Photo: Dia Dipasupil/WireImage
Jesse Tyler Fergusonis getting candid about having to strip down during his early years in theater.
While discussing his role in theTony-winning Broadway revival of Richard Greenberg’sTake Me Out— which closed on Feb. 5 and featured several nude scenes — theModern Familyalum, 47, recountedhis own past experience having to act while nude on stage.
“When I was 21 or 22, I did a production ofThe Most Fabulous Story Ever Told, which is a Paul Rudnick play,” Ferguson toldTheNew York Timesin an “exit interview” published Monday. “It was terrifying, and the internet wasn’t what it is now and social media didn’t exist.”
While Ferguson didn’t have to take his clothes off forTake Me Out, several of his costars (includingGrey’s AnatomyalumJesse Williams) did. The nudity, and illegally snapped photos of it that were leaked online, prompted the theater to require audience members to lock their phones away during the duration of the play.
“I really look up to these guys who are doing this,” he added. “It takes a lot of bravery. There’s three actors in this show who don’t have to get naked and we’re all looking at one another like, ‘Oh, we can have carbs!’ "
Jesse Williams and Jesse Tyler Ferguson inTake Me Out.John Lamparski/Getty
The revival ofTake Me Outfirst opened on Broadway in April 2022, before wrapping its initial run at the Hayes Theatre that June. It went on to win the coveted best revival of a play trophy at the 2022 Tonys, prompting a return to boards — this time at the Schoenfeld Theatre — on Nov. 11, 2022.
Ferguson told PEOPLE back then that he was thrilled to be returning to Broadway for another limited run in the play, which follows a fictional baseball star (Williams) who faces a slew of prejudices after coming out as gay.
“It’sgreat to do another run of this playwithout any worry about critics and reviews,” he said at the time. “We’ve been reviewed and people have loved the show, and we don’t have to worry about will we be nominated for things. We’ve already won a Tony for best revival.”
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“So to stand in front of this community I admire and love so much just means so much to me,” Ferguson said. “I cannot believe I get to do this for a living.”
Before the show closed its run on Sunday, some of Ferguson’s formerModern Familycostars showed up to support him includingJulie Bowen, who took in a performance during a trip to the Big Apple at the end of January.
“Best night at the theater ever!” she wrote on Instagram, sharing a photo of the two at the theater after his performance (as well as a picture she snapped outside with the show’s art). “@jessetyler is PHENOMENAL inTake Me Out. The whole cast was perfection.”
“I’m so proud to call you my fake brother, Jesse!” added Bowen, of her on-screen sibling. “I love you!!”
He wrote, “My soul and heart needed this reunion with @itsjuliebowen. Thank you for coming to @takemeoutbway! I ❤️you Julie.”
source: people.com
