Eric Stonestreet talks about The Emmys

I’m here at the Beverly Hilton for day six of the TV Critics Summer Press Tour and some of the cast of Modern Family just had a coffee break with we reporters.

I beelined over to Eric Stonestreet, one-half of the show’s gay couple, to talk to him about the Emmys at the end of the month where he competes against co-stars Jesse Tyler Ferguson and Ty Burrell in the supporting actor in a comedy category.

“I want to meet people,” he said of Emmy night. “I want to meet Kathy Bates, she’s one of my favorite actresses. I’m taking my mom and my girlfriend. I’m just excited for that stuff.”

Does he plan to prepare a speech in case he wins?

“People have said that I have to do that even though that seems kind of putting the cart before the horses,” he said. “But, I guess I’ll have something planned if that happens. I don’t know what I’d say.”

I wondered if he ever stood in front of a mirror with a bowling trophy or something and acted like he was accepting an Emmy or an Oscar.

His admitted that while he had never stood in front of a mirror, he had a lot of confidence in his abilities and had thought about the possibility of one day winning an award.

He said he and Burrell joke that they will act very disappointed on camera if one of their Modern Family co-stars wins and they do not.

But it is clear that all are very happy for each other.

In all, Modern Family earned 14 Emmy nominations for its freshman season. In addition to outstanding comedy and nods for Stonestreet, Ferguson and Burrell, Sofia Vergara and Julie Bowen are nominated for supporting actress.