Eric Stonestreet's defining role has
been Cameron Tucker on the ABC comedy Modern Family, for which
he has won two Emmy Awards. He now says the experience has changed
him.
In an
HuffPost Live interview, Stonestreet, 43, was asked how playing
gay for six seasons on the sitcom has affected him.
He answered that the role has changed
him from knowing little about the gay community into an LGBT rights
ally.
“I'm just more active in that
community. And I feel a little bit more responsible for people's
words and actions,” he said.
He added that he was prepared to defend
his on-screen husband, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, who is openly gay.
“Jesse from the beginning I said,
'I'll punch somebody out if they … If I hear them call you that
word like in front of me.'”
“But I was worried from the beginning
that I was going to be part of a gay-bashing of sorts or, you know, a
really bad slur,” he added.