‘Happy’s Place’: Eric Stonestreet Talks ‘Collaborative’ Guest Appearance and Hopes for a Return (Exclusive)

Eric Stonestreet guest starred in the Season 2 finale of Happy’s Place, and he talked to PopCulture.com all about it.

The hour-long season finale of the NBC sitcom aired on Friday night, with Stonestreet appearing in the second episode.

The Modern Family star played Dr. Russell Peabody III, an unconventional therapist who attempts to help Bobbie and Isabella work through some of their conflicts. While Stonestreet’s appearance is brief, it’s pretty memorable, and it could lead to something more, especially with Happy’s Place coming back for Season 3. Take a look at what Stonestreet had to say. (Interview has been edited for length and clarity.)

PopCulture: In the episode, Bobbie and Isabella go to couples counseling to sort out their problems and are greeted by your character, Dr. Russ, but they didn’t know who he was at first. They have this playful banter before he eventually brings them into his office. What did you love most about playing off that dynamic with Reba [McEntire] and Belissa [Escobedo]?

Eric Stonestreet: When they called and asked if I wanted to do it, [it was] very collaborative. Producers were very interested in what my thoughts were and how this would be successful and funny and fun and everything else. And we just kind of came up from the beginning of this is a therapist that you would never expect as a therapist and who might have just come from doing some castorations in the pigpen as easy as he did coming from reading a book on psychology. And so I just wanted to feel this approachable character, caught off guard by his somewhat folksy-ism and charm, but then is a straight shooter and actually really good at his job.

And everyone agreed that that was kind of a fun take. And I loved it. I mean, Reba loved it. Everyone loved it. And she made me laugh. And I hope I made her laugh. And I hope people laugh when they see it and enjoy it. I called it a little bit of an appetizer, hopefully, of Dr. Russ in hopes that someday I would get to solve some more problems for him there on Happy’s Place.

PC: What was your favorite part about playing him? Because, as you were saying, he is a little different than most therapists, but he turns out to be really, really good at his job.

Stonestreet: I like surprising people as myself. I like lowering the bar and promising and over-delivering in situations. And I think that’s kind of where Dr. Russ comes from. There’s nothing better than being around somebody who you’ve kind of misjudged, and then all of a sudden, you have to acknowledge that you were wrong and they’re really good. So I think that’s the spirit there. And I love that aspect of it. I loved the wardrobe we all chose.

Everyone’s very collaborative there, which is another thing unique about TV shows. The last two jobs I’ve had, I’ve been fortunate to have, both have been that way. Dexter: Resurrection, they run an incredible ship there as well where they allow costumers to be costumers. They allow makeup to be makeup. And they don’t let those people do it, and it’s the same there.

Props was the same, and wardrobe when I said, “Well, will they be okay if I wear this?” They let us decide what’s right to wear, which just set such an amazing tone because you’re around a group of professionals that are allowed to be the best they can be of how they wanna be. And that’s a great start in a workplace in our world.

PC: During their session, Bobbie and Isabella are given exact reads by Dr. Russ, so much so that they leave, and the session is over, even though it had just started. Why do you think he didn’t try hard enough to keep the session going, especially since there was still clearly a lot for Bobbie and Isabella to work out between each other?

Stonestreet: Well, I mean, they were done. I think I hit the nail on the head. And I think as a therapist, what your goal is is to create a moment of self-reflection, or maybe you have a moment, and I think they each were stymied in that situation and had to go out and reevaluate the situation. So, I couldn’t lock the door on them and just had to let them go.

PC: At the very end of the episode, we get a brief but funny scene between your character and Cheri Oteri’s character after Emmett reveals his true feelings to her. What was your favorite part about doing that scene with her, especially since it is so brief?

Stonestreet: I mean, Cheri’s branded in most of our brains that have ever watched any comedy at all from her years on Saturday Night Live. And Cheri’s one of those people and actors that you kind of know what Cheri’s deal is, but it’s funny every time. You know what Cheri’s take is gonna be on something because you’ve seen her have such funny, wild takes, but you’re still surprised by it, and you still are cracking up over it.

She’s just a gifted physical comedian. She’s a gifted facial expressionist comedian, and then she’s just a good actress. And so it was fun. At this point in my career, what is the most rewarding and most entertaining for me is going to good places with nice people, enjoying my time, and being entertained by the people I’m working with. So she checked all those boxes, as did everyone else there at the show. It was just a pleasurable, fun experience.

PC: You have a wide range of roles. As you were saying, last year, you were on Dexter: Resurrection, playing the complete opposite of what fans are used to. Is it hard switching between comedy and drama?

Stonestreet: Well, I don’t ever look at it that way. It’s all about just kind of finding the truth of the character. And I’m not like an actory, actor person. I don’t know the whole method thing. My whole method is trying to find the most relatable part of the character I’m playing to myself. I lived experience. So I can bring truth to that character. Well, a little hard when you’re playing a serial killer. I don’t have any experience playing a serial killer.

So it really goes in the same direction that I’ve treated other things. It’s written down on a piece of paper that I’m a serial killer. Right? So the audience knows that. So I don’t have to play a serial killer. I have to play a person that is believable enough for you or anyone else in the world to get close enough to have me choke them out. So how do I create that character that is so disarming but yet so creepy and able to murder people? Well, those things I can kinda relate to is how to be charming and how to be likable and lovable. And then I just let the serial killer part make its own world. It’s just its own thing.

All episodes of Happy’s Place are streaming on Peacock. Season 3 of Happy’s Place will be coming soon to NBC.