Eric Stonestreet | |
|---|---|
 Stonestreet in 2015 | |
| Born | (1971-09-09)September 9, 1971 (age 54) Kansas City, Kansas, U.S. |
| Alma mater | Kansas State University (BA) |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1999–present |
| Spouse | |
| Awards | |
Eric Allen Stonestreet (born September 9, 1971) is an American actor. He is known for portrayingCameron Tucker in theABC sitcomModern Family (2009–2020), for which he received twoEmmy Awards for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series out of three nominations. He first rose to prominence in a recurring role onCSI: Crime Scene Investigation. He has also appeared in films includingBad Teacher (2011),Identity Thief (2013),The Loft (2014), andConfirmation (2016), and provides the voice of Duke in the animatedTheSecret Life of Pets film franchise (2016–2019).
Eric Allen Stonestreet[1] was born inKansas City, Kansas, on September 9, 1971,[1] the son of teacher's aide Jamey Anne (née Ball) and retail business owner Vincent Stonestreet.[2] He is of German descent.[3] His family had a pig farm growing up.[4] As a child, he wanted to become a clown,[5] and created a clown character named Fizbo; by age 11, he was performing at younger children's birthday parties. He recalled in 2012, "I don't know where the name Fizbo came from. I do know one day that's what my dad was calling me and that's the name that I printed on my business cards."[6] The name "Fizbo" was later used for a clown character he periodically played onModern Family. Whenever Fizbo was on an episode, Eric would do the clown makeup himself, stating that no one else could do it quite right.[7]
Stonestreet attendedPiper High School andKansas State University, where he was in thePi Kappa Alpha fraternity,[6] graduating with a degree insociology in 1996.[8] While there, he made his stage debut when he appeared inPrelude to a Kiss, for which he auditioned on a dare and won the smallest role. He later appeared inAll My Sons andTwelfth Night,[8] before studyingimprov atImprovOlympic andThe Second City Training Center inChicago, then moved toLos Angeles to begin his professional acting career.[8]
He made his film debut inAlmost Famous, as desk clerk Sheldon. He also played Dr. Benson inGirls Will Be Girls, Ed the Trucker inThe Island, and Courtney's Neighbor inNinja Cheerleaders. In 2007, Stonestreet appeared in the short film "Vinny's Vault," which was produced during the reality showOn the Lot. He also appeared in the moviesIdentity Thief as Big Chuck, andBad Teacher as Kirk.
He is also notable for his role as Ronnie Litre onCSI: Crime Scene Investigation. He also guest starred in television shows, such asDharma & Greg,ER,Malcolm in the Middle,The Mentalist,NCIS,Nip/Tuck,Party of Five,Spin City,The West Wing,Pushing Daisies,Greg the Bunny,Providence,Close to Home,Crossing Jordan,Bones,Monk, andAmerican Horror Story. Early in his career Stonestreet was featured inKansas State University's 1996 football and the Big 12 Conference TV commercials' campaign as the "purple pride guy."[9]
Stonestreet playedCameron Tucker in ABC'sModern Family.[5] His performance in the series was widely acclaimed and earned him numerous awards, including twoPrimetime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series, fourSAG Awards for Outstanding Ensemble in a Comedy Series, and nominations for threeGolden Globes for Best Supporting Actor in Television.
In 2013, he appeared in a series of advertisements for Australian retail storeBig W.[10] In the fall of the same year, Stonestreet played the "Fan Coach" in the AT&T "Be A Fan" commercial series that ran during the college football season, in addition to appearing in a MasterCard/Stand Up 2 Cancer commercial as himself.[11] In 2014, he performed in"Weird Al" Yankovic's music video for "Tacky," a parody ofPharrell's "Happy". In the same year he also starred in theremake of the Belgian thrillerLoft.[12][13] He regularly appears onstage at IO West improv Theatre in Los Angeles.[14]
In 2017, Stonestreet hosted theABC competition seriesThe Toy Box.[15]
In 2020, Stonestreet appeared as a guest judge for a taping of auditions for the fifteenth season ofAmerica's Got Talent, in place ofHeidi Klum.[16] In the same year he appeared in the music video forAriana Grande andJustin Bieber's song "Stuck with U".[17]
In March 2021, it was announced that Stonestreet would be hostingDomino Masters forFox.[18] The competition series premiered on March 9, 2022.[19]
In November 2024, Stonestreet was named as the godfather for the newNorwegian Cruise Line ship Norwegian Aqua.[20]
Stonestreet began dating pediatric nurse Lindsay Schweitzer in June 2016,[21] and they became engaged on August 22, 2021.[22] On September 9, 2025, Stonestreet announced that they had married at their home inKansas City.[23] She has twin sons.
Although he played a gay character inModern Family, Stonestreet isheterosexual and has lightheartedly described himself as "openly straight".[24] HisModern Family co-star and onscreen husbandJesse Tyler Ferguson (who is gay in real life) jokingly called him "gay-for-pay".[5][25] Stonestreet supportsLGBTQ causes; he refusedRepublican senatorRick Santorum's request to take a picture with him at the 2014White House Correspondents' dinner due to Santorum's staunchlyanti-gay platform.[26]
A keen sports fan, Stonestreet supports theKansas City Chiefs football team[27] and joinedthe new ownership group of theKansas City Royals baseball team in 2019.[28] He has also driven thepace car at severalNASCAR events.[29] He often attends football games at his alma mater,Kansas State University, and stays active with several organizations there.[30]
Stonestreet is also a fan of drums, mainly a collector of them which he talked about on comedianRob Riggle's podcastRiggle's Picks.[31]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | Almost Famous | Sheldon the Desk Clerk | |
| 2003 | F.A.T. | Ranger | |
| Girls Will Be Girls | Dr. Benson | ||
| Street of Pain | Floyd | Short film | |
| 2004 | Straight-Jacket | Labor Organizer | |
| Knuckle Sandwich | Bill | ||
| 2005 | Saddam 17 | The Clerk | Short film |
| The Island | Ed the Trucker | ||
| 2007 | The Drifter | Delivery Guy | Short film |
| Stories USA | Floyd | Segment: "Street of Pain" | |
| 2008 | Ninja Cheerleaders | Beergut | |
| American Crude | Phil | ||
| 2010 | Father vs. Son | Doug | |
| 2011 | Bad Teacher | Kirk Gay | |
| 2013 | Identity Thief | Big Chuck | |
| 2014 | The Loft | Marty Landry | |
| 2016 | The Secret Life of Pets | Duke (voice) | |
| 2019 | The Secret Life of Pets 2 |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | Dharma & Greg | Chester | Episode: "See Dharma Run" |
| 2000 | I've Got a Secret | Himself | Unknown episodes |
| Malcolm in the Middle | Phil | Episode: "Malcolm Babysits" | |
| Party of Five | Irv | 2 episodes | |
| Spin City | The Dentist | Episode: "Smile" | |
| ER | Willie | Episode: "Mars Attacks" | |
| 2001 | The West Wing | Staffer #1 | Episode: "Bad Moon Rising" |
| 2002 | Greg the Bunny | Wilson | Episode: "Welcome to Sweetknuckle Junction" |
| Providence | Ted Stout | Episode: "Eye of the Storm" | |
| 2001–2005 | CSI: Crime Scene Investigation | Ronnie Litre | 12 episodes |
| 2005 | Close to Home | Andrew Morgan | Episode: "Under Threat" |
| 2006 | 13 Graves | Andrew Schoch | Television film |
| 2007 | Crossing Jordan | Steve Anderman | Episode: "D.O.A." |
| Bones | D.C. Cop | 2 episodes | |
| On the Lot | Actor | ||
| American Dad! | Short Order Cook (voice) | Episode: "Dope & Faith" | |
| 2008 | The Mentalist | Malcom Boatwright | Episode: "Red Hair and Silver Tape" |
| Pushing Daisies | Leo Burns | Episode: "Comfort Food" | |
| NCIS | Harvey Ames | Episode: "Silent Night" | |
| 2009 | This Might Hurt | Brad Maynard | Television film |
| Monk | Boom Boom | Episode: "Mr. Monk and the UFO" | |
| Scare Tactics | Eric the Paranormal Guy | Episode: "28 Minutes Later" | |
| Nip/Tuck | Wesley Clovis | Episode: "Wesley Clovis" | |
| 2009–2020 | Modern Family | Cameron Tucker | Main role; 11 seasons |
| 2010 | Good News Week | Himself | 1 episode |
| 2011 | American Horror Story: Murder House | Derrick | Episode: "Piggy Piggy" |
| 2013–2018 | Sofia the First | Minimus (voice) | 16 episodes |
| 2014 | Sesame Street | Himself | Episode: "Hansel & Gretel Playdate" |
| 2015 | Jeopardy! | 2 episodes | |
| 2016 | Blue Peter[32] | Episode: "4915" | |
| Confirmation | Kenneth Duberstein | Television film | |
| 2017 | The F Word | Himself | "Episode Seven" |
| The Toy Box[15] | 16 episodes | ||
| 2019 | What Just Happened??! with Fred Savage | Episode: "Neighbor" | |
| 2020 | America's Got Talent | Guest Judge (season 15) | |
| Who Wants to Be a Millionaire | Episode: "In The Hot Seat: Eric Stonestreet andWill Forte" | ||
| 2021 | Madagascar: A Little Wild | Harley Horns (voice) | Episode: "A Roar Is Born" |
| 2022 | Domino Masters | Himself | Main role |
| 2023 | American Auto | Ian | 2 episodes |
| The Santa Clauses | Magnus Antas / Mad Santa | Main role (season 2) | |
| 2025 | Dexter: Resurrection | Al Walker / Rapunzel | Guest star |
| 2026 | Sofia the First: Royal Magic | Minimus (voice) | Main role[33] |
| Year | Song | Artist | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | "Tacky" | Weird Al Yankovic | |
| 2020 | "Stuck with U" | Ariana Grande andJustin Bieber | Cameo[17] |
Media related toEric Stonestreet at Wikimedia Commons| International | |
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| National | |
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| Other | |
