Burrell's first credited film roles were 2001's Evolution and Black Hawk Down. He subsequently appeared in the 2004 remake of Dawn of the Dead, and in several stage roles. He was a co writer and actor in the original production of the offbeat comedy The Red Herring O' Happiness directed by Russell Dyball. Burrell's stage work also includes writing and working in the off Broadway play Babble with his brother, Duncan. He has also made an appearance as a New Jersey prosecutor in '. After that, Burrell was cast as Oliver Barnes, a shallow but well meaning plastic surgeon, on the CBS sitcom Out of Practice, also created by screenwriter Christopher Lloyd. The show was canceled in May 2006, with eight episodes remaining unaired in the United States. After the show's cancellation, he played Allan Arbus in the film Fur: An Imaginary Portrait of Diane Arbus. In 2007, he had a small role in the film ' as the curator of the White House followed by a starring role in the sitcom Back to You on Fox later that same year. On the show, created by Steven Levitan and Christopher Lloyd, Burrell played a field reporter. The show was canceled in 2008. In the 2008 Marvel film adaptation of the comic The Incredible Hulk, Burrell played Leonard Samson, who had a short relationship with Betty Ross. He had a large role as realtor Phil Dunphy in the acclaimed ABC situation comedy Modern Family which is also created by Christopher Lloyd and Steve Levitan. For his performance, he received eight consecutive Primetime Emmy Award nominations for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series, winning the award twice in 2011 and 2014. He also received nominations for the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Comedy Series for his role, sharing the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series with his co stars. He was the recipient of the individual SAG award in 2014, defeating Alec Baldwin, who had previously won the award seven years in a row. Burrell also appears as Phil in commercials for National Association of Realtors. In November 2014, Burrell inked an overall deal with 20th Century Fox Television to develop his own comedy projects. His web seriesBoondoggle, loosely based on Burrell's own life, debuted in June 2016 on ABC.com and ABCd. He was nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Actor in a Short Form Comedy or Drama Series in July 2017.
Personal life
Burrell and his wife, Holly, married on August 18, 2000. They resided in New York City until moving to Salt Lake City in 2008. They still own a two-bedroom apartment in the Astoria, Queens neighborhood that they rent out. The couple have since relocated to Southern California for Burrell's work on Modern Family. On March 18, 2010, it was announced that Burrell and his wife had adopted a baby, a daughter. Two years later, they adopted another daughter. Burrell is a self described lifelong fan of the Oregon Ducks, Portland Trail Blazers, New York Mets and St. Louis Rams. Burrell owns The Eating Establishment, a restaurant in Park City, Utah, as well as two bars in Salt Lake City, Bar X and Beer Bar located next to each other with interconnecting doors.
Philanthropy
When the COVID-19 pandemic shut down Salt Lake City's bars and restaurants in March 2020, Burrell and his wife used $100,000 of their own money to create "Tip Your Server," a crowd-sourced online fund to help out-of-work wait staff in Utah, which the Burrells continue to regard as their home.
