Rico Rodriguez: Tricked into On-Set Tasks for Sofia Vergara

The cast of *Modern Family* shared a bond that went beyond the screen, and Rico Rodriguez, who played the lovable Manny Delgado for all 11 seasons, recently shared a heartfelt and humorous behind-the-scenes story about his onscreen mom, Sofia Vergara. While their onscreen relationship was filled with playful moments, it turns out some of that dynamic carried over into real life in the sweetest way.

In a recent episode of Jesse Tyler Ferguson’s podcast *Dinner’s On Me*, Rodriguez revealed how Vergara—known for her quick wit and love of improvisation—would sometimes rely on him during table reads. “It was so funny because, like, I always would be with Sofia. And, you know, I mean, it's very well known how Sofia, she sometimes goes off the rails,” he recalled, referencing Vergara’s tendency to go off-script. “And so she would go off the rails and then she would go, ‘Rico, what’s my line?’”

As it turns out, Rodriguez had a bit of an edge—he often showed up prepared, knowing not just his own lines but everyone else’s too. That attention to detail eventually led to him getting roped into a few extra tasks. “I love Sofia, but I got played. I got played by Sofia,” he joked. He recounted one instance where he marked Vergara’s script for her after noticing she was late to a table read. “So she gets there, and she's like, ‘Oh, thank you. Thank you, Rico.’ She touches my cheeks and whatever. And then the next week, she's on time. So I sit down, I'm marking my sides, and then we start the read. It comes to Sofia and she goes, ‘Rico, you didn’t mark my script.’ I go, ‘What? I didn’t know I was supposed to. I did it one time because I was nice!’”

Rodriguez couldn’t help but laugh as he reflected on how life truly imitated art in those moments. “I was literally Manny in that point helping out Sofia. But, you know, I love Sofia, so I had no problem doing it.”

*Modern Family*, which aired from 2009 to 2020, remains a beloved comedy classic and is currently available for streaming on Hulu and Peacock.