Eric Stonestreet’s ‘Modern Family’ Revelation: ‘They Passed On Me Twice’

Eric Stonestreet took home the Supporting Actor Emmy for his role as the lovable Cameron on “Modern Family,” but according to the star, he almost wasn’t cast in the part.

“They passed on me twice,” he revealed to Access Hollywood’s Billy Bush during NBC’s pre-Emmy red carpet show on Sunday.

The actor, who brought his mom Jamie and his girlfriend, Katherine Tokarz, as his dates, added that the show creators were actually thinking about an actor with a different body type for Cameron.

“It’s not that they wouldn’t see me in the beginning, it’s just that they weren’t thinking of my physical type for Cameron, ” he said. “Once they decided that I was a possibility for the role, [I] went in there, did my thing and you know, it’s just unbelievable. A lot has happened Billy, within a year. Unbelievable!”

The actor said that after years of acting gigs here and there in Hollywood, all the acclaim that has come with playing Cam has been tremendously heartwarming.

“It doesn’t seem real a lot of times,” Eric said. “I think of myself as a guy whose been out there auditioning for a long time and doing commercials and guest stars on shows and I’m just happy to have a job.

“I really feel like I represent the actor that’s out there struggling and doing their best every day, because people don’t realize we audition for far more things that anyone ever sees us on,” he continued. “What jobs we get is a small representative of how often we’re out there, so to have a job and have it be this job, and be nominated for an Emmy is more than I can handle.”

As for his Emmy win — his first nomination and win of his career — one which appeared to make his co-star and fellow nominee Jesse Tyler Ferguson misty eyed, Eric admitted that the way things have turned out, his career has been even better than he dreamed as a child.

“All I wanted to be was a clown in the circus when I was a kid growing up, from the age that I can remember and to be in this industry and working with such incredible people…,” Eric said. “A lot of people say, ‘Don’t pursue this as a career because it’s difficult,’ but I’m most proud of the people that I’ve met in this business… I get to act with Ed O’Neill every day, I get to work with Ty Burrell and Jesse Tyler Ferguson and Julie Bowen.”