Judy Greer on why she turned down the audition for ‘Modern Family’

Judy Greer revealed on a recent episode of the “Dinner’s on Me” podcast that she passed on an audition for the role of Claire Dunphy on “Modern Family.”

Greer told “Dinner’s on Me” host Jesse Tyler Ferguson, who played Claire’s brother Mitchell Pritchett on the hit ABC sitcom, that she was asked to audition for the Dunphy family matriarch. The role ultimately went to Julie Bowen, who portrayed the character for the show’s eleven seasons and won two Primetime Emmys for her performance.

Greer noted that it was at this point in her career that she began playing characters with children. “In a movie, people kind of see it and then forget about it,” she said. “On a TV show, it’s just like being a mother. This is it.”

Greer added that she “didn’t even want kids” in real life at the time and that it “wasn’t even on the table for me.”

She continued, “I thought, ‘I guess I’m not going to audition for this.’ I was really torn, but in the end it obviously wasn’t the case. Who knows if I would have even gotten it? I just thought, ‘I don’t know if I want to be America’s mother yet.'”

Greer, who was in her 30s when she was invited to audition, explained that the role “felt so limiting compared to what I was already doing.” She added: “And besides the perception of who you are as an actor, it’s also the lifestyle.” I thought, ‘Well, I really like traveling, I like doing all these films, I like traveling to all these places and I like meeting all these people.’”

Although she turned down an audition for a lead role on Modern Family, Greer appeared in a guest role in the show’s first season as Denise, Phil Dunphy’s (Ty Burrell) ex-girlfriend. She also played the role of Bree Marie Jensen in “Reboot,” the short-lived Hulu series from “Modern Family” co-creator Steven Levitan.

Listen to the full “Dinner’s on Me” podcast episode with Greer below.