Early life

Burrell was born in Grants Pass, Oregon, the son of Sheri Rose (née Hauck), a teacher, and Gary Gerald Burrell (1940-1989), a family therapist. He is of mostly English and German descent, and confirmed on the series Finding Your Roots that his great-great-great-great-grandmother was an African-American slave. Burrell grew up in the small southern Oregon town of Applegate, near the California border.

He attended Hidden Valley High School in Grants Pass, where he played football and was a lineman for the Hidden Valley Mustangs. After graduating, he enrolled at Southern Oregon University in Ashland, and graduated with a bachelor's degree in theatre arts in 1993; he was the school's commencement speaker in 2008. While in college he worked as a bartender at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival.

During this time, Burrell attended the University of Oregon and became a member of the Sigma Chi Fraternity. He continued his education at Penn State University, where he earned an MFA and was a member of the Theatre 100 Company along with Keegan-Michael Key. In 1999, Burrell worked as a festival actor at the Utah Shakespeare Festival. Burrell has also stated that for a period of time in graduate school, he lived out of his van to save money.

Career

Burrell's first credited film roles were 2001's Evolution and Black Hawk Down. He subsequently appeared in the 2004 remake of Dawn of the Dead, and in several stage roles (like 2000's Broadway production of Macbeth, and the off-Broadway plays Corners, The Blue Demon, Burn This, and Show People). He was a co-writer and actor in the original production of the offbeat comedy The Red Herring O' Happiness directed by Russell Dyball. Burrell's stage work also includes writing and working in the off-Broadway play Babble with his brother, Duncan. He has also made an appearance as a New Jersey Prosecutor in Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.

After that, he was cast as Oliver Barnes, a shallow but well-meaning plastic surgeon, on the CBS sitcom Out of Practice (2005-06), also created by screenwriter Christopher Lloyd. The show was canceled in May 2006, with eight episodes remaining unaired in the United States. After the show's cancellation, he played Allan Arbus in the film Fur: An Imaginary Portrait of Diane Arbus.

In the Marvel film adaptation of the comic The Incredible Hulk, he played Leonard Samson without any superpowers who had a short relationship with Betty Ross. In 2007, he had a small role in the film National Treasure: Book of Secrets as the curator of the White House followed by a starring role in the sitcom Back to You on Fox later that same year. On the show, created by Steven Levitan and Christopher Lloyd, Burrell played a field reporter (alongside Kelsey Grammer and Patricia Heaton). The show was canceled in 2008. His current role is as real estate agent Phil Dunphy in the acclaimed ABC situation comedy Modern Family. For his performance, he has received five Emmy Award nominations for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series (2010-2013), winning the award twice in 2011 and 2014. He also received nominations for the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Comedy Series for his role, sharing the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series with his co-stars. He was the recipient of the individual SAG award in 2014, defeating Alec Baldwin, who had previously won the award seven years in a row.

Personal life

Burrell and his wife Holly married in 2000. They resided in New York City until moving to Salt Lake City in 2008. They still own a two-bedroom apartment in the Astoria, Queens neighborhood that they rent out. The couple have since relocated to Southern California for Burrell's work on Modern Family. On March 18, 2010, it was announced that Burrell and his wife had adopted a baby. Two years later they adopted a second child.

Burrell is a self-described lifelong Los Angeles Rams fan.

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role
2001	Evolution	Flemming
	Black Hawk Down	Timothy A. Wilkinson
2004	Dawn of the Dead	Steve
	In Good Company	Enrique Colon
2005	Down in the Valley	Sheriff/Cowboy
2006	Friends with Money	Other Aaron
	The Darwin Awards	Emile
	Fur	Allan Arbus
2007	National Treasure 2: Book of Secrets	Connor
2008	The Incredible Hulk	Doc Samson
2009	Leaves of Grass	Professor Sorenson
2010	Fair Game	Fred
	Morning Glory	Paul McVee
2011	Butter	Bob Pickler
2012	Goats	Frank Whitman
2014	The Skeleton Twins	Rich Levitt
	Mr. Peabody & Sherman	Mr. Peabody (voice)
	Muppets Most Wanted	Jean Pierre Napoleon
2016	Finding Dory	Bailey the Beluga (voice)

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2000	Law & Order	Paul Donatelli	Episode: "Turnstile Justice"
2001	The West Wing	Tom Starks	Episode: "The Women of Qumar"
2002	Law & Order: Special Victims Unit	Alan Messinger	Episode: "Execution"
2003	Law & Order	Herman Capshaw	Episode: "Sheltered"
2005-2006	Out of Practice	Dr. Oliver Barnes	21 episodes
2007	Lipshitz Saves the World	Man in Red	Pilot
2007-2008	Back to You	Gary Crezyzewski	17 episodes
2008	Fourplay	Christopher	Pilot
2009	Damages	Douglas Schiff	Episodes: "I Agree, It Wasn't Funny"
2009-present	Modern Family	Phil Dunphy
2010-2011	The Super Hero Squad Show	Captain Marvel (voice)	3 episodes
2010-2011	Glenn Martin, DDS	Mart-E (voice)	2 episodes
2011	Doc McStuffins	Big Jack (voice)	Episode: "Out of the Box/Run Down Race Car"
2012-2014	Key & Peele	Colonel Hans Müller / Nazi Commander	2 episodes
2015	The Penguins of Madagascar	Parker (voice)	Episode: "The Penguin Who Loved Me"
2015	Comedy Bang! Bang!	Himself	Episode: "Ty Burrell Wears a Chambray Shirt and Clear Frame Glasses"

Awards and nominations

Year	Award	Category	Work	Result
2010	Primetime Emmy Award	Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series	Modern Family	Nominated
	IGN Summer Movie Award	Best TV Actor		Nominated
	Online Film and Television Association Award	Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series		Won
	Satellite Award	Best Actor in a Supporting Role in a Series, Mini-Series, or Motion Picture Made for Television		Nominated
	Screen Actors Guild Award	Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series		Nominated
	Television Critics Association Award	Individual Achievement in Comedy		Nominated
2011				Won
	Teen Choice Award	Choice TV Actor: Comedy		Nominated
	Screen Actors Guild Award	Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series		Won
		Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Comedy Series		Nominated
	Satellite Award	Best Actor in a Supporting Role in a Series, Mini-Series, or Motion Picture Made for Television		Nominated
	Online Film and Television Association Award	Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series		Won
	Golden Nymph Award	Outstanding Actor - Comedy Series		Nominated
	Critics' Choice Television Award	Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series		Nominated
	Primetime Emmy Award	Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series		Won
2012		Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series		Nominated
	Blimp Award	Favorite TV Actor		Nominated
	Online Film and Television Award	Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series		Nominated
	Golden Nymph Award	Outstanding Actor - Comedy Series		Nominated
	Critics' Choice Television Award	Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series		Won
	Screen Actors Guild Award	Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series		Won
		Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Comedy Series		Nominated
	TV Guide Award	Favorite Actor		Nominated
	Teen Choice Award	Choice TV Actor: Comedy		Nominated
2013	Primetime Emmy Award	Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series		Nominated
	Online Film and Television Award	Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series		Won
	Golden Nymph Award	Outstanding Actor - Comedy Series		Won
	Screen Actors Guild Award	Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series		Won
		Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Comedy Series		Nominated
	TV Guide Award	Favorite Actor		Nominated
	People's Choice Award	Favorite Comedic TV Actor		Nominated
2014	Primetime Emmy Award	Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series		Won
	American Comedy Award	Best Comedy Supporting Actor - TV		Nominated
	Online Film and Television Association Award	Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series		Nominated
	Screen Actors Guild Award	Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series		Won
		Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Comedy Series		Won
	TV Guide Award	Favorite Actor		Nominated
2015	Screen Actors Guild Award	Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series		Nominated
		Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Comedy Series		Nominated
	People's Choice Award	Favorite Comedic TV Actor		Nominated
	Primetime Emmy Award	Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series		Nominated

[ Source: Wikipedia ]