Jesse Tyler Ferguson Reflects On Baseball, Broadway, ‘Take Me Out’ And The Photos That Marked A Most Unusual Season – Deadline Tony Watch Q&A

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Jesse Tyler Ferguson had already endeared himself to countless fans through his 11-season run on the hit ABC sitcom Modern Family, but he no doubt added to the tally with both his Tony-nominated turn in Broadway’s Take Me Out and his forceful denunciation of the video-taking scofflaws who posted surreptitiously filmed footage of the play’s nude scenes featuring Ferguson’s co-stars Jesse Williams and Michael Oberholtzer.The leak on social media arrived on a day that should have been about celebration: Ferguson, Williams and Oberholtzer had just been nominated for Tony Awards for their performances, and Take Me Out, a Second Stage Theater production of Richard Greenberg’s 2003 Broadway hit, was nominated for Best Revival of a Play.“I’m appalled by the disrespect shown to the actors of our company whose vulnerability on stage ever night is crucial to ‘Take Me Out,’” Ferguson wrote on Twitter May 10. “Anyone who applauds or trivializes this behavior has no place in the theater which has always been a safe space for artists & audience members.”Now, several weeks later, Ferguson has had time to reflect on the incident, his Tony nomination, and this very special Broadway season.

Ferguson portrays Mason Marzac, an accountant to the star baseball pitcher (played by Williams) who has just come out as gay.

Ferguson’s character, also gay, develops both a friendship with the star player and, throughout the course of the play, a profound appreciation for the game and its history.

Deadline spoke to Ferguson about all that and more.This interview has been edited and condensed for length and clarity.Take Me Out, starring starring Patrick J.