“Modern Family” still draws a sizable audience and is a shoo-in to return next season, but, after six seasons, its ensemble cast has to be thinking about life beyond the ABC sitcom.
In fact, on Friday one of its stars, Sofía Vergara, hits the big screen in “Hot Pursuit,” opposite Reese Witherspoon — arguably the most high-profile role to date for a member of the cast.
Like another wildly successful long-running comedy, “Friends,” the “Modern Family” cast were relative unknowns (other than Ed O’Neill, who was a big star from “Married With Children”) when the show premiered in 2009. But as those former “Friends” can tell you, megasuccess on an ensemble sitcom doesn’t necessarily translate to star power in the long term.
So when it comes to “Modern Family,” who will achieve Jennifer Aniston’s A-list status — and who will slip from the zeitgeist a la David Schwimmer? We looked at the value of each adult “Modern Family” star and predicted who will come out on top. Take a look:
5. Jesse Tyler Ferguson
Ferguson, 39, has received five Emmy nominations for his role as lawyer Mitchell Pritchett, but has never won. Though he is the youngest of the adult cast, his credits since “Modern Family” have been mostly in theater (including two productions of the Public Theater’s Shakespeare in the Park). He garners the most headlines for his philanthropy work, starting the Tie the Knot charity — which sells bow ties to benefit marriage equality — with his husband in 2012.
4. Eric Stonestreet
Since joining the cast as the flamboyant Cameron Tucker, Stonestreet, 43, has had small roles in films such as “Bad Teacher,” “Identity Thief” and “The Loft.” Though he’s won two acting Emmys for “Modern Family,” he’s expressed interest in pursuing producing.
“When my great days on the show end, I’d like to have the opportunity to continue to create and produce and get a show on the air one day that is hopefully as good as ‘Modern Family,’ ” Stonestreet told Deadline. He sold a comedy pitch about a Kansas truck stop to ABC last year, though it wasn’t ordered to pilot.
3. Ty Burrell
Like Stonesreet, Burrell, 47, has won two Emmys for his work on “Modern Family” as nice-guy real estate agent Phil Dunphy. Outside of the ABC sitcom, Burrell has found work as a prolific voice actor in TV (“Doc McStuffins,” “The Penguins of Madagascar”), film (“Mr. Peabody & Sherman,” the upcoming “Finding Dory”) and commercials (Minute Maid, Verizon FiOS). He even nabbed a major live-action movie role in 2014’s “Muppets Most Wanted” opposite Ricky Gervais and Tina Fey.
2. Julie Bowen
Bowen, 45, had the most extensive pre-“Modern Family” resume of the cast (besides patriarch Ed O’Neill) with roles in “Ed,” “Boston Legal,” “Lost” and the movie “Happy Gilmore.” Her film résumé since is limited to smaller roles in “Jumping the Broom” and “Horrible Bosses,” but with two Emmys for playing uptight mom Claire Dunphy, we wouldn’t be surprised to see this gifted comic actress graduate to top-lining her own TV series post-“Modern Family.”
1. Sofía Vergara
With her burgeoning film career and tabloid-friendly romance with Joe Manganiello, 42-year-old Vergara seems most likely to follow in Aniston’s footsteps to megastar status. She has already established herself as one of the biggest earners in Hollywood, topping Forbes’ list of the highest-paid US TV actresses for three years in a row, with her 2014 earnings estimated at $37 million.
That payday is thanks in part to the Colombian-born actress’ many endorsement deals, including Diet Pepsi, CoverGirl, Head & Shoulders and AT&T — as well as her own Kmart clothing line — as marketers increasingly seek to court a Hispanic audience.
Before “Hot Pursuit,” she co-starred in the well-received 2014 indie “Chef” (which pulled in $31 million at the domestic box office) and hosted “Saturday Night Live” in 2012. She’s also engaged to “Magic Mike” hunk Manganiello, which keeps her a fixture in the tabloids (along with her ex Nick Loeb’s battle for their frozen embryos).