Ty Burrell
Encyclopedia
Tyler Gerald "Ty" Burrell (born August 22, 1967) is an American
actor and comedian. He is best known for his role in the ABC
comedy
Modern Family
as Phil Dunphy
, for which he won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series in 2011. He was nominated for the same award in 2010. He also received nominations for the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Comedy Series for his role, sharing the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series with his co-stars.
in Southern Oregon
, and grew up in the small Southern Oregon town of Applegate
, near the California
border, where his family ran a business. He attended Hidden Valley High School
in Grants Pass, where he played football
and was a lineman for the Hidden Valley Mustangs. After graduating from high school, he enrolled at Southern Oregon University
in Ashland
, and graduated with a bachelor's degree
in theatre arts in 1993. Burrell was the commencement speaker at the school in 2008.
While in college he worked as a bartender at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival
. Burrell continued his education at the Penn State University, where he earned an MFA
. In 1999, Burrell worked as a festival actor at the Utah Shakespeare Festival. Burrell has also stated that for a period of time in graduate school, he lived out of his van to save money.
, and appearances in several stage performances (like 2000's Broadway
production of Macbeth
, and the off-Broadway
plays Corners, The Blue Demon, Burn This
, and Show People). He was a co-writer and actor in the original production of the offbeat comedy The Red Herring O' Happiness directed by Russell Dyball. Burrell's stage work also includes writing and working in the off-Broadway play Babble with his brother, Duncan. He has also made an appearance as a probation officer
in Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
.
After that, he was cast as Oliver Barnes, a shallow but well-meaning plastic surgeon, on the CBS sitcom Out of Practice
(2006), also created by Christopher Lloyd
. The show was canceled with episodes unaired in spring 2007. After that show's cancellation, he played Allan Arbus
in the film
Fur: An Imaginary Portrait of Diane Arbus
.
Burrell was also in the Marvel movie adaptation of the comic The Incredible Hulk
, in which he played Doc Samson
. He has gone on record in various interviews saying he does not get his powers in this movie but hopes to do so in later movies.
Ty recently had a small role in the film National Treasure: Book of Secrets. He starred in the sitcom Back to You
on Fox
. On the show, created by Steven Levitan
and Christopher Lloyd
, Burrell played a field reporter (alongside Kelsey Grammer
and Patricia Heaton
). The show was canceled in 2008.
He now stars in the ABC
comedy Modern Family
as Phil Dunphy. He was nominated for the Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series for his role in 2010 (he submitted the episode Up All Night
), but lost to his co-star Eric Stonestreet
. In 2011, he was nominated for an Emmy and won for his performance in the episode Good Cop Bad Dog
.
until moving to Salt Lake City in 2008. The couple have since relocated to Southern California for Burrell's work on Modern Family. On March 18, 2010, it was announced that Burrell and his wife had adopted a baby girl, Frances. Burrell is an avid Oregon Ducks
, Portland Trail Blazers
and New York Mets
fan.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
actor and comedian. He is best known for his role in the ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
comedy
Comedy
Comedy , as a popular meaning, is any humorous discourse or work generally intended to amuse by creating laughter, especially in television, film, and stand-up comedy. This must be carefully distinguished from its academic definition, namely the comic theatre, whose Western origins are found in...
Modern Family
Modern Family
Modern Family is an American television comedy series created by Christopher Lloyd and Steven Levitan, which debuted on ABC on September 23, 2009. Lloyd and Levitan serve as showrunner and executive producers, under their Levitan-Lloyd Productions label...
as Phil Dunphy
Phil Dunphy
Phil Dunphy is a fictional character on the American television series Modern Family. He is portrayed by Ty Burrell.Phil is a real estate agent who lives in California with his family. An Irish American, he has been married to Claire Dunphy for sixteen years and has three children, Haley, Alex, and...
, for which he won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series in 2011. He was nominated for the same award in 2010. He also received nominations for the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Comedy Series for his role, sharing the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series with his co-stars.
Early life
Burrell was born in Grants PassGrants Pass, Oregon
-Rogue River:The Rogue River runs through Grants Pass.-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 23,003 people, 9,376 households, and 5,925 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 9,885 housing units at an average density of 1,303.3 per square mile . By 2008,...
in Southern Oregon
Southern Oregon
Southern Oregon is a region of the U.S. state of Oregon south of Lane County and generally west of the Cascade Range, excluding the southern Oregon Coast. Counties include Douglas, Jackson, Klamath, and Josephine. It includes the Southern Oregon American Viticultural Area, which consists of the...
, and grew up in the small Southern Oregon town of Applegate
Applegate, Oregon
Applegate is an unincorporated community in Jackson County, Oregon, United States. It is located west of Medford on Oregon Route 238 and the Applegate River...
, near the California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
border, where his family ran a business. He attended Hidden Valley High School
Hidden Valley High School (Grants Pass, Oregon)
Hidden Valley High School is a public high school in Grants Pass, Oregon, United States.-Academics:In 2008, 68% of the school's seniors received their high school diploma...
in Grants Pass, where he played football
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
and was a lineman for the Hidden Valley Mustangs. After graduating from high school, he enrolled at Southern Oregon University
Southern Oregon University
is a public liberal arts college located in Ashland, Oregon, United States. Founded in 1926, it was formerly known as Southern Oregon College and Southern Oregon State College . SOU offers criminology, natural sciences, including environmental science, Shakespearean studies and theatre arts programs...
in Ashland
Ashland, Oregon
Ashland is a city in Jackson County, Oregon, United States, near Interstate 5 and the California border, and located in the south end of the Rogue Valley. It was named after Ashland County, Ohio, point of origin of Abel Helman and other founders, and secondarily for Ashland, Kentucky, where other...
, and graduated with a bachelor's degree
Bachelor's degree
A bachelor's degree is usually an academic degree awarded for an undergraduate course or major that generally lasts for three or four years, but can range anywhere from two to six years depending on the region of the world...
in theatre arts in 1993. Burrell was the commencement speaker at the school in 2008.
While in college he worked as a bartender at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival
Oregon Shakespeare Festival
The Oregon Shakespeare Festival is a regional repertory theatre in Ashland, Oregon, United States. The festival annually produces eleven plays on three stages during a season that lasts from February to October...
. Burrell continued his education at the Penn State University, where he earned an MFA
Master of Fine Arts
A Master of Fine Arts is a graduate degree typically requiring 2–3 years of postgraduate study beyond the bachelor's degree , although the term of study will vary by country or by university. The MFA is usually awarded in visual arts, creative writing, filmmaking, dance, or theatre/performing arts...
. In 1999, Burrell worked as a festival actor at the Utah Shakespeare Festival. Burrell has also stated that for a period of time in graduate school, he lived out of his van to save money.
Acting career
Some of his earlier work includes appearances in the movies Black Hawk Down, the 2004 remake of Dawn of the DeadDawn of the Dead (2004 film)
Dawn of the Dead is a 2004 horror film directed by Zack Snyder in his directorial debut. It is a remake of George A. Romero's 1978 film of the same name and stars Sarah Polley, Ving Rhames, and Jake Weber. The film depict a handful of human survivors living in a Milwaukee, Wisconsin shopping mall...
, and appearances in several stage performances (like 2000's Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
production of Macbeth
Macbeth
The Tragedy of Macbeth is a play by William Shakespeare about a regicide and its aftermath. It is Shakespeare's shortest tragedy and is believed to have been written sometime between 1603 and 1607...
, and the off-Broadway
Off-Broadway
Off-Broadway theater is a term for a professional venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, and for a specific production of a play, musical or revue that appears in such a venue, and which adheres to related trade union and other contracts...
plays Corners, The Blue Demon, Burn This
Burn This
Burn This is a play by Lanford Wilson.-Plot:It begins shortly after the funeral of Robbie, a young gay dancer who drowned in a boating accident. In attendance were his roommates: choreographer Anna and ad man Larry...
, and Show People). He was a co-writer and actor in the original production of the offbeat comedy The Red Herring O' Happiness directed by Russell Dyball. Burrell's stage work also includes writing and working in the off-Broadway play Babble with his brother, Duncan. He has also made an appearance as a probation officer
Probation officer
Parole officers and probation officers play a role in criminal justice systems by supervising offenders released from incarceration or sentenced to non-custodial sanctions such as community service...
in Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit is an American police procedural television drama series set in New York City, where it is also primarily produced...
.
After that, he was cast as Oliver Barnes, a shallow but well-meaning plastic surgeon, on the CBS sitcom Out of Practice
Out of Practice
Out of Practice is an American situation comedy that was originally broadcast on CBS from September 19, 2005 to March 29, 2006. With producers Joe Keenan and Christopher Lloyd at the helm, the show was about a family of five doctors who had little in common and usually did not get along...
(2006), also created by Christopher Lloyd
Christopher Lloyd (screenwriter)
Christopher Lloyd is an American TV screenwriter and producer of Wings, Frasier, Out of Practice, Back to You, and Modern Family...
. The show was canceled with episodes unaired in spring 2007. After that show's cancellation, he played Allan Arbus
Allan Arbus
Allan Arbus is an American actor notable for his role as psychiatrist Dr. Sidney Freedman on the television series M*A*S*H.-Early life:...
in the film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
Fur: An Imaginary Portrait of Diane Arbus
Fur (film)
Fur: An Imaginary Portrait of Diane Arbus is a 2006 film starring Nicole Kidman as iconic American photographer Diane Arbus, who was known for her strange, disturbing images.-Plot synopsis:...
.
Burrell was also in the Marvel movie adaptation of the comic The Incredible Hulk
The Incredible Hulk (film)
The Incredible Hulk is a 2008 superhero action film based on the Marvel Comics character the Hulk. It is directed by Louis Leterrier and stars Edward Norton as Dr. Bruce Banner. It is the second film to be released in the Marvel Cinematic Universe...
, in which he played Doc Samson
Doc Samson
Doc Samson is a fictional character, a superhero and psychiatrist in the Marvel Comics universe, known as a supporting character in stories featuring the Hulk.-Publication history:...
. He has gone on record in various interviews saying he does not get his powers in this movie but hopes to do so in later movies.
Ty recently had a small role in the film National Treasure: Book of Secrets. He starred in the sitcom Back to You
Back to You
Back to You is an American situation comedy series, which aired on Fox from September 19, 2007 to May 14, 2008. The creators and executive producers were Christopher Lloyd and Steven Levitan, and the director was James Burrows. The series starred Kelsey Grammer and Patricia Heaton as squabbling...
on Fox
Fox Broadcasting Company
Fox Broadcasting Company, commonly referred to as Fox Network or simply Fox , is an American commercial broadcasting television network owned by Fox Entertainment Group, part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. Launched on October 9, 1986, Fox was the highest-rated broadcast network in the...
. On the show, created by Steven Levitan
Steven Levitan
Steven E. Levitan is an American director, screenwriter and producer of television comedies. He has created such TV series as Just Shoot Me!, Stark Raving Mad, Stacked, Back to You, and Modern Family....
and Christopher Lloyd
Christopher Lloyd (screenwriter)
Christopher Lloyd is an American TV screenwriter and producer of Wings, Frasier, Out of Practice, Back to You, and Modern Family...
, Burrell played a field reporter (alongside Kelsey Grammer
Kelsey Grammer
Allen Kelsey Grammer is an American actor and comedian. He is most widely known for his two-decade portrayal of psychiatrist Dr. Frasier Crane on the sitcoms Cheers and Frasier...
and Patricia Heaton
Patricia Heaton
Patricia Helen Heaton is an American actress, comedienne, producer and model, best known for portraying Debra Barone on the CBS sitcom Everybody Loves Raymond from 1996 to 2005, for which she won two Emmy Awards....
). The show was canceled in 2008.
He now stars in the ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
comedy Modern Family
Modern Family
Modern Family is an American television comedy series created by Christopher Lloyd and Steven Levitan, which debuted on ABC on September 23, 2009. Lloyd and Levitan serve as showrunner and executive producers, under their Levitan-Lloyd Productions label...
as Phil Dunphy. He was nominated for the Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series for his role in 2010 (he submitted the episode Up All Night
Up All Night (Modern Family)
"Up All Night" is the eleventh episode of the first season for the ABC series Modern Family. It premiered on ABC in the United States on January 6, 2010. The episode was written by co-creator Christopher Lloyd and directed by Michael Spiller. In the episode, Gloria is less than pleased with Jay's...
), but lost to his co-star Eric Stonestreet
Eric Stonestreet
Eric Stonestreet is an American actor, known for his starring role as Cameron Tucker on the ABC comedy Modern Family. Stonestreet has received critical acclaim for his performance in Modern Family and won the 2010 Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series for his...
. In 2011, he was nominated for an Emmy and won for his performance in the episode Good Cop Bad Dog
Good Cop Bad Dog
"Good Cop Bad Dog" is the twenty second episode of the American comedy television series Modern Familys second season and the 46th episode overall. The episode originally aired on May 11, 2011 on American Broadcasting Company . The episode was written by Abraham Higginbotham and Jeffrey...
.
Personal life
Ty and his wife Holly married in 2000. They resided in New York CityNew York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
until moving to Salt Lake City in 2008. The couple have since relocated to Southern California for Burrell's work on Modern Family. On March 18, 2010, it was announced that Burrell and his wife had adopted a baby girl, Frances. Burrell is an avid Oregon Ducks
Oregon Ducks
The Oregon Ducks refers to the sports teams of the University of Oregon, located in Eugene, Oregon. The Oregon Ducks are part of the Pacific-12 Conference in the Division 1 of the NCAA. With seventeen varsity teams, the Oregon Ducks are best known for their football team and Track and Field...
, Portland Trail Blazers
Portland Trail Blazers
The Portland Trail Blazers, commonly known as the Blazers, are an American professional basketball team based in Portland, Oregon. They play in the Northwest Division of the Western Conference in the National Basketball Association . The Trail Blazers originally played their home games in the...
and New York Mets
New York Mets
The New York Mets are a professional baseball team based in the borough of Queens in New York City, New York. They belong to Major League Baseball's National League East Division. One of baseball's first expansion teams, the Mets were founded in 1962 to replace New York's departed National League...
fan.
Filmography
| Year | Title | Type of Media | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | Law & Order Law & Order Law & Order is an American police procedural and legal drama television series, created by Dick Wolf and part of the Law & Order franchise. It aired on NBC, and in syndication on various cable networks. Law & Order premiered on September 13, 1990, and completed its 20th and final season on May 24,... |
TV | Paul Donatelli | Appeared again in 2003 as a different character |
| 2001 | Evolution Evolution (film) Evolution is a 2001 American science fiction comedy film directed by Ivan Reitman and starring David Duchovny, Orlando Jones, Seann William Scott, Julianne Moore and Ted Levine... |
Movie | Flemming | |
| 2001 | TV | Tom Starks | 1 episode | |
| 2001 | Black Hawk Down | Movie | U.S. Air Force Pararescueman Timothy A. Wilkinson |
|
| 2002 | Law & Order: Special Victims Unit Law & Order: Special Victims Unit Law & Order: Special Victims Unit is an American police procedural television drama series set in New York City, where it is also primarily produced... |
TV | Alan Messinger | 1 episode |
| 2003 | Law & Order Law & Order Law & Order is an American police procedural and legal drama television series, created by Dick Wolf and part of the Law & Order franchise. It aired on NBC, and in syndication on various cable networks. Law & Order premiered on September 13, 1990, and completed its 20th and final season on May 24,... |
TV | Herman Capshaw | Second appearance |
| 2004 | Dawn of the Dead Dawn of the Dead (2004 film) Dawn of the Dead is a 2004 horror film directed by Zack Snyder in his directorial debut. It is a remake of George A. Romero's 1978 film of the same name and stars Sarah Polley, Ving Rhames, and Jake Weber. The film depict a handful of human survivors living in a Milwaukee, Wisconsin shopping mall... |
Movie | Steve | |
| 2004 | In Good Company | Movie | Enrique Colon | |
| 2005 | Down in the Valley Down in the Valley Down in the Valley is a movie starring Edward Norton, Evan Rachel Wood, David Morse and Rory Culkin. The film made its debut in the Un Certain Regard section at the 2005 Cannes Film Festival on May 13, and made its limited theatrical release in North America in May 2006.-Plot:Set in modern-day San... |
Movie | Sheriff/Cowboy | |
| 2006 | Friends with Money Friends with Money Friends with Money is a 2006 film written and directed by Nicole Holofcener. It opened the 2006 Sundance Film Festival on January 19, 2006 and went into limited release in North America on April 7, 2006.-Plot:... |
Movie | Other Aaron | |
| 2006 | Movie | Emile | ||
| 2006 | Out of Practice Out of Practice Out of Practice is an American situation comedy that was originally broadcast on CBS from September 19, 2005 to March 29, 2006. With producers Joe Keenan and Christopher Lloyd at the helm, the show was about a family of five doctors who had little in common and usually did not get along... |
TV | Dr. Oliver Barnes | 20 episodes |
| 2006 | Fur Fur (film) Fur: An Imaginary Portrait of Diane Arbus is a 2006 film starring Nicole Kidman as iconic American photographer Diane Arbus, who was known for her strange, disturbing images.-Plot synopsis:... |
Movie | Allan Arbus Allan Arbus Allan Arbus is an American actor notable for his role as psychiatrist Dr. Sidney Freedman on the television series M*A*S*H.-Early life:... |
|
| 2007 | National Treasure: Book of Secrets | Movie | Connor | |
| 2008 | Fourplay | Movie | Christopher | |
| 2008 | Movie | Doc Samson Doc Samson Doc Samson is a fictional character, a superhero and psychiatrist in the Marvel Comics universe, known as a supporting character in stories featuring the Hulk.-Publication history:... |
||
| 2008 | Back to You Back to You Back to You is an American situation comedy series, which aired on Fox from September 19, 2007 to May 14, 2008. The creators and executive producers were Christopher Lloyd and Steven Levitan, and the director was James Burrows. The series starred Kelsey Grammer and Patricia Heaton as squabbling... |
TV | Gary Crezyzewski | 17 episodes |
| 2009 | Damages Damages (TV series) Damages is an American television drama series created by the writing and production trio of Daniel Zelman and brothers Glenn and Todd A. Kessler . It is broadcast in the United States on the DirecTV channel Audience Network after originally airing on FX and is produced by the creators' own... |
TV | Douglas Schiff | 1 episode |
| 2009 | Leaves of Grass Leaves of Grass (film) Leaves of Grass is an American black comedy/drama film written and directed by Tim Blake Nelson. It stars Edward Norton, Richard Dreyfuss, Susan Sarandon, Melanie Lynskey and Keri Russell. The film, released on September 17, 2010, is in limited release by Millennium Pictures... |
Movie | Release date December 25, 2009 | |
| 2009–present | Modern Family Modern Family Modern Family is an American television comedy series created by Christopher Lloyd and Steven Levitan, which debuted on ABC on September 23, 2009. Lloyd and Levitan serve as showrunner and executive producers, under their Levitan-Lloyd Productions label... |
TV | Phil Dunphy | Nominated for 2010 Television Critics Association Award Nominated - Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series (2010) Won- Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series (2010) Won - Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series (2011) |
| 2010 | Fair Game Fair Game (2010 film) Fair Game is a 2010 biographical film drama directed by Doug Liman and starring Naomi Watts and Sean Penn. It is based on Valerie Plame's memoir, Fair Game: My Life as a Spy, My Betrayal by the White House which details the scandalous events that took place in mid 2003, implicating senior White... |
Movie | Fred | |
| 2010 | Glenn Martin, DDS Glenn Martin, DDS Glenn Martin, DDS is an American stop-motion-animated television series that premiered on Nick at Nite on August 17, 2009. The series is produced by Tornante Animation in association with Cuppa Coffee Studio... |
TV | (voice) | 1 episode |
| 2010 | The Super Hero Squad Show The Super Hero Squad Show The Super Hero Squad Show is an American cartoon series by Marvel Animation. It is based on the Marvel Super Hero Squad action figure line from Hasbro, which portray the characters of the Marvel Universe in a cartoonish super-deformed-style... |
TV | Captain Marvel | 2 episodes |
| 2010 | Morning Glory Morning Glory (2010 film) Morning Glory is a 2010 American comedy-drama film directed by Roger Michell, produced by J.J. Abrams and written by Aline Brosh McKenna. It stars Rachel McAdams, Harrison Ford, Diane Keaton, Patrick Wilson and Jeff Goldblum. After some delays, the film was released in the United States on November... |
Movie | Paul McVee | |
| 2010 | Top Gear Top Gear (U.S. TV series) Top Gear is a motoring television series, based on the BBC series of the same name. The show's presenters are professional racing driver Tanner Foust, actor and comedian Adam Ferrara, and automotive and racing analyst Rutledge Wood. As with the original British version, the show has its own version... |
TV | Himself | Star in a Reasonably Priced Car Lap Time 1:46.6 |
| 2011 | Butter Butter (2011 film) - Plot:A young orphan discovers her uncanny talent for butter sculpture in an Iowa town where her adoptive family lives. The talent pits her against the ambitious wife of the reigning champion in the annual butter sculpture competition.... |
Movie | Bob Pickler | Post-production |
| 2011 | Goats | In production |