After the process of filming eleven different seasons, a giant TV cast such as Modern Family's can truly start to feel like a family for everyone involved from the creators to the caterers. But mostly for the on-screen stars who actually portray the clans that viewers tune in to watch. That obviously happened for certain sectors of Modern Family's mega-ensemble, especially for Ariel Winter, who revealed one of her biggest takeaways from the show. (As well as what she didn't take from the show.)
In an interview, the Modern Family cast discussed coming to a close on ABC after eleven seasons, and Ariel Winter shared that one of the biggest life gains that she's gotten from the show is her relationship with co-star Nolan Gould, who plays her younger brother Luke. Here's how she put it to the Associated Press:
[Nolan is] one of my best friends. He really is the little brother that I never had and that I love so much.
You gotta love that kind of affection between sitcom youths, since it's generally only when actors are young that they can become super-close BFFs in such a way. It would be amusing if Ed O'Neill and Reid Ewing had become inseparable best friends, but obviously not as likely.
Ariel Winter has spoken up in the past about how awful it was to basically grow up on TV and go through puberty and other things in a position where millions of people watch you on a weekly basis, and while those millions of people also have the freedom to speak openly about it on different online platforms. There are lots of reasons why that scenario would be less than comforting, so it's a great thing (in a sense) that Winter had a co-star in Nolan Gould to connect with and befriend through all those darker days. The "Remember When..." conversations are going to be interesting, to say the least.
Speaking of memories, some of the Modern Family cast talked about what they wanted to take away from the show as keepsakes. Ariel Winter's TV mom, Julie Bowen, had a very specific request, in that she wanted to take home some of the bird paintings that lined an unseen portion of the Dunphy's house wall, sprinkled in with framed cast photos. Bowen felt like they were as much a part of the set's feelings of home as anything else.
On the flip side, Ariel Winter apparently didn't want to take anything away from the Modern Family set. Here's how she put it:
I know it sounds weird, but for me, nothing stuck out as something I needed [as a memento]. It’s ingrained in my mind. ... I have the memories, and I’m good with that.
I imagine both Ariel and Alex would have this reaction when asked if they wanted to take the Dunphy coatrack home as a souvenir. Hopefully someone got Stella's stuff before she died.
Modern Family's Season 11 finale, which will serve as its series-ender, will air on ABC on Wednesday, April 8, at 9:00 p.m. ET.
