Top 10 Times Phil Dunphy was the Best Character on Modern Family

Between Phil and Claire, Phil is definitely the more happy-go-lucky one. But he can be a little more uptight when it comes to his kids. He demonstrated this personality trait when Haley started dating an older guy in order to try and get a reaction from her parents. While Claire could see what their kid was doing and told Phil to ignore it, he couldn’t. Although Claire was right, Phil’s emotional and protective nature still came through. We get to see how much Haley needed to feel that love when he insists on stopping her relationship stunt. The hug that ends the scene is an amazing moment of pure love that warmed our hearts.

In “The Storm” episode, bad weather brings the entire clan together at Jay’s house for the evening. While everyone is there, all Jay wants to do is get things set up so that he can head off to a local Irish Pub and remember a recently passed Navy buddy. Unfortunately, the storm wins and he isn’t able to go. Phil is fortunately there to help his father-in-law out through this setback. In a beautifully quiet and heartfelt moment, he brings Jay a chair in the garage, some whiskey and St. Patrick’s Day decorations so that the tradition can stay alive. Phil’s sweet gesture gave us one of the most touching moments between the duo in the entire series.

The first time we see Phil with an alpaca it’s a punchline to a fantastic joke. We get to see this delightful pairing again three seasons later. In an effort to be more in control of his life, Phil decides to, once again, buy an alpaca. Claire and the family are just as unimpressed with his purchase the second time around. Not only does Phil take pride in this decision ,but he even gives a hilarious update on what happened to the first alpaca. We’re a little sad that he didn’t keep it a little longer. Honestly, we wouldn’t mind if an alpaca had joined Phil’s family permanently.

Phil’s daughter Alex is a brilliant girl who tended to put her studies ahead of everything else. While that drive got her into Caltech, her determination could occasionally keep her from enjoying life to the fullest. Phil decides to help her embrace her more relaxed side by entering them into a weird trivia contest. He also adds his own Phil-ness to it when he decides that they will both play the whole game while putting on Scottish accents. During the game, they have to wear multiple hats, eat hot wings for any wrong answers and keep up their MacDunphy personas. By the time trivia is over, it’s clear that Phil’s unusual approach helped Alex learn how to unwind.

Phil Dunphy had a big night when he was chosen to host the Southern California Annual Realtors Banquet or SCARB for short. Phil proved he was a born showman who was totally in his element hosting...until he noticed Haley wasn’t paying attention. He was so distracted by his daughter looking away that he fell off the stage and sprained his ankle. Fortunately, we got to hear more of Phil’s act when he won the Realtor of the Year award. Although he wasn’t able to get up onstage, Haley filled in for him. The icing on the cake of this realtor performance was that actor Ty Burell ended up winning the Emmy for his performance as Phil in this episode.

It’s always awesome when a character on TV turns themselves into a mobile virtual presence device. Phil took his turn at this technical comedic plot during the “American Skyper.” episode. Although he was hundreds of miles away from Alex in Seattle, he didn’t want to miss being at the party to celebrate her high school graduation. He gets to be there and keep us laughing with just his face and a mobile screen. The high point of this storyline comes when he puts his virtual body on the line and throws the mobile unit down the stairs. While he is completely unharmed, his desperate action to be present at the party left us in stitches.

After Phil got an elliptical machine at Christmas and put it in the bedroom, he made Claire a promise. He promised that if he didn’t walk the equivalent distance from their house to Canada that he would put it in the garage. When Christmas came again, Phil was many, many miles from Canada. Thanks to a little encouragement from Luke, he rises to the challenge and metaphorically ellipticals his way to the great white north. We were both thoroughly entertained and impressed with Phil after this great athletic display. Hopefully, it didn’t take him too long to get his normal walk back.

Phil Dunphy isn’t always able to hold back his true feelings. He really puts his foot in his mouth in an awkward moment during a city council debate. Phil tries to defend his wife during the town council debates and ends up oversharing. After he brings up his bedroom activities with Claire during his rant, the speech spirals downwards from there. But his embarrassment doesn’t end when the debate does. Someone on the internet decided to autotune Phil’s speech and make it into a hysterical and widely shared YouTube video. Although he didn’t intend to make a popular clip, at least he had more success on the internet by accident than when he tried to go viral with a basketball.

Passing on wisdom and advice to your children is the job of every parent. But Phil does it in his own unique way with the Phil's-osophy book. This tome is filled with many of the life lessons that the head of the Dunphy clan has learned throughout the years. While the tips range from wise to silly, they are all funny. The book became exactly what Haley needed on her first day at college. When her parents dropped her off, Phil gave it to her in a heartwarming moment. She later showed her appreciation for the gift with an emotional phone call. Thanks to Phil’s hard work on the book, we got a moment that always makes us happy cry.

Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions.

Phil’s Piano Recital, “A Year of Birthdays”
Phil Rocks His Piano Recital & Gets Grandkids on the Same Day

Phil Spends Some Quality Time with His Father, “Legacy”
He Makes the Best of His Last Moments With His Dad

Shampooing, "A Hard Jay's Night"
We Probably Shouldn’t Be Surprised That Phil Can Shampoo with the Best of Them

“High School Musical”, "Pilot"
Phil Thinks Knowing All the Dances from “High School Musical” Makes Him the Cool Dad

Every Time He Answers the Phone, Various Episodes
We Wish We Could Come Up with as Many “Hello” Puns as Phil

Is there anyone better than this high-end electro-acoustic transducers designer? Phil’s Valentine’s Day alter-ego is known as Clive Bixby. This character is a mix of suave, hilarious and awkward. One of the funniest aspects of the character is how often he tries to be smooth but instead makes an unintended innuendo or double-entendre. Fortunately for Bixby fans, the character returns several times throughout the series. Each of his appearances is full of iconic lines and great physical comedy. While he may not win many people over on Valentine’s Day, Bixby is by far one of the best things Phil ever created.