Dinner’s on Me with Jesse Tyler Ferguson - NOLAN GOULD — (van)life after ‘Modern Family’ and finding his people in L.A.

Episode Date: September 17, 2024

“Modern Family” star Nolan Gould joins the show. Over traditional Mexican fare, Nolan tells me about selling all his belongings post “Modern Family,” his backpacking/van life phase, and his Nerf gun fight with Bryan Cranston. This episode was recorded at El Compadre in Hollywood, CA. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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Listen on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to podcasts. Hi, it's Jesse. Apple podcasts, or wherever you listen to podcasts. Hi, it's Jesse. Today on the show, you know him as my nephew, Luke Dumphy on Modern Family. It's Nolan Gould. Here's the thing about me is I don't care how I live. And it drives other people nuts. Like they hate it. This is Dinners on Me, and I'm your host,

Jesse Tyler Ferguson. Those of you who have been listening to this podcast for a while might have already listened to my episodes with my former Modern Family cast members, Sarah Hyland, who played my niece Haley, and Aubrey Anderson-Emmons, who played my daughter, Lily. They both had a very unique perspective on growing up on the show.

Sarah was basically already an adult when we started, having just turned 18. And Aubrey, who played my daughter, began the show as a toddler. I mean, she barely even remembers her audition. And the other three kid actors in the cast were around 10 years old when Modern Family started. Now, I remember that age very well. Painfully, well, you might say.

Those first double-digit years are incredibly formative, full of angst and hormones, big emotions and self-discovery. Imagine, I mean, just imagine moving through those years while also being a part of a very popular TV show. Nolan Gould, who is known by many as my nephew Luke, the youngest member of the Dumphy family, is the latest member of my TV family to join me for a meal. And for those of you who keep asking, yes, I plan on collecting episodes with everyone in the cast, so stick around.

Anyway, here are a few things that I know about Nolan that you probably don't know. He is and really always has been an old soul. He somehow has always been able to balance being a curious, playful kid while still having the ability to connect with his peers, his older peers usually, on a very mature level. Oh, he's also a minimalist and a bit of a nomad. We'll get into more of that in this episode. And he prefers to travel by bicycle.

Now that's a new fact that I learned about him when he arrived 10 minutes early to our meal with a bike helmet in hand while we were still setting up. Hi, should I go out and come back in? Come back in. Come back in? Yeah, fine, you can come in, come back in? Come back in. Come back in. Yeah, fine.

You can come in. Come in. Can I come in? Am I allowed to sit with you? Come on. Come sit with us. Nolan requested Mexican, and when I think of Mexican food, especially family style, I think of El Compadre.

Its dim lit interior with its dark red leather booths and wood paneling erases any sense of time. You could be in 2024 Los Angeles or you could be in 1994 Los Angeles. I mean it's been around since 1975 and it's still family run. In a city that's constantly turning over and changing, El Compadre has always felt like a home away from home. And its refried beans and enchiladas are just as good as they were when I first came here more than 15 years ago. Okay, let's get to the conversation. You've been here, right?

No, this is my first time here. Oh, you haven't? Yeah. This was the very first restaurant I came to in LA when I was- Really? Yeah, when I came to do the class, which was a sitcom.

Did you ever talk about it in sesame? Oh, nonstop. The class, what's this? Have you won it, Tony? No, I actually watched the class as it was on air. Oh, you did? Yeah, me and my mom was really in the class. Oh, I didn't know that.

And she was a little starstruck when we first got to the table reading, because she really liked it. I had no idea. I mean, we both, we all did, but, yeah. I mean, it was a pretty starstruck when we first got to the table reading, because she really liked it. I mean, we both, we all did. I had no idea. Yeah. I mean, it was a pretty good show, right? Because it was coming on when I was like

eight years old, I think. Yeah, you were pretty young. Yeah. I mean, I guess old enough to watch. My character, you also meet my character when he's about to commit suicide. Oh. I don't know if you remember that.

No, no, no. That's a little dark for an eight-year-old. Hey, man, I'm a child actor, man. Nothing's too dark for me. Exposed to everything. Yeah. Yeah, so this was one of the first restaurants I came to. I kind of just moved into the neighborhood, Hey man, I'm a child actor, man. Nothing's too dark for me. Exposing to everything. Yeah. Yeah, so this is like one of the first restaurants

I came to. I kind of just moved into the neighborhood, so still looking for all the spots. Nolan, I do have a child plate, I see. Okay. Number 13. Now question, money's a little tight, so. Yeah, no, dinner's on me.

Dinner's on you? Yeah. Okay, thank you. Wait a second, that's the name of the show. I'm definitely getting enchiladas. So I actually, I do have a question for you. When you come to do the, because I have been like binging the show in the past few days.

Do I really want to do this? What am I getting myself to do? Do you pre-read the menus before you come? Sometimes. Okay. Occasionally like, Joanne is really good about sending me like a link. Yeah. But you know, I mean But it's El Compadre.

I know what I want here. I don't know why. This is so performative that I'm looking at this menu right now. Yeah, yeah. You're patronizing me right now. I'm definitely going to get enchiladas and the chile relleno.

Done. Okay. We're decided. You asked for Mexican, then this is what I came up with. I hope you like it. Nice. I'm excited. And it's also an institution. Yeah. And it's in our new neighborhood. I hope you like it. Nice, I'm excited. And it's also an institution.

Yeah. And it's in your new neighborhood. How do you like living over here? I love it. So I've basically lived in deep suburbs my entire life. Yeah. I was living in a place called Santa Clarita and driving to the Fox lot in Century City.

Which is where we shot Monter Family, yes. For everyone that's not from LA. That's like two hours in traffic. Yeah, I remember being pretty shocked at that, how far you lived. And I lived there until I was 17 and a half, and then I was like, I'm moving to LA, mom. And then I moved to like the Valley,

which is arguably LA. And so it's nice, I'm finally like in the thick of it, I'm like walking distance, like bars and coffee shops. And I'm like, man, I should finally in the thick of it, I'm like walking distance bars and coffee shops, and I'm like, man, I should've came here when I was 21. No, totally. Yeah, yeah, because now I don't even drink anymore because I have hangovers. Yeah, that's what happens.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. It's interesting that you came to that conclusion so early. I went for so many years, I was like, I can handle this. I can keep powering through it. You can keep powering through it. It's like my mid-40s, it's like, no, it's not. Hello. Yeah, oh, what do you want to's like no. No, it's not. Yeah. Hello. Yeah, oh, do you want, what do you want to drink?

We were just talking about hangovers. Yeah. Great timing. Margaritas. Well, can I get a coffee? I haven't had my coffee of the day and I'm like freaking out. Yeah.

Do you have the lemonade? Yeah. Oh, I'm going to do a lemonade. Lemonade? Wait a second, that's what you ordered on Sofia Vergara's episode. I know, I love lemonade. I will say, you also look like

you're a little undercover right now. Like, in these glasses, in my hat? The glasses, the Hawaiian shirt, and the New York baseball hat on. The Hawaiian shirt, it's a nice silk, it's actually Justin's. If it looks trendy at all, it's probably Justin's. Wait, what was I going to ask? But you moved around a lot as a kid too, right? Yeah, so my dad was in the military.

We bounced around everywhere. I grew up in the South a little bit. I was born in upstate New York. I've lived many different places in LA. And then last year at some point, I want to say I kind of started to get hit with the I'm getting old. At 24.

Oh boy. Where I was like, oh man. No, I just like, it's moving so fast obviously. And I'm like, I know from, you know, the nice thing is I grew up around so many older people that are like, enjoy it. It just keeps getting faster and faster. And I just had this moment of like, before anything gets too locked in stone,

I just kind of want to explore and see like, what do I look like in different places with different hobbies and different, maybe even careers. Yeah, I mean, I want to talk about all that, but like about a year ago, we went out to dinner, we went to that chain place, and you were like, yeah, I'm about to leave town for a while,

and I think you had just sold, had you just gotten rid of your house and you were? I had rented it out for the next two years. I got about a year left on that. And I gave up a lot of my stuff. I don't completely regret that, but there are, oh, thank you. When you say you got to give up a lot of your stuff,

you mean like furniture. Like furniture, clothes, like cups, knickknacks, like childhood memories. Like I let like probably like 80% of my stuff go. Really? Yeah. Because I was curious about like what is it like if I'm not tied down by this?

And I'm really free to like, I don't know, like we can get into like the philosophy too behind like, I've kind of had a very set one foot in front of the other planned out for most of my life because I started acting when I was five, I was homeschooled, I got on Modern Family when I was 10, I got off of the show, I mean it ended when I was 21. Pandemic hit immediately afterwards,

like a month later, if that, and I was like, I just had so much time to sit and think about my life and how, you know, it was like a lot of it was kind of like decided for me in a way, and so now like the extreme end of this is like me deciding every single moment because I like got rid of my housing situation and stuff like that. So I'm flying by the seat of my pants a little bit.

I think it's certainly the right time to do that. I mean, I don't know if you want to have a family one day, but that doesn't fly, apparently, when you're like, I'm going to go travel. At least that's what I've been told. It's highly suspicious if you do. Yeah, yeah, yeah. But you did spend a little bit of time where you were just kind of traveling, right?

Yeah, I had, it's been a lot of last year, just like, I lived in a van for a bit. Oh, okay. Yeah, yeah, yeah, just bounced around. I still want to get back to that. Where did you go when you were? I did a lot of backpacking. Okay.

I backpacked in Colorado and Arizona, and I spent some time in New York. I think that's where I saw you when I was in New York. I ran into you in New York, yeah. Well, that was, I literally bumped into you. That was our first time seeing each other. And that was. That was the first time seeing each other

since the show had ended, that's right. Yeah. Which made us cry. I was very emotional. I don't know if you Like I mean like I just said like pandemic hit and also we kind of all like Shot different ways to different parts of the country and every time I like run into somebody that I haven't seen from the cast or crew I get hit with this like new wave of emotions. Yeah, like now your old hat, dude I've seen I've seen like six or seven times like we're good. Yeah, you basically know what's up with my life but when I ran into you on the streets in New dude, I've seen you like six or seven times, like we're good man.

You basically know what's up with my life, but when I ran into you on the streets in New York, I was like, Jesse? It was like a ghost, I wasn't ready to feel like a kid. We took this photo together and we're both welding out with tears, yeah. That's what's so great about having Justin around, cause he's like, let me take a picture of you two right now,

I wouldn't have thought to do that. When you were traveling and you were backpacking, like was there, I mean were you actually camping, were you with a tent, were you by yourself? Yeah, yeah, that's how backpacking works, Jesse. Yeah, yeah, I mean, so you actually, you carried your backpack with your tent today? So you slept outside?

Outside, yeah, okay. No, no, no, yeah, it was, yeah, everything on my back. Did you have any friends with you that would join you for legs or? Yeah, yeah, and that's, I think part of why it kind of slowed down a bit is the community is, I think like, you know, you learn as a child actor kind of what to be and how to behave

and this isn't just about like Modern Family, I think we had an incredible set. You learn as a child actor kind of what to be and how to behave. This isn't just about Modern Family. I think we had an incredible set. If you were going to be a kid growing up in the industry, that was the set to be on. I agree. But you get off and you start to unlearn all these things and start to, hopefully, if you go through this process, learn who you are. I think that was my version of that was like, cool, I'm going to go backpack and spend time outdoors

and see different parts of the world and think about it. And one of the things that I stripped away a lot of stuff for myself, but one of the things I was like, oh, I really love community. I really miss my friends back home. And they kind of always come with me. And I really miss creativity and when you're out there exploring

and just having a good time, you're not flexing the creative part of your brain, which is for me, I think, my purpose in life. Yeah, I do think that you're also recharging in moments like that to want to, that urge to even want to create again, I think is so important. Because sometimes that urge is gone

because you're just like fried. So I think taking time away and traveling and just sort of reconnecting with yourself is really important. I mean, I thought when you said that you were going away, I thought I was like, well, I might not see no one for a few years. And you came back a lot quicker than I thought.

To West Hollywood. We didn't make it far, we made it down the road to West Hollywood. It's like when kids run away. I used to do this when I was a kid. I don't know if you did this ever. I was like, mom, I'm running away, I'm good. And I would go outside, I'd hide in an area

in the backyard, and they fully knew where I was. Or you make it to the park down the street, and you pout for a few hours until it's dinner time. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. And they'd either come get you, or you'd like, I remember one time I snuck back in the house, because I was like, I don't want them to know that I came back from running away.

Yeah, yeah. But I am hungry. It's going to be a big game ahead. And I have to use the bathroom. Yeah. Well, I very much still rely on the Modern Family cast members for food, and so I had to come back to LA.

Yeah, yeah, which is why I'm feeding you right now. Thank you. And I know that even like Julie was like at one point, because you were living in a van and you're like, if you need to plug in for because you need to be one of those fans with like a like a body part of it's got like an art generator. Yeah, yeah, yeah. You can like plug it into like and Julie was like, my driveways always open to you if you need to ever plug in.

Like we all were worried, like, you know, we wanted to be still available to you. But that's so your TV mom to be like, you can plug your van into my driveway. Wherever you go, there's always home here in my driveway. That's right. Yeah, I should have taken her up on the offer. So good. Now for a quick break, but don't go away.

When we come back, I talk to Nolan about the realities of child stardom and his brief tenure of living off the grid. Okay, be right back. I don't know about you, but every year fall rolls around and I struggle to find the right gift for my friends and my family. But luckily Justin Wine makes it super easy. Justin offers curated gift sets, library wines, magnums, and even custom edged bottles which you could add a message or logo to. Just in case you're not an expert on Justin, its world-class Bordeaux-style wines put the Paso Robles region on California's central coast

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Go to linkedin.com slash revenue to claim your credit. That's linkedin.com slash revenue. Terms and conditions apply. LinkedIn, the place to be, to be. And we're back with more dinners on me. You said you started working when you were five. I thought it was younger actually. I thought it was like three. And we're back with more Dinners on Me. You said you started working when you were five. I thought it was younger, actually.

I thought it was like three when you got your first commercial. It's like- Which is bananas. Five and three, they're both like crazy years to start a career. Yeah. I think like I started like child modeling at three. Yeah. And like maybe like doing like light commercial work.

Right. Were you already in LA at that point? Yeah, we, so we started, me and my brother both started acting in Phoenix City, Alabama, which is not a hub for the entertainment industry, despite what it sounds like. Yeah, what's there to participate in? Yeah, like I said, it was like regional modeling for like costume, like children's costumes and like community theater. It was in like a, our community's rendition

of Boxcar Children. What's that? Boxcar Children is like, it's like a kids series of books. I don't know. And I played a dog and I didn't even get to play the dog all to myself, I have to split the dog halfway. At intermention we would like switch off. That's really ridiculous.

I know, I know, from humble beginnings. Yeah, the role of the dog in Act Two will be played by Peter Weitz. Yeah, I wonder where he know. From humble beginnings. Yeah, the role of the dog in Act Two will be played by Peter Weitz. Yeah, I wonder where he is. Where is Peter? Yeah. Hi. How are you guys?

Hey there. Yes, okay. I think I'm going to do the enchilada and the chile reno. Can I do the El Patrino? Help, help, oh boy. Let me reorder that again. I had a chip in my mouth. Can I get the El Patrino?

You got it. I'm going to say. Whatever's recommended. Yep. reorder that again I had a chip in my mouth can I get the El Padrino whatever is recommended yeah what is it what it kind of has everything look man you said dinner was on you okay I gotta make it last And I will be taking that to go. No, thank you. Thank you. Yeah, thank you. So when Modern Family happened, you were living in LA at that point? Uh-huh. Yeah, I had been acting basically full time for a few years.

How long had you been in LA? Before Modern Family? Five years. So I moved out when I was five. But way out to where you were? Way middle of nowhere. Yeah, yeah, so it didn't even really feel like LA, probably. It's the suburbs.

I am a little grateful. I had snippets of a real childhood. Growing up in Alabama, dude, I ran around barefoot. I played with fireworks. I don't know. Doing kid stuff, yeah. Doing kid stuff. And then a little bit of that in Santa Clarita,

that was in the Boy Scouts and stuff. Yeah, you were always showing up to work with broken bones and injuries and bruises. Yeah, I wish I could say things have changed, but the reason I'm wearing pants right now is I'm just covered in bruises and scratches. Yeah, I'm very much still like that. I'm slowing down a little bit because now it hurts.

Now I'm really like, as you said yourself, you're getting old. It's like, I'll never forget Sarah coming in one day and being like, oh my God, I feel so old. I think this was just after Halloween, she was like 24 or 25, and she was like, I'm getting too old for this. I don't know what she was talking about. And I thought to myself, yeah, you are, because I was like, I'm getting too old for this. I don't know what she was talking about.

And I thought to myself, yeah, you are, because I was 16 and I was a jerk. I was like, look at this old person over here. And now I'm- So, Sarah was always old to you. That's amazing. And now I'm 25 and I'm like, oh my God, it's happening. That's incredible.

What a little brat. That's so funny. What did you think of like, I mean, we all just must have seemed so old to you. Yeah. I'm going to go with no. Really? It's just like as a child actor, you just learn to like,

I remember walking to that first table read, surrounded by adults and people who have been in the industry for so long and who have had successes. There's a 100 executives and cast and crew and all this stuff is just like, you learn to do it because you don't really, what's the other option? I think maybe that, I remember calling Ty Mr. Burrell at the first table read and he was like,

that's not gonna fly. That's so cute. Yeah. Who told you that you should, did you think that you just needed to call Mr. Burrell or did your mom say like. Probably my mom, but that's also the way I approach all adults until you realize,

oh weird, yes they're an adult, but also you're now coworkers and peers. And he's playing your father. And he's playing my father. Yeah. Those first table reads for people who have been in this business a while or have experienced them before,

know that after, if those don't go well, sometimes people get fired from those jobs before they even get to be in front of a camera. Did you have any sense of being fearful at a time? Or were you just like, this is cool, I got to be a part of this thing? And no, dude, I was the most self-confident child actor. Yeah, go ahead.

I was like, I got this. No, definitely not. I think on one hand it's like, yeah, my mom was like, okay, let's not get our, like have fun, let's not get our hopes up too high. I remember running around on the final day of the pilot with a disposable camera, asking for pictures with all of the cats.

Oh, that's cute. Because I didn't think it was going to go through. So I think I was just like having a good time, and I was such a, like, I was a bit of a ham as a kid. Yes, you were. And I don't think I really clocked what was happening until I was like 14 or 15. That's when I kind of like became sentient,

and I was like, whoa. Like, wait, this just fundamentally changed the trajectory of your life And you weren't even aware of when it was happening because like I didn't even have enough brought enough scope of right what? That's a career. I had nothing to compare it to I was like, oh man. This is really different Yeah in a good way or bad way or no neither I have a lot that I could could say about being a child actor. Both positive and negative. And I don't always want to put things on blast

because I would not change my childhood. I'm really happy that I got to be part of such an incredible show. I know that a lot of other child actors don't have it as lucky. I probably wouldn't let my kids do it, although no shame to people who do, because I've obviously found a lot of joy and love through it.

It opened up a lot of really incredible doors, and also closed a lot of meaningful ones. The truth is, it's really hard to like go to like regular high school, so I've never been to school a day in my life. Right. That's not true, I did one community college public speaking course.

Okay. But that's it. And this is because you were homeschooled and then. I was homeschooled and then. On set. On set in the years that maybe I would have transitioned into a regular school. And even my college experience,

I got accepted to go to film school and then our show got picked up for two more seasons. I was able to defer two times, luckily. And then we got picked up for our 11th and final season and they were like, you're gonna have to reapply. At that point I was 21 and had a chip on my shoulder. I was like, I'm not gonna reapply to film school. And so just never went.

And so I would say, yes, it closed a lot of doors to the kind of traditional lifestyle. I find it hard to bond with people about the things that everyone went through. What was high school like? What was dating like when you were young? I kind of brushed past all that stuff. But then it opened doors, which is like,

so I got a phone call from Ed O'Neill yesterday. One of the classic, let's catch up phone calls from Ed O'Neill. I love that man. And I was talking to him, I was sharing a memory with him that we were on set once and we were shooting in a hospital, I forget, we were sitting there

and we were cracking each other up and we were talking about some, we were basically talking about my dating life. And I had never like. With Ed O'Neill. With Ed O'Neill. Which is, you know. I love it.

And somebody got like a photo of us, like an on set photographer got this true photo of us, like an on-set photographer got this, a true candid of us just like laughing together. And it was like, so all these doors closed on kind of like a traditional lifestyle, but opened up these really beautiful doors on like this atraditional, like non-linear lifestyle. We're like in weird ways, I'm like,

I'm doing a lot of of the things now, maybe, that people kind of did when they were younger. Like that year I took traveling was kind of like a gap year in a way. And so I don't know, I'm happy with where I'm at now and I'm so glad I got to be a part of the show. I wouldn't change that. Right, right, right.

Yeah. You, I mean, you talked a little bit about schooling and something else that I find so interesting about you is you're a member of Mensa, which is, I first of all, I was like, what does Mensa mean? And I looked it up. Do you not know either? It's very bizarre.

Is it an acronym? It's not, I thought it would be. Mensa, M-E-N-S-A. Is it Greek? They choose the word Mensa as a name because it means table in Latin. Okay, Latin. So they chose table?

It means table. Yeah. Weird, I think. And it's also reminiscent of the Latin words for mind and month, suggesting monthly meetings of great minds around a table. This is how you can tell a bunch of, I'm sorry mince,

this is how you can tell a bunch of smart people got together to come up with a name instead of a bunch of cool people. Yeah, right? It's a weird name. Yeah. But how does one even know they're part of the secret society?

The secret society is far less cool than it sounds. There's a lot of D&D. Let's just say that. I'll love Dimenza. But I would say, so I found out because of homeschooling, basically she had to go get us tested to figure out what grade theoretically we would be at. Are we advanced?

Are we on par? This is you and your brother. Me and my brother, and me and both, me and my brother were very advanced. And I think it's literally you do an official IQ test, and then you test high enough, you're like, you get in. You get to pay the monthly dues. Congratulations.

And like what age were you, do you know about? Uh, I was like four or five. Wow. Yeah. Wow, that's incredible. But it's also like, I kind of regret a little bit telling the world that I was a member of Menzo because it kind of became a quick factoid about me.

I'm sure you feel this way, but when you go on a talk show and stuff, you have to have a thing. Yeah, all of a sudden it's a game on the Ellen Show. Yes, and actually that's how it came out, it was on the Ellen Show, they're like, what's something interesting about it? I was like, I'm a member of Minza.

Still this day people come up to me and they're like, hey, is it true? But I'm like, yeah, yeah, yeah. But also because your character, Luke, was so dim. Yes. That was fun to know that in real life, he's actually. Yeah, OMG Facts tweeted it out a little long. Like once a quarter.

But here's what I'll say. I'm a big believer in that there's all kinds of like intelligence yeah, and men's a and IQ tests and basically every kind of standardized tests Measure one kind of intelligence and so I wouldn't put too much on it because there's really wise some people I know who just could not focus in school and like You know one of my friends basically just got a GED

in his 30s and yet is one of the most creative, most emotionally intelligent people that you can find. So, I don't know, like if you are getting your kids tested and stuff, like hell yeah, it's great if like. But take it with a grain of salt. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, that's smart. You, Rico, and Ariel are all basically the same age-ish,

within a year of each other. We're all born in 1998. Yeah, yeah. So we're all 26 this year. Thank you. Thank you. And I think we've tried. Jesse, do you want to describe to the people

what we're eating, what we're seeing in front of us? Oh, I would love to, Noah. Thank you for asking. Yeah, we're looking at a very traditional, thank you, plate of delicious Mexican food. I have a dollop of sour cream in the corner, some tomato rice, no one has a full on steak. Oh, just go to my Instagram, I like the photos.

Sorry, you have to follow the account to see that. Yeah. You, Ariel, Rico had a very, very, very close relationship. I mean, you all went through your own separate things on set and were really there for one another. I remember early memories of you and Rico specifically when you were really young. You guys were creating movies.

You were writing, decided you were gonna write a, I feel like it's Zombie Apocalypse movie together. And you were basically shooting it in between setups. Yeah, I forgot about that. Oh, I didn't. Well, you're right. I remember there was an episode where me and Rico had zombie makeup on, and we're like, we can use this.

Honestly, we were maniacs. Sometimes I do feel bad for Ariel being stuck between me and Rico. But also, at the same time, she contributed just as much to it. We used to have that, you remember the rubber band gun wars that we'd have on sets? Yes. Nerf gun wars that we'd have on sets when we were done shooting on them. Yeah.

Crowning achievement was getting Bryan Cranston to do it in the height of like... I remember that. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Breaking Bad. Tell that story. Bryan came to direct a few episodes. Bryan has directed a few episodes and one day, I don't know how we did this. We invited him to come play Nerf guns with us and so we have like photos of us just like

armed to the teeth of these things, like next to, you know, Walter White himself. Yeah. You know, he was a guest in the podcast. He told us his side of that story too. Oh, yeah, what'd he say? Yeah, basically the same thing. I think that was like the true mark of being embraced by the cast is that the kids wanted to hang out with him.

Yeah, yeah. Something else I very fondly remember, every year for Christmas, you know, there's always a stress about like what to give the crew for Christmas, what to give other cast members for Christmas. You gave the greatest gift ever. What do you give Sofia Vergara?

What do you give Sofia Vergara? Yeah. What do you give her? Nolan, every year you made these really sweet homemade ornaments that would incorporate a photo, usually like a press photo from Modern Family. A photo of the entire cast and it would like be on a Christmas ornament somehow

and it would sign on a Christmas ornament somehow and it would sign on the back of Nolan. Some of the people that were on for all 11 years have all 11 of them. That's right, I'm one of them. Run around delivering. I don't even think I have all 11 of them. I think I broke them.

But yeah, I still, on Christmas time every year, somebody will send me a photo of all of them on their tray. But it was really sweet when you were like 21. It was like the last year. And I'm like, coming around with, here's your ornaments. Now for a quick break, but don't go away. When we come back, Nolan reveals his many modern family related injuries and why all his friends are shocked

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to receive 20% off your order today. That's JESSI20 for 20% off. And we're back with more Dinners on Me. I was wondering, where, like, your circle of friends now that you're really close with, like, what are, what are, like, what do they bring to you and, like, where did you, first of all, where did you find them? But, like, are they, they're not in the entertainment industry or? Um, no, they're, they're mainly, uh, latchers-ons. Yeah.

Like, I like, I keep a, a series of good looking yes men around me. We roll deep to the clubs. No, none of those things. I met two of my best friends through a mutual friend that is an actor. And I was like, you two, you're mine. I met two or three of my really good friends doing parkour. What? We say that again? Parkour.

What is that? Please don't make me relive it. You heard it. You know it. Parkour. Parkour? Parkour? You don't remember parkour? I was always doing parkour around this set. This is a word. What was this? What was parkour?

Parkour is like the thing that took off in the mid aughts where it was like people jumping off of things. Oh yeah, yeah, yeah. It was an office episode. I think I just saw you jumping around the set. I didn't know there was a name to it. Well, I don't know if you can technically call what I was doing, but I call it different stuff. I was like, parkour stunts.

Yeah, and so I was always running around and I was always getting hurt. And eventually somebody was like, hey, why don't you just go to a safe, padded environment with coaches? And so there's this place in the valley called, oh, thank you, it's called Tempest. And I went there basically between like 13 to 17.

And I met a lot of like friends that way. Is it just like a gym with foam pits and stuff? Yeah, exactly. That's literally where I take back it. It's called Gymboree. Yeah, oh wow. It's basically an adult jungle gym. But you know, a lot of my friends,

I don't know if it's clear to you since I said that I live in a van, but I don't like being super LA. And so most of my friends are people that remind me that I'm more than just that. And it's friends I hang out with and play board games with. Most of my friends didn't know who I was when I met them.

I remember one of my really good friends, Marshall, we hung out three times, and the third time, a couple people asked for a photo with me, and he thought it was like, or they were being weird or something, and then it happened again, and he's like, what is going on? And I was like, oh, I'm on a show,

and then it finally clicked. That must have been really nice and refreshing, actually. Yeah, yeah. Ooh, you wanna bet at this? I am, no. You guys always seem to share food a lot on this show. Oh my gosh. As we're speaking, you just flung a fork at your face. This is how accident prone you know. You guys almost seem to share food a lot on this show. Oh my gosh. As we're speaking, you just flung a fork at your face.

This is how accident prone you are. Yeah, I really am. I almost died the other day because I was riding my brand new bike. And I got myself the cheapest bike that they had at the store because I was like, I know I'm going to wreck this thing. And I'm driving this around West Hollywood.

And somebody recognized me and just honestly had a really sweet reaction. He was like, oh my God. And I was like turning around, I had headphones on, I was like, oh hey. And so like I hit my new brakes and went like fish tail really bad. And the whole interaction was awkward

because he thought he had almost killed me. I was like, no, no, dude. This is an everyday occurrence. I'm regularly like carrying a knife and I drop it on my foot or like, dude, I'm just like, it's a miracle I'm here. I feel like, was it in Australia when we were shooting in Australia that you hurt yourself pretty bad on set?

That was in Hawaii, that was the first season. Hawaii first season. I got hurt a couple times before work. Yeah. So, I didn't tell production about all of them. The first one, the first, like this was probably the worst, was I was, in the episode where we go to Hawaii, I was snorkeling pre-call time, which is just cool.

That's just a cool thing. Like to go snorkeling before work. Yeah, and what a little badass. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I was like, it was my call time in 30 minutes, I'm gonna go for a snorkel. And I cut myself pretty good on some coral, and I ended up getting eight stitches in my knee, and then going to work for a whole day.

And you can tell in the first opening scenes of that episode, I'm pale white because I've just been bleeding and getting stitched up. And then I did it again. I remember we were in Tahoe, and I had a day off. Don't do anything stupid. Like, actually. We do at that point. And I went mountain biking alone. I remember we're in Tahoe and I had a day off and we were like, don't do anything stupid. Like, actually. We do at that point.

Mm-hmm. And I went mountain biking alone. I was not an experienced mountain biker at the time and I flipped my bike like five miles down this trail. Like, I ran out of water, shattered my phone and like gouged my knee because I flipped over the handlebars and then I had to pedal the five miles back. Like I was still like out there.

I got back, I like didn't tell anybody I took care of it, like kind of like tried to hide it under a bandaid and then I went jet skiing. I didn't tell them about that either. Oh my God. It was basically every time we went on vacation with the show, you were just like. Yeah, just enjoying life.

That's incredible. Yeah. Didn't you get into Improv recently? Yeah. Man, this food's really good. Yeah. I want the people at home to remember that. We're eating food.

We are eating food. We're trying to be respectful of our microphones. Mm. My god. I'm definitely coming back for that. It's so good. So, yeah, I got into improv recently. Turns out the industry is really hard.

Have you noticed that, Jesse? Have you heard about this? We got really lucky. People talk about this? Yeah, we got very lucky. And you know, it's hard coming off a show. And I'm just looking for ways to stay kind of creative still and I kind of like happened into it doing improv. I was living with an improver at the time.

So good. I just love that sentence. That's a very, very LA sentence. And he came up with this idea for this show and it's very good, still at UCB in LA, it's called Pinot Noir, you should check it out. I was the first celebrity guest that they murdered live on stage and then you solve the murder.

And it's all improvised, I had a lot of fun doing it. And people were like, hey, if you're into this, do you want to come do this? I was like, okay. And then they're like, you want to come do this? And I just kept saying okay, even though it really does scare me. But I really like challenge and I really like,

once I think of, here's my thing. The problem is once you float an idea by me, I'm going to be disappointed in myself if I don't do it. So I didn't enjoy mountain climbing, but once you're like, hey dude, like, Mount Whitney in two months, you in, I'm like, well now I am. You could've just let me at home,

but now I'm going to be annoyed if you're doing it, and I'm not. You know, I know that you mentioned, which was so hard, after The Modern Family ended, you know, we all were in lockdown. We kind of had to, you know, no one had any opportunity. But like, what has that transition been like for you coming off of the show? I mean, it sounds like you're

finding things like improv and, you know, finding things that make you happy and finding creativity in other places, whether it be spending time in nature or, you know, what was it called when you climb on things? Parkour. Parkour. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Not that anymore. But, yeah, you know, I don't, there's a little bit of a feeling of like,

I don't know if you can relate to this at all, which is like, everyone claps you out the door. And then when you turn around to open the door you just came through, they're like, it's closed. You know, it's like, I'm super grateful for the 11 years we had on our show. But in ways that like, I get a lot of like, oh, well you're Luke from Modern Family. Where like, you know, we don't see you being this thing.

I'm like, okay, well I'm, you know, I'm an actor. I've been working my whole life to do many different things. And so it can feel constraining at times. And so, right, there's like, I, it depends on what day you ask me. On some days I'm super motivated and trying to forge new paths for myself. And then there's some days where I'm like,

what am I still doing here? Like, I'm feeling a little defeated by it. And I think ultimately this is what the job of actors is. I think it's a better, is it more realistic representation than what we got to experience? Yes, for sure. For sure.

Truth is, I've been doing this since I was five. Never known anything else. It's given me a lot. It's also taken a lot of things. And what does it look like if I stay in LA and I'm super diligent and I try really hard and I'm 20 years go by and I haven't found another thing? Like, is it still worth it to me?

Or do I want to be like, all right, cool, I'm a wise and old 25 year old, it's time to get out there and explore the last little bits of youth I have. It's so funny, because you said, and actually this is true because it was my research and if it's my research It's true. Yep, but you actually I don't not even get it It was a Wall Street Journal and you were 14 and you said acting is a fickle business or being an actor is a fickle What is what famous pickles what you said?

is what? Famous fickle is what you said. Oh my God, so pretentious. But, but, but. And you did also say, yeah, you haven't changed a single bit. You also said in that same moment, again, you were 14, that you wanted to have a backup plan.

And I do think that's like a very interesting, very wise thing to say, very intuitive thing to say as a 14 year old. But it is true, I mean, it is fickle and it is great to have other passions. I mean like, I love cooking, like I always say, if I had the opportunity I would go to culinary school and I would love to forge a career in that world.

Oh, we do have to talk about this for a little while, because as I was writing my cookbook, you were part of the cast of Worst Cooks in America Celebrity Edition. Yeah, yeah, with Amber L. Yeah. Mm-hmm. Yeah. Mm-hmm. With Anne Burrell. Yep.

Oh, I just ate a spicy pepper. Ow! The first challenge was identifying spicy food and you failed. Ooh! Are we gonna turn this into hot ones? Will you eat it? Yeah, let's do it.

Yeah. Okay, cool. Here, give me the other one. We can do a little cheers. Here, you have this one. Okay, cool. Cheers. Cheers. It's got a little kick. I, you have this one. Okay, cool. Cheers. Cheers.

It's got a little kick, I just wasn't ready. Oh, yep. Mm, not spicy. Yeah, the water might make it worse, just so you know. But, um. I don't want any of my baby juice. Yes, I'm so glad that we did this, especially in an audio format. Justin always says, what would you ever do hot ones?

I was like, I don't think I should. Okay. Yeah, yeah, compose yourself. So we're ones? I was like, I don't think I should. Okay. Yeah, yeah, compose yourself. So we're talking about, yeah, one of the worst cooks in America. Yeah. Mm-hmm. Yeah.

I'm not much better at cooking. You haven't gotten any better. But what would you, if you could do something else, do you feel like there's? You know, I listened to that kid, that sweet little boy who said, famous fickle, I'm wanting backup plans. It's like, you don't know shit.

Am I allowed to curse in this show? All right, cool, I didn't. In fact, say you don't know fucking shit. You don't know fucking shit. That's right. What would my backup plan be? I would do something I think outdoors. I would do like.

Like a park ranger? Yeah, not like a park ranger, but like trail crew. Have you ever come across a deep trail crew? They're like, you know, people that are out there. Like cleaning the trail? Like building it, maintaining it. They're like 70 miles into like the wilderness. They haven't seen other faces in like three days.

You know, it's so interesting when I do those long trails, I did one not too long ago when we were on vacation and I did have that thought, cause it was like, it got to a point where there were some stairs being built. It was like, how the hell did they bring these stairs up here? People do that. Trail crew. And they go out for months at a time,

and it's hard work. Or maybe it's like something like with animals, like I could be like, there's a weird version of me that is like, measuring the populations of lemmings in like Alaska or something like that. I don't even know if that's where lemmings are from. Wait. But it was just like picking up like- Measuring the population of lemons in Alaska. Lemmings in like Alaska or something like that. I don't even know if that's where lemmings are from.

But it was just like picking up like- The population of lemmings in Alaska. Lemmings? Like they're little hamsters? Lemmings, like they're some lemmings. No, no, no. No, no, no. What are those, you know those little like-

Lemmings, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, who's just like dealing with like some rare like counting birds somewhere, you know? I could be down for that. When was the last time you saw Rico or Ariel? Last time I saw Rico was actually that reunion. Same. He spent his time between Texas and LA. We send each other memes basically every day.

Oh, cute. We game sometimes as well. Ariel I've seen, also how do you pronounce her name? I realize that I pronounce it wrong. I say it wrong. She never corrects it. She never corrects us and she's like, oh you can say Ariel or Ariel. I was like wrong. I say it wrong. And she never corrects me. She never corrects us. And she's like, oh, you can say Ariel or Ariel.

And I was like, no, it's your name. You need to tell us how to say it. She's like, well, my family calls me Ariel. Ariel. But she's chanceless to both. So this is our plea to Ariel to make a statement about how you want your name pronounced. It's time 26 years in for you to decide what your name is.

You're like literally one of her best friends. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Like she calls you her brother. I see her every time she comes to town. I go out to visit her where she lives about like once a year. I'm due for a trip. And we FaceTime all the time. She's still a person that like, yeah, I lean on heavily.

So yeah, yeah. I heard she brought you dishes. She brought me dishes? Yeah, I lean on heavily. So yeah. Yeah. I heard she brought you dishes. She brought me dishes? Yeah, like plates you didn't have any. Oh yeah. Here's the thing about me is I don't care how I live. It drives other people nuts.

Like they hate it. I don't know if they think it's personal or upfront. I currently am living in a sublet in WeHo, and I eat and do my work off of a folding table with two mismatched chairs, one of which is a gamer chair. And people walk in there like, come, let me buy you a table. Oh no, Liv.

Arielle is very much the same way, which is like, when I was 17, I was like living in this house. She came through and she was like, you don't have dishes. You're drinking out of the faucet. We need to like. Oh no, I agree with Ariel on this one. It's just good living though.

You sent me some video of you at home and you were riding a go-kart around your house. Oh yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah. That's why I can't. Just wanted to say you didn't have a lot of furniture because you had space. I didn't have any space. I just wanted to say, you didn't have a lot of furniture because you had space. I had so little furniture,

so I could whip around. It was a miniature Tesla. What a little maniac, man. I had fun. I had fun. I still have the S-Hut, man. I just love you. Oh, I love you, too, man.

I miss you. Thanks for doing this. Yeah, of course. Thank you for having me. I'm proud of you. I like this for you. Thank you. This is a good look for you.

Thanks for you. Thank you! This is a good look for you. Thanks for listening. This episode of Dinners on Me was recorded at El Compadre in Los Angeles. Next week on Dinners on Me, you know her from films like American Beauty and American Pie, it's Mina Suvari. We'll get into how being a quote unquote sex symbol at a young age shaped her, what led her to write her revealing memoir, and how motherhood has changed her life. And if you don't want to wait until next week to listen, you can download that episode right now by subscribing to Dinners on Me Plus. As a subscriber, not only do you get access to new episodes one week early, you'll also

be able to listen completely ad-free. Just click Try Free at the top of the Dinners On Me show page on Apple Podcasts to start your free trial today. Dinners On Me is a production of Sony Music Entertainment and a kid named Beckett Productions. It's hosted by me, Jesse Tyler Ferguson. It's executive produced by me and Jonathan Hirsch. Our showrunner is Joanna Clay.

Our associate producer is Angela Vang. Sam Baer engineered this episode. Hans-Dyl She composed our theme music. Our head of production is Sammy Allison. Special thanks to Tamika Balanz-Kalasny and Justin Makita. I'm Jesse Tyler Ferguson. Join me next week.