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Rise to Fame
His TV breakthrough was Modern Family in 2009, but he'd been a theater kid since age 8 at Albuquerque Children's Theater and worked his way through AMDA and Broadway. He originated Leaf Coneybear in The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee when it opened on Broadway in 2005, and Modern Family found him four years later. He'd auditioned for Cam but lobbied for Mitchell, the gay lawyer on ABC. The 11-season run earned him five consecutive Emmy nominations and not a single win.
In the Spotlight
Five Emmy nominations from Modern Family, no wins. The show collected trophies; he collected a platform. Since the show ended in 2020, he's gone back to theater: a London debut in Sondheim's final musical Here We Are at the National Theatre, then Shakespeare in the Park, then a 99-person immersive revival of Tru, the 1989 Truman Capote play, in an Upper East Side mansion in early 2026. Sitcom graduates don't usually work this hard on the other side.
Side Notes
His dog is named Leaf, after the Spelling Bee character he played on Broadway. He co-founded Tie The Knot in 2012 with his husband Justin Mikita, a bow tie brand that directed proceeds toward marriage equality advocacy. Playwright Tony Kushner officiated their 2013 wedding.