Jesse Tyler Ferguson still feels that fatherly love.

While his and Frances Anderson‘s days of playing father and daughter on Modern Family are long behind them, Jesse continues to watch on proudly as Frances—who stepped away from acting at the end of the sitcom—moves into her next chapter as a musical artist.

“I’m so proud of her, she’s really come into her own,” he told E! News at the 2026 Tony Awards on June 7. “She loves musical theater, actually. That’s what we bonded over when you know, even when she was like four or five years old. So the fact that she’s still interested in singing is so—I feel like I feel like a dad of hers, and I’m very proud of her.”

But Frances—who, now 19, changed her name from Aubrey Anderson-Emmons in August to represent her new musical chapter—isn’t the only one of Jesse’s costars who could hold their own on a stage.

In fact, Jesse said he’d be happy to share the spotlight with Sarah Hyland—who has also appeared on Broadway—in a heartbeat.