Backstage with Richard Ridge: Jesse Tyler Ferguson Reveals Which Big Broadway Show He Turned Down!

Many Broadway fans came to know stage and screen star Jesse Tyler Ferguson for his iconic portrayal of Leaf Coneybear in The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee. But in an alternate universe, a very different Broadway show might have been his big break. Below, Ferguson tells Richard Ridge all about that big decision that he had to make in 2005, and discusses his many other roles that have built his career. Watch the full interview below!

Ferguson is currently starring in Log Cabin, an ensemble driven comedy on Broadway with the Playwrights Horizons company. This fall, he begins filming the tenth season of ABC's hit comedy, Modern Family, on which he plays Mitchell Pritchett.

The theatre has always been Ferguson's first love. Last year he won the Drama Desk Award for "Best Solo Performance" for his 40-character turn in the Broadway production of Fully Committed. He made his Broadway debut at the age of 21 as Chip in George C. Wolfe's revival of On The Town. He later went on to originate the role of Leaf Coneybear in the Tony Award-winning Broadway musical The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee (Drama Desk Award, "Outstanding Ensemble Performance"). He has worked extensively with The New York Public Theatre's Shakespeare in the Park in such notable productions as The Merchant of Venice, The Tempest, The Winter's Tale, A Midsummer Night's Dreamand The Comedy of Errors where he performed alongside Al Pacino, Sam Waterston, Jesse L. Martin, Martha Plimpton, Hamish Linklater and Lily Rabe. Other theatre credits include world premieres of Christopher Shinn's Where Do We Liv