Eric Stonestreet Says Playing Gay On 'Modern Family' Changed Him

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.