LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: On Sunday, Sarah Hyland shared a sweet homage to all her father figures. "Happy Father's Day to all the dads in your life," she wrote in the post she shared with her husband Wells Adams, 39.
The 'Wedding Year' star, 32, looked gorgeous in the picture wearing a mid-calf white dress with no straps and white shoes. Adams, his father Robert Adams, and her father Edward Hyland stood before Sarah, who has recently expressed support for the Hollywood writers' strike. She also added her 'Modern Family' dad Ty Burrell, 55, aka Phil Dunphy, who was another significant father figure in her childhood, in the shot.
Burrell and Hyland's characters on 'Modern Family' arguably have one of the finest father-daughter relationships on television. Indeed, Burrell's Phil has frequently been referred to be the "best TV dad." Fans of 'Modern Family' were ecstatic to see Hyland honor Burrell.
'He was very real to me'
Phil Dunphy was not mentioned in Sarah's tribute on Father's Day, but that didn't stop netizens from showering their love on the character. One of the fans created an ecstatic montage of Phil from the show and wrote, "Happy Father's Day to Phil Dunphy. He might be a fictional character, but he was very real to me."
Another user wrote, "Happy Father's Day to Phil Dunphy and Phil dunphy only. No one has ever fathered better than him." A third claimed, "Happy Father's Day to the father of the century, Phil Dunphy. Thank you for raising me to be who I am today."
Since 'Modern Family' ended in 2020, Hyland and Burrell have stayed close. He was scheduled to officiate her August 2022 wedding, but another 'Modern Family' alum, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, filled in due to a family issue, as reported by DailyMail.
Ty Burrell's career
An Emmy winner with a knack for playing egotistical characters, Burrell rose to prominence as a supporting actor and sporadic lead in the horror film 'Dawn of the Dead' (2002) and the ABC television series 'Modern Family'.
His role as a smarmy yuppie in Zack Snyder's remake of 'Dawn' made him a go-to for that character type, but he also demonstrated considerable comic chops on the brief series 'Out of Practice' (CBS, 2005–06) and 'Back to You' (Fox, 2007–08). He was primarily a stage actor in the late 1990s before breaking into television and movies.
The successful team of Steve Levitan and Christopher Lloyd, best known for their work on 'Frasier' (NBC, 1993–2004), produced both shows. They were sufficiently impressed by Burrell to choose him again for his most successful TV appearance, the critically acclaimed and ratings smash 'Modern Family', which made him a scene-stealing comic star on the rise, as reported by Rotten Tomatoes.
