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Phil Dunphy
Ty Burrell portrayed Phil Dunphy, the father of three children and Claire's husband.
First appearance	"Pilot" 1x01, September 23, 2009
Last appearance	"Finale" 11x17 & 11x18, April 8, 2020
Portrayed by	Ty Burrell
In-universe information
Full name	Philip Humphrey Dunphy
Aliases	Clive Bixby Jebediah Dunphy
Gender	Male
Occupation	Realtor and magic store owner
Family	Frank Dunphy (father; deceased) Grace Dunphy (mother; deceased) Lorraine Dunphy (stepmother) Ray (stepbrother)
Spouse	Claire Dunphy ​ (m. 1993)​
Significant others	Carla Concannon (Ex-Girlfriend) Denise (Ex-Girlfriend)
Children	Haley Dunphy (daughter) Alex Dunphy (daughter) Luke Dunphy (son)
Relatives	George Marshall (grandson) Poppy Marshall (granddaughter) Dylan Marshall (son-in-law) Jay Pritchett (father-in-law) DeDe Williams (mother-in-law; deceased) Gloria Delgado-Pritchett (stepmother-in-law) Mitchell Pritchett (brother-in-law) Joe Pritchett (half brother-in-law) Manny Delgado (stepbrother-in-law) Cameron Tucker (brother-in-law) Lily Tucker-Pritchett (adoptive niece by marriage) Rexford Tucker-Pritchett (adoptive nephew by marriage)

Philip Humphrey "Phil" Dunphy (Ty Burrell) is Claire's husband of 15 years who sees himself as the "cool dad". He dotes on his wife Claire and constantly tries to find ways to bond with his three kids. He is seen as very competitive, one example being his always beating his son at basketball. He has a very juvenile attitude and is referred to by Claire as the "kid [she's] married to." He uses a parenting method that he calls "peerenting", which is a combination of talking like a peer but acting like a parent.

Role in Series

Phil is a realtor who is very confident in his work, once saying, "I could sell a fur coat to an Eskimo." Phil has a severe case of coulrophobia, which is first revealed when despite Mitchell's objection, Cameron comes to Luke's party dressed as a clown. This may stem from Phil's having found a dead clown in the woods when he was a child. Phil once dresses up as a clown for a kids' party but has a panic attack when he catches his reflection in multiple mirrors. Phil appears to love home repair yet never seems to get around to any of the jobs requested by Claire. Throughout season 1, his ongoing project is fixing the step. He at times shows a sort of crush-like affection for Gloria. However, he says he "would never stray from Claire," although Gloria did kiss him during a "kiss cam" segment at a basketball game in the final episode of season 1, "Family Portrait", however he was immediately regretful for not preventing it as he didn't want to do it. In college, he was a cheerleader at Fresno State and his birthday is on April 3.

Phil seems oblivious as to what he says by miscalculating (if at all) the consequences of his expressions, such as "Phil Dunphy is no straight guy" (when he is referring to not being a straight man) or "If you ain't white, you ain't right" (referring to the t-shirt color of a team that he was playing on). He often seeks approval from Jay, who generally does not openly show approval of anyone. In the Season 3 episode "Dude Ranch," Phil shows considerable skill both on horseback and with a shotgun, notably shooting two clay pigeons on one foot.

In moments of acute adversity or shock in which most people would curse or swear, Phil utters humorous exclamations: references to food such as, "Sweet Potato Fries!" or "Chicken in a basket!", etc. or he might make a historical reference such as "John Philip Sousa!" It is revealed in "Tableau Vivant" that Phil had once tried to break up with Claire but didn't dare to do so.

A running gag in the show has Phil running up the stairs (often when carrying an object) and tripping on a loose step, causing him to say some variation of "Gotta fix that step!"

Critical reception

Ty Burrell had received many positive reviews for his performance. Hank Stuever from The Washington Post wrote, "A standout performance from Ty Burrell's new twist on the doofus-dad stereotype." Paige Wiser, a reporter for the Chicago Sun Times, wrote, "Ty Burrell is a genius as a dad who stays hip by keeping up with the numbers from High School Musical." Robert Canning of IGN in a review of the season loved Ty Burrell's performance of Phil Dunphy and named him one of two characters that stood out to him saying "actor Ty Burrell owned this part, and his well-intended faux pas throughout the season were stellar."

Accolades

In 2010, Ty Burrell received a nomination for the Television Critics Association Award for Individual Achievement in Comedy, winning in 2011. In 2011 and 2014, Burrell won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series, also receiving nominations in 2010, 2012, and 2013. In 2012, Burrell won the Critics' Choice Television Award for Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series. In 2014, Burrell won the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Comedy Series, receiving nominations in 2011, 2012, 2013, 2015, and 2016. In 2010 and 2011, Burrell was nominated for the Satellite Award for Best Supporting Actor – Series, Miniseries or Television Film.

Other appearances

On May 4, 2016, Phil appeared in the first commercials for the National Association of Realtors telling about his "Phil's-osophies." Arnold Worldwide executive creative director Sean McBride said Phil was written as a Realtor on his show and "embodies many of the attributes that are important in a Realtor: He's honest, he's helpful, he's sincere."