Ty Burrell | |
|---|---|
 Burrell in February 2014 | |
| Born | Tyler Gerald Burrell (1967-08-22)August 22, 1967 (age 58) Grants Pass, Oregon, U.S. |
| Alma mater | |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 2000–present |
| Known for | Phil Dunphy inModern Family |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 2 |
Tyler Gerald Burrell (born August 22, 1967) is an American actor. Burrell is best known for playing Phil Dunphy on theABC sitcomModern Family (2009–2020), for which he won twoPrimetime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series and fiveScreen Actors Guild Awards.
Burrell also had starring roles on the television seriesOut of Practice (2005–2006) andBack to You (2007–2008), and acted in films such asEvolution,Black Hawk Down (both 2001),Dawn of the Dead (2004),The Incredible Hulk (2008), andMuppets Most Wanted (2014). He voiced characters in the animated filmsMr. Peabody & Sherman (2014),Finding Dory (2016), andStorks (2016). On stage, Burrell made hisBroadway debut playing Lennox in the revival of theWilliam Shakespeare playMacbeth (2000).
Tyler Gerald Burrell was born inGrants Pass, Oregon, on August 22, 1967,[1][2] the son of teacher Sheri Rose (née Hauck) and family therapist Gary Gerald Burrell (1940–1989).[3][4][5][6] He has a younger brother, Duncan.[7] He is mostly of English and German descent, though he discovered viaFinding Your Roots that he is also of 1/16thAfrican-American ancestry through his great-great-grandmother, aformerly enslaved girl fromTennessee who became ahomesteader in Oregon.[8] He grew up inApplegate, Oregon, near theCalifornia border.[9][10] He attendedHidden Valley High School[1] in Grants Pass, where he playedfootball and was a lineman for the Hidden Valley Mustangs.
While attending college at theUniversity of Oregon, Burrell became a member of theSigma Chi fraternity[11] and worked as a bartender at theOregon Shakespeare Festival.[9] He later attendedSouthern Oregon University inAshland,[10] graduating with abachelor's degree intheatre arts in 1993.[9] Fifteen years later, in 2008, he was the school'scommencement speaker.[12]
Continuing his education atPenn State University, he earned anMFA and was a member of the Theatre 100 Company along withKeegan-Michael Key.[9][13][14] In 1997 and 1999, Burrell worked as a festival actor at the Utah Shakespeare Festival.[15] He has also stated that for a period of time in graduate school, he lived out of his van to save money.[16]
Burrell's first credited film roles were 2001'sEvolution andBlack Hawk Down. He subsequently appeared in the 2004 remake ofDawn of the Dead, and in several stage roles (such as 2000'sBroadway production ofMacbeth, and theoff-Broadway playsCorners,The Blue Demon,Burn This, andShow People).
He was a co writer and actor in the original production of the offbeat comedyThe Red Herring O' Happiness directed by Russell Dyball. Burrell's stage work also includes writing and working in the off Broadway playBabble with his brother, Duncan. He has also made an appearance as a New Jersey prosecutor inLaw & Order: Special Victims Unit.
After that, Burrell was cast as Oliver Barnes, a shallow but well meaningplastic surgeon, on theCBSsitcomOut of Practice (2005–06), also created byscreenwriter Christopher Lloyd. The show was canceled in May 2006, with eight episodes remaining unaired in the United States. After the show's cancellation, he playedAllan Arbus in the filmFur: An Imaginary Portrait of Diane Arbus. In the same year, he also appeared inFriends with Money andThe Darwin Awards, before playing one of the two leads in the world premiere ofDrunk Enough to Say I Love You? byCaryl Churchill on stage at theRoyal Court Theatre inLondon.[17]
In 2007, he had a small role in the filmNational Treasure: Book of Secrets as thecurator of theWhite House followed by a starring role in the sitcomBack to You onFox later that same year. On the show, created bySteven Levitan and Christopher Lloyd, Burrell played afield reporter (alongsideKelsey Grammer andPatricia Heaton). The show was canceled in 2008.
In the 2008 Marvel film adaptation of the comicThe Incredible Hulk Burrell playedLeonard Samson (without superpowers) who had a short relationship withBetty Ross.
He had a lead role asRealtor Phil Dunphy in the acclaimedABC situation comedyModern Family which was also created byChristopher Lloyd andSteve Levitan. For his performance, he received eight consecutivePrimetime Emmy Award nominations for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series (2010–2017), winning the award twice in 2011 and 2014.[18]
He also received nominations for theScreen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Comedy Series for his role, sharing theScreen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series with his co stars. He was the recipient of the individual SAG award in 2014, defeatingAlec Baldwin, who had previously won the award seven years in a row.[19]
Burrell also appears as Phil in commercials forNational Association of Realtors.[20]
In November 2014, Burrell signed an overall deal with20th Century Fox Television to develop his own comedy projects.[21] In July 2020, his overall deal with 20th Century Fox continued with the establishment of his own production company, Desert Whale Productions.[22]
His web seriesBoondoggle, loosely based on Burrell's own life, debuted in June 2016 onABC.com andABCd.[23] He was nominated for thePrimetime Emmy Award forOutstanding Actor in a Short Form Comedy or Drama Series in July 2017.[24]
Burrell owns The Eating Establishment, a restaurant inPark City, Utah, as well as two bars inSalt Lake City called Bar X and Beer Bar, located next to each other with interconnecting doors.[25]
When theCOVID-19 pandemic shut down Salt Lake City's bars and restaurants in March 2020, Burrell and his wife used $100,000 of their own money to create Tip Your Server, a crowd-sourced online fund to help out-of-work wait staff inUtah, where they had previously kept their main residence.[26]
Burrell married his wife, Holly, on August 18, 2000. They resided inNew York City until moving toSalt Lake City in 2008.[9][27] They still own a two-bedroom apartment in New York'sAstoria neighborhood, which they rent out.[28] At one point, they relocated toSouthern California for Burrell's work onModern Family. In March 2010, Burrell said that they had adopted a baby girl[29] and another girl two years later.[30] Burrell and his family moved to Salt Lake City from Los Angeles afterModern Family ended in 2020. In an interview withPeople, he said that he has "no regrets" about moving his family there, as it is "a great place to raise the kids".[31]
Burrell is a self-described lifelong fan of theOregon Ducks,Portland Trail Blazers,New York Mets, and theLos Angeles Rams.[32]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | Evolution | Colonel Flemming | |
| Black Hawk Down | Timothy A. Wilkinson | ||
| 2004 | Dawn of the Dead | Steve Marcus | |
| In Good Company | Enrique Colon | ||
| 2005 | Down in the Valley | Sheriff / Cowboy | |
| 2006 | Friends with Money | Other Aaron | |
| The Darwin Awards | Emile | ||
| Fur | Allan Arbus | ||
| 2007 | National Treasure 2: Book of Secrets | Connor | |
| 2008 | The Incredible Hulk | Dr. Leonard Samson | [33][34] |
| 2009 | Leaves of Grass | Professor Sorenson | |
| 2010 | Fair Game | Fred | |
| Morning Glory | Paul McVee | ||
| 2011 | Butter | Bob Pickler | |
| 2012 | Goats | Frank Whitman | |
| 2014 | The Skeleton Twins | Rich Levitt | |
| Mr. Peabody & Sherman | Mr. Hector Peabody (voice) | [35][36] | |
| Muppets Most Wanted | Jean Pierre Napoleon | [37] | |
| 2016 | Finding Dory | Bailey (voice) | [38][36] |
| Storks | Henry Gardner (voice) | [39][36] | |
| 2017 | Rough Night | Pietro |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2000, 2003 | Law & Order | Paul Donatelli | Episode: "Turnstile Justice" |
| Herman Capshaw | Episode: "Sheltered" | ||
| 2001 | The West Wing | Tom Starks | Episode: "The Women of Qumar" |
| 2002 | Law & Order: Special Victims Unit | Alan Messinger | Episode: "Execution" |
| 2003 | Nip/Tuck | "Big Mike" | Episode: "Joel Gideon" |
| 2005–2006 | Out of Practice | Dr. Oliver Barnes | 21 episodes |
| 2007 | Lipshitz Saves the World | Man in Red | Episode: "Pilot" |
| 2007–2008 | Back to You | Gary Crezyzewski | 17 episodes |
| 2008 | Fourplay | Christopher | Episode: "Pilot" |
| 2009 | Damages | Douglas Schiff | 2 episodes |
| 2009–2020 | Modern Family | Phil Dunphy | Main role |
| 2010–2011 | The Super Hero Squad Show | Captain Marvel (voice) | 3 episodes[36] |
| Glenn Martin, DDS | Mart-E (voice) | 2 episodes | |
| 2012 | Doc McStuffins | Big Jack (voice) | Episode: "Out of the Box" |
| 2012–2014 | Key & Peele | Nazi Commander / Colonel Hans Müller | 2 episodes |
| 2015 | Comedy Bang! Bang! | Himself | Episode: "Ty Burrell Wears a Chambray Shirt and Clear Frame Glasses" |
| The Penguins of Madagascar | Parker (voice) | Episode: "The Penguin Who Loved Me" | |
| 2016 | Boondoggle | Ty | Main role; also writer |
| 2017 | Family Guy | Himself | Episode: "Emmy-Winning Episode"[40] |
| 2020 | A Modern Farewell | Modern Family documentary | |
| 2020–2022 | Duncanville | Jack Harris (voice) | Main role[41] |
| Year | Title | Role | Venue | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 | Henry V | Gower | Adams Theatre,Utah Shakespeare Festival | [42] |
| 1999 | A Midsummer Night's Dream | Oberon | Adams Theatre,Utah Shakespeare Festival | [43] |
| 2000 | Macbeth | Lennox | Music Box Theatre,Broadway | [44] |
| 2002 | Burn This | Burton | Union Square Theatre, Off-Broadway | [45] |
| 2004 | Richard III | Henry Stafford | The Public Theatre, Off-Broadway | [46] |
| 2006 | Show People | Tom | Second Stage Theatre, Off-Broadway | [47] |
| 2006 | Drunk Enough to Say I Love You? | Sam | Royal Court Theatre, London | [17] |
| International | |
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| National | |
| Artists | |
| Other | |
