From the Winner's Circle: TAKE ME OUT Star Jesse Tyler Ferguson Talks LGBTQ+ Visibility and More!

Jesse Tyler Ferguson has won the 2022 Tony Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Play for Take Me Out.

In his visit to the press room, Jesse expounded on his excitement at having not only achieved his dream of winning a Tony Award, but having done so for a role that is so closely tied to his mission of advocating for LGBTQ+ rights and visibility.

"It means a lot to me. I saw this play as a young gay man 20 years ago. It means so much to me to know that there's a whole new group of kids that are a part of that community seeing Mason Marzac and falling in love with him. It's really profound."

Jesse also acknowledged the pioneering efforts of his predecessor, the great Denis O' Hare, who took home the Best Featured Actor in a Play award for his portrayal of the character in the original 2003 production of Take Me Out.

"Denis O'Hare's performance still sticks with me to this day. I had to work really hard against that performance. I'm so thrilled to have stepped into those very big shoes and I guess I did an okay job [laughs]."

Jesse most recently starred as "Mitchell Pritchett" on the Award-winning ABC comedy "Modern Family." The show ran 11 seasons and has earned five Emmy Awards® for Outstanding Comedy Series, a Golden Globe Award® for Outstanding Comedy Series and four Screen Actors Guild Awards for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series. Ferguson has also received five Emmy Award® nominations for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series and three People's Choice Award nominations for "Favorite Comedic TV Actor" on behalf of "Modern Family."

A longstanding advocate for marriage equality, Ferguson co-founded Tie The Knot in 2012 with his husband, where they design limited edition bow ties with all the proceeds going to various organizations that fight for LGBTQ equality around the world.

In 2017, 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 Second Stage's 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 Dream and 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 Live and Michael John LaChiusa's Little Fish (Second Stage) as well as "Sir Robin" in Spamalot, "Leo Bloom" in The Producers, both at The Hollywood Bowl, and most recently "Log Cabin" with the Playwrights Horizons company, directed by Tony Award® and Obie Award-winner Pam MacKinnon.

In this Tony Award-winning Best Play, playwright Richard Greenberg celebrates the personal and professional intricacies of America's favorite pastime. When Darren Lemming (Jesse Williams), the star center fielder for the Empires, comes out of the closet, the reception off the field reveals a barrage of long-held unspoken prejudices. Facing some hostile teammates and fraught friendships, Darren is forced to contend with the challenges of being a gay person of color within the confines of a classic American institution. As the Empires struggle to rally toward a championship season, the players and their fans begin to question tradition, their loyalties, and the price of victory.