Julie Bowen Talks Transition From ‘Modern Family’ To Peacock’s Creepy Thriller Series ‘Hysteria’: “I Don’t Want To Try To Recreate Claire Dunphy”

Julie Bowen had her big break in the 1996 comedy, Happy Gilmore , but it wasn’t until she played Modern Family ‘s Claire Dunphy that she became a household name. Now, four years after Modern Family came to an end, Bowen is gearing up for the release of her latest project, Hysteria , which is a stark contrast to the light-hearted and comedic roles we’re used to seeing from her, proving her undeniable versatility as an actor.

Hysteria, which dropped on Peacock today, takes place during the Satanic Panic of the 1980s. After a high-school quarterback turns up dead with all signs pointing to some sort of ritualistic murder, a group of students decide to capitalize on the town’s fear by pretending to be Satanists to promote their heavy metal band. However, the Devil becomes all too real for Bowen’s character Linda Campbell, the mother of one of the band members, as she begins experiencing terrifying supernatural activity.

While Bowen is known for playing one of the most beloved mothers in network television history, she didn’t want to “recreate” the role of Claire Dunphy in Hysteria.

“[Claire] is her own person and I would happily play her should Modern Family ever come back. But just to put her on a different show and go, ‘Well, this is what I could do,’ I think it would be boring and I don’t think people would appreciate it,” Bowen told DECIDER, adding that it’s “exciting to take on a new challenge.”

Speaking of challenges, Bowen also got to take on some serious stunt work in the episodes leading up to her character’s full-blown possession. “I loved doing that. I thought it was really fun,” she said. “We got to practice so much. I felt incredibly safe, and it’s like a whole different kind of acting. I thought it was fantastic to do.”

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DECIDER caught up with Bowen over Zoom, where she also dished on what she remembered from the real-life Satanic Panic, her experience using a Ouija board, and why she “can’t watch scary movies.” Check out the full interview below.

DECIDER: I love this show and I especially love the way it captures the ‘80s, whether it’s through the soundtrack or the hair. What was your favorite part about going back in time? What do you remember, if anything, about the Satanic Panic?

JULIE BOWEN: I love that you think that it’s possible that I wouldn’t remember it because I was born in the ‘90s. No, I remember being in elementary school and being told about Satanic Panic, and Dungeons and Dragons, in particular, and, for some reason, Judas Priest were going to turn me into a crazy person. Luckily or unluckily, those things were not interesting to me. And I’ve since been educated. I know that neither one will turn me into a Satanist. As far as the hair, it’s kind of super fun. It’s more of a fantasy of the ‘80s in some ways because in the 80s, I didn’t have hair like that, so I had to actually play it out. So that was fun.

With your recent work in Totally Killer and Hysteria , you are entering your genre era! Are you consciously trying to branch out from straight comedies, a space you’ve firmly established yourself in?

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Yeah, I don’t want to try to recreate Claire Dunphy. She is her own person and I would happily play her should Modern Family ever come back. But just to put her on a different show and go, “Well, this is what I could do,” I think it would be boring and I don’t think people would appreciate it. As an actor, it’s exciting to take on a new challenge, so I thought that this subverted that nicely. You think that this is just another mom for while in the pilot and then you go, “Or is she?”

Linda is such a different character than any you’ve played before. Watching you, I could totally sense and feel that same confusion and fear your character felt. Was this role an exciting challenge for you?

It was a journey that came script by script because I only got one script at a time. So it was literally like peeling back the layers of an onion because I didn’t know, and Linda didn’t know. We don’t know what’s real. Then the next script comes, and you go, “Oh, is that real?” Maybe not, wait for the next script. So I just had to sort of – sorry it sounds so yucky, actor-y – but play the reality of whatever was in front of me at the time and believe that Linda believes what she’s seeing, so it’s real.

Linda gets pretty beat up in the show. In one scene she’s getting dragged up the stairs, in another she’s levitating and crashing through a glass table. Did you perform any of those stunts yourself? What was it like filming those scenes?

That is so funny. You picked the two things [that] are the hardest parts. Those were the most dangerous, and those are the only two things I didn’t do. The head thumping against the stairs because I probably would be dead. That was definitely a stunt woman. And the crashing through the glass was also a stunt woman. But all the rest of it was me getting thrown around and flipped around and everything else. I loved doing that. I thought it was really fun. We got to practice so much. I felt incredibly safe, and it’s like a whole different kind of acting. I thought it was fantastic to do.

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At one point, Linda decides to use a Ouiji board. I am curious: have you ever used one in real life? If you have, what was your experience like?

I did use a Ouija board. I think I was in middle school, maybe sixth or seventh grade. At least for me, at that time, everything was dramatic and emotional. I don’t know how it is, Groupthink takes over and somehow you end up spelling out words when there’s five girls pushing this thing around. Unfortunately, somebody had a relative who had recently died, so we said were contacting them. It freaked me out because even if it’s not real, which it isn’t, you can’t deny that when a bunch of people start believing the same thing, it gets crazy. And that’s really the heart of Hysteria .

We’re a site that celebrates all things streaming. Since spooky season is coming up, what’s your favorite scary movie?

Here’s my dirty secret. I can’t watch scary movies. The scariest movie I ever saw was Nightmare on Elm Street with the sound off. It was playing at a party. There was no sound. And I slept with the lights on for three weeks. I am very easily scared. It does not take much. I will say, for those who are a little shy like I am, The Others is as close as you can get, and it’s a real mind-bender. I loved it. But it’s not gory. So if you’re squeamish like me, have at it.

I’m going to have to watch that one now.

It is great. And Let the Right One In . Both are not – it’s not gory, traditional horror, but it’s more of a thriller. That’s what I love.

Hysteria is currently streaming on Peacock.

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