Rico Rodriguez Emotionally Recalls Modern Family Cast Celebrating His Birthday After Father's Death

Published: June 6, 2025

Rico Rodriguez, who played Manny on the hit TV show Modern Family, has opened up about how his castmates became like a second family to him after his dad's passing.

In a recent podcast appearance, he spoke about his father's death, which occurred when he was just 8 and 9 of the show. The actor, who was only 11 when he started playing Manny, explained how his dad's death made him question whether he wanted to continue working on the show.

Two weeks after filming wrapped on season 8, Rodriguez's father died at the age of 52. The actor, who often relied on his father for contract negotiations, explained that he wasn't sure if he wanted to come back for season 9.

"There was a point where I actually thought, you know, I don't know if I want to come back," he said on the podcast. "Because, I don't know, I mean, the patriarch of our family is gone, and he was the biggest motivator. He was all of our ideas."

However, over time, Rodriguez realized that not returning to the show would be the wrong move.

"There was a point where I was like, I would be doing him a disservice of everything we worked for at that point to just stop," he added. "And then it came to the point where like, no, you know what? I want to come back. And it really, really made it easier knowing I was coming back to my other family."

Rodriguez added that when filming resumed, he grew emotional when the cast celebrated his birthday at a table read.

"I couldn't help but cry and get emotional because my dad passed in March, and then in July, we're starting right up again," he recalled. "And it was like, man, you know, being here, it helps me. It's helping me just because I know how much love you guys have given me over the years. Knowing that I had you guys to be there with, to uplift and just have a good time, it really made the decision a lot easier, to come back."

Rodriguez also shared a heartwarming story about how his on-set mentor, Ed O'Neill, helped him through a difficult moment.

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Rodriguez explained that O'Neill took him under his wing and helped him with a difficult line during filming.

"He goes, 'No, try it like this.' Until I heard and I repeated it in the way that they were wanting. And he was like, 'That's it, perfect, all right, let's go do it!' And then I'd do it in two takes, and moving on, and he would give me a wink, like, I got you. Don't worry."

Rodriguez credited O'Neill with helping him trust him and said, "I love Ed, I mean, I owe a lot to him."

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