Episode 233 - Ty Burrell & Bill Wrubel

Little Known Facts with Ilana Levine

Did you ever wonder what the relationship between the stars and the writers of a hit sitcom is like? Go behind the scenes with Modern Family’s Ty Burrell and writer/exec producer Bill Wrubel

With a range of performances across television, film, and theater, award winner Ty Burrell continues to proves himself as one of the finest and most versatile actors today.

Burrell starred on ABC’s critically acclaimed hit, Modern Family. The actor garnered countless awards for his fan-favorite role of ‘Phil Dunphy’ including the 2014 and 2011 Emmy® Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series; the 2014 Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Comedy Series; the 2012 Critics Choice Television Award for the Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series; as well as the 2012 Comedy Award in the category of Performance by An Actor – TV.

In 2012, Burrell shared the TCA Award with Nick Offerman for Individual Achievement in Comedy. Additionally, he has received notable nominations from the Teen Choice Awards, the Television Critics Association Awards, the People's Choice Awards, the American Comedy Awards and the Kids' Choice Awards, all for his role on the series.

In July 2020, Burrell launched his production company, Desert Whale Productions, and signed an overall deal with 20th Century Fox TV, the studio behind the acclaimed comedy series, Modern Family. Desert Whale’s first sale under the deal is for the comedy show, Yours, Mine & Paul. The show centers on a woman named Lauren who agrees to be a surrogate for her best friend, Paul, and his husband Xander despite her and Xander hating each other. The show has been put into development at ABC and it was recently announced Sarah Hyland is set to star in the series.

On stage, Burrell starred to incredible reviews in the world premiere of Caryl Churchill's two-hander play, Drunk Enough to Say I Love You, at the Royal Court Theatre in London. Burrell's extensive Broadway and Off-Broadway theater credits include the highly acclaimed Signature Theater Off-Broadway production of Burn This opposite Edward Norton, Catherine Keener and Dallas Roberts; starring as Lord Buckingham in the Public Theater's production of Richard III opposite Peter Dinklage and directed by Peter DuBois; and starring opposite Debra Monk and Judy Greer in Paul Weitz's Show People, directed by Peter Askin at Second Stage Theater.

Burrell has been a longtime supporter of KIDS IN THE SPOTLIGHT (KITS) which trains youth in foster programs and other under-served youth to create, write, cast and star in their own 10-minute short films. This training culminates in an annual film festival where they present “Movies by Kids, for Kids.” During the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic, Burrell created the program, “Tip Your Server,” to raise money for restaurant employees in Salt Lake City, Utah who lost their jobs due to restaurant closures. Burrell and his wife, Holly, donated $100,000 of their own funds to help ease the burden for the vulnerable members of the Salt Lake community.

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