‘Modern Family’ star stole this ‘oddly iconic’ prop from set

“Modern Family” came to an end this week after 11 seasons, and at least one of the beloved sitcom’s stars made sure to take home a few keepsakes from set when filming wrapped on the series finale.

Nolan Gould, who was just 10 years old when “Modern Family” premiered on ABC back in 2009, and the actor who played Luke Dunphy throughout its run, told In The Know’s Gibson Johns during a recent interview that his kitchen was “filled with” props that he stole from set.

There was one in particular, though, that caught his eye early on in his “Modern Family” run that he knew he had to have.

“I have a bowl of fake plastic fruit,” he laughed. “It was the Dunphy house’s fake fruit bowl. It was just it was one of those things that’s so oddly iconic.”

Oddly meaning that nobody seemed to know why the Dunphy family even had a bowl of fake plastic fruit in their kitchen and why the contents never changed over the course of a decade.

“It just clearly got thrown there in the pilot because we were like, ‘We need some, some fruit or some color splash in it,'” Gould said. “And then, nobody took it out. And it just kind of stayed for 11 years, unexplained why they have this tacky fake fruit bowl. And Julie Bowen [who played Luke’s mom on the show] said in an interview that she never wanted to see it again. And it just so happens that it’s sitting in my kitchen.”

Gould added that Bowen lives just five minutes from his house, so he is considering using the fruit bowl to torment her down the road when he really starts to miss his TV family.

“I think I’m planning on leaving little pieces of fake fruit on her doorstep,” he laughed.

For more from Nolan Gould, including what that last day on set was really like, why some of his relatives didn’t watch the show at first and more, listen to our full, 20-minute interview with Nolan Gould below:

For reference, see below for a timecode breakdown of In The Know’s interview with Nolan Gould:

0:47 – 2:56: Nolan talks about life in quarantine and how upheaval of public life has affected the final promotional push around “Modern Family.”

2:57 – 6:52: Nolan talks about “Modern Family” ending, his reaction to the finale and what viewers can expect from the show’s final moments.

6:53: – 9:35: Nolan talks about the last day on set filming “Modern Family” and the unexpected prop that he stole before heading home.

9:36 – 16:05: Nolan talks about growing up with the character of Luke Dunphy and how they grew to become more similar over the years, as well as becoming like “family” with the rest of his cast.

16:06 – 17:12: Nolan talks about what’s next for him in his career.

17:13 – 21:18: Nolan talks about the lasting impact of “Modern Family” and having relatives who initially didn’t want to watch the show because it had gay characters.

If you liked this story, check out In The Know’s recent interview with Bravo star Ramona Singer here.

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