and all of the jigsaw puzzles in her songs.

Lindsay fills me in on all the double meetings, triple meanings of everything and what this is in reference to. And if all that's true, I think it's genius. do I care that she's at the game? I don't care. I think it's awesome and that, you know, if it makes people love the chiefs more, great. And if it makes them hate the chiefs more, it's just going to make the wins even more sweet.

So I don't care. Okay. Well, I mean, there's there's a lot of things that you know about those Taylor Swift songs. So I'm, I'm definitely going to put you in the Swifty category. So, I'm in this witty category in that I love it for Travis too

I mean I love that he's found what appears to be love and she has found what appears to be love it couldn't be I mean I'm a fan of that I'm a fan of people finding their their person I'm a fan of that for sure too all right first car

what was it where did it go 1981 Mercury Cougar four door what I would call poop brown. And I have no idea where it went. It was our family car that my dad gave to me. It had a V8 in it, though.

It was fast. Ran it out of oil a few times and got chewed out pretty darn good by my dad for that. Oddly enough, I'll send you the picture. Just found the hood ornament in one of my dad's old toolboxes going through his shop the other day and took a picture of it and sent to all my friends that we called it the Mercruiser

and we had the whole gang that was part of the Mercruiser so I sent it to those guys in remembrance of my Mercury. So you didn't get rid of it. Your dad got rid of it? Yeah, it got sold for, it got junked.

I mean, I was rough on it. I got you. Well, if you were running it out of oil, that was a severe problem. And its lifespan got shorter every time you drove it, it sounds like. Yes, it did. before I let you go, talk to me about the Big Slick and the charity stuff that you guys have going on there

because that's coming up, May 31st through June 1st. So talk to me about that. Yeah, I wish you could come some year. People would love to have you now with your schedule. I wish it would line up that it was race weekend sometime. But, you know, Paul Rudd, Jason Sedakas, Rob Regal, myself, Heidi Gardner, have this charity. It's called Big Slick. You can go to big slick kc.org.

We've raised almost $20 million or a little over $20 million for Children's Mercy Hospital here in Kansas City. I think back in the day you had donated some stuff, a fan experience for the auction. And it's just a great organization that those guys started. And I joined 12, 13 years ago, I think now that benefits the hospital here in Kansas City. It's a great hospital that's reach is regional, you know, Iowa, Nebraska, Missouri, Kansas, Arkansas, kids from All Overcome for specialized treatment here. And it's a great weekend, looking forward to it every year. And yeah, it's going to be great.

And then the other thing that I would love to mention just for your viewers to be able to click on my Instagram page, after my dad passed away, we started a fund here at the Kansas City Hospice House, in his name, the Vincent A. Stone Street Family Fund, which helps children who, unfortunately, find themselves at the end of their life. Currently, I think I just was speaking with them the other night. There's 29 kids in Kansas City as we speak that are in hospice care, and that fund helps create experiences and provide some moments of reprieve for family and them during their last moments on this earth. It's just heartbreaking. But my dad loved kids, and we wanted to do something because they were so great to our family at the end of his life, and we're just

just real proud to be able to support some of the kids here in Kansas City that are in such rough situations. You're a great man, Eric Stone Street. I appreciate all the things that you do. I appreciate your friendship and, you know, thank you for coming on the show today and taking the time and just talking to us a little bit. Have a great day, man. Oh, appreciate it.

Thank you. Say hello to everybody. Take care. Well, we want to thank Eric for taking the time to do that interview today. It's always fun to interview great people who do great things. And Eric is one of those great people. So thanks for tuning in. Follow us anywhere on Harvick Happy Pod on social media.

Follow us on YouTube. Give us a like there. We encourage everybody to listen again next Tuesday. So thanks for watching.