One of Modern Family’s youngest cast members has revealed the tough reality of growing up on a film set.
Nolan Gould, who was just 10 when he first brought goofy Luke Dunphy to life on the hit American sitcom, opened up about never going to school and how it has affected his later life.
WATCH THE VIDEO ABOVE: Best Luke Dunphy moments from Modern Family.
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The 25-year-old spoke with Jesse Tyler Ferguson, who played Mitchell Pritchett, on his on-screen uncle’s podcast Dinner’s on Me.
“I would not change my childhood, like, I’m really happy,” Gould said.
“I got to be part of such an incredible show. I know that like a lot of other child actors don’t have it as lucky.”
However, Gould said that he had “never been to school a day in my life,” before correcting that he had attended one public speaking course at a community college.
Despite his character being goofy, in real life the actor was considered brilliant, with an IQ of 150. He recalled his plans to complete film school, when he was accepted into the course before Modern Family was picked up for a final two seasons.
But by the time the show came to an end in 2020, Gould had to reapply for the course.
“At that point, I was like, 21, and had a chip on my shoulder,” he admitted.
“I was like, I’m not going to reapply to film school and so just like never went … 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 like, ‘What was high school like?’”
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Asked what dating was like when he was younger, Gound responded: “I kind of brush past all that stuff. But then it opened doors.”
He goes on to recall a recent phone call with fellow Modern Family alumni Ed O’Neill, who played Jay Pritchett.
“So I got a phone call from Ed O’Neill yesterday — one of the classic ‘let’s catch up’ phone calls — and I was talking, I was like sharing a memory with him that, we were on set once and we were shooting in a hospital. I forget,” Gould said.
“We were sitting there, and we were cracking each other up.
“So all these doors closed on kind of a traditional lifestyle, but opened up these really beautiful doors on a traditional, nonlinear lifestyle,” he added.
“I’m doing a lot of the things now, maybe that people kind of did when they were young.
“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,” he said.
“I wouldn’t change that.”
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Asked if he would let his own children have a similar experience, Gould’s answer was surprising.
“I probably wouldn’t let my kids do it,” he admitted.
“Although no shame to people who do, right, because I’ve obviously found a lot of joy and love through it, and it opened up a lot of really incredible doors, and also closed a lot of meaningful ones.”
The hit series ran for more than 250 episodes over 11 years.