Judy Greer Explains Why She Turned Down Audition For ‘Modern Family’s Claire

deadline.com:

After more than 15 years, Judy Greer is reflecting on her decision not to audition for Modern Family. The actress recently noted that she “didn’t even want kids” at the time, so the opportunity to play mom Claire Dunphy (which ultimately went to Julie Bowen) on the ABC sitcom and become “America’s mom” wasn’t appealing to her. “This was a time in my career when I was starting to [play moms],” she told Bowen’s co-star Jesse Tyler Ferguson on his Dinner’s On Me podcast. “It sounds so silly to say it out loud now, but I’ll be honest.

In a movie, I would have a kid. And then there was this opportunity to audition where I would have three kids, one of them in high school,” added Greer. “And on a TV show… and you do have to think of these things in success, and obviously Modern Family was a huge success.

In a movie, people kind of see it and then they forget. In a TV show, it’s just like, you’re a mom.” Explaining that kids were “not even on the table for me,” in real life, Greer recalled, “I was like, ‘I think I’m not going to audition for it.’ I was really torn about it, but I ended up obviously not.

Who knows if I would have even gotten it anyway, but I was just like, ‘I don’t know if I want to be America’s mom yet.'” Greer said the role “felt so limiting compared to what I was doing already.