Sarah Hyland Revealed Filming Modern Family Was A Nightmare Due To Her Medical Condition
Sarah Hyland got her big break by portraying Haley Dunphy in the popular sitcom Modern Family for over a decade. During her time on this show, Hyland received plenty of critical acclaim and awards, including four Screen Actors Guild Awards for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series and a nomination for the Critics' Choice Television Award for Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series.
Although she’s now moved to greater, bigger things, like hosting Love Island USA, Hyland still reminisces about her time in Modern Family. While she’s openly talked about how great her time on the show was, she recently revealed that some of the decisions producers made for her character in the early seasons of Modern Family made filming the show a complete nightmare.
Sarah Hyland Almost Didn’t Get The Role Of Haley On Modern Family
Sarah Hyland had been trying to break into Hollywood since the mid to late 90s, earning small roles in movies and television shows when she was a kid. But she didn’t get her breakthrough until 2009 when she landed the role of Haley Dunphy in Modern Family. But, believe it or not, she almost didn’t get this iconic role because of her age at the time!
“Originally, they didn't want to see me for Modern Family because I was 18 and Haley's character was 15. They were like, ‘She's too old.’ And at the time, my agent's assistant fought for me to get in the room. She was like, ‘She doesn't look 18 years old, I promise you! She looks very, very young!’” Hyland revealed in a recent interview for Buzzfeed.
Luckily, the young actress was given a shot at the role. “So I went in and they pre-read me for the cast — like, they didn't put my audition on the tape — and then he brought in the casting director. The casting director, Jeff [Greenberg], had me read and then he was like, ‘Okay, now do it again, and now I'll put it on tape.’ They just were very much like, ‘She's too old. She's 18.’ And then after that, I went to see the director and creators.”
But the show’s creators weren’t put off by her age and gave her the role. This turned out to be a great decision.
Sarah Hyland Had To Go Through “The Most Excruciating Pain” While Filming Modern Family
Sarah Hyland was born with kidney dysplasia, a condition that has led her to have more than 16 surgeries throughout the years. Over the years, the actress has opened up about how her health struggles affected her work in Modern Family. For instance, Hyland had to get a kidney transplant from her dad when she was 21 and in the middle of filming the show.
“When I was on dialysis, I was in rejection, needing a new kidney, and they had taken my dad's one out because it was causing too many issues. I didn't really have any kidney function at all,” Hyland revealed on the Quitterspodcast. “There are some episodes of Modern Family where I do not remember filming because I was asleep. Dead-ass asleep.”
Unfortunately, the producers weren’t always accommodating towards her, which made filming some episodes of Modern Family a total nightmare for the young actress. In a recent interview with former co-star Jesse Tyler Ferguson for his Dinner’s on Me podcast, Hyland revealed that producers “insisted” she wear high heels for many scenes despite being in pain due to gout brought on by dialysis.
“They put me in high heels… They had not established my outfit yet and they insisted that I was wearing heels,” Hyland said. “It was the most excruciating pain.”
“I don’t remember a lot of filming, because I was always focused on essentially just surviving and knowing my lines and being there 100% when they yelled action — and then immediately collapsing when they yelled cut,” the actress admitted.
Sarah Hyland's Net Worth Grew Exponentially Thanks To Her Role On Modern Family
Despite struggling with critical health issues during her time on the show, Sarah Hyland loved being a part of Modern Family. After all, starring in this popular sitcom changed her life and career for the better. The critical acclaim she received for her performance on the show helped her land roles in films such as Geek Charming (2011), Struck by Lightning (2012), Vampire Academy (2014), See You in Valhalla (2015), and most recently The Wedding Year (2019).
Playing Haley Dunphy in Modern Family helped Hyland amass a $14 million net worth. Moreover, being on this show helped the actress realize she had a knack for comedy.
“I never considered myself a comedic actress before Modern Family," Hyland told Good Morning America. “I had never really done any comedies before, I was always the quote-unquote ugly girl that is unpopular and was crying over not being able to lose her virginity.” It’s clear that her part in Modern Family significantly helped pave the way for her career later on.
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