“Modern Family” star Eric Stonestreet taps his inner child on ABC's “The Toy Box”

April 8, 2017 27

ABC/Jeff Neira(LOS ANGELES) — Modern Family‘s Eric Stonestreet hosts ABC’s newest reality competition show, The Toy Box, where wannabe toymakers pitch their ideas to the ultimate judges — kids!

“It’s a toy inventor show where people have a passion about inventing toys,” Stonestreet tells ABC Radio. “They come in and they pitch it to three adult mentors, and then the mentors decide what comes into the toy box, and the ultimate toy that will win, will be decided by four kid judges.”

The panel of juvenile judges includes Ellen DeGeneres Show stars Sophia Grace Brownlee, 13, and Noah Ritter, nine; Uncle Buck‘s Aalyrah Caldwell — also nine; and Toby Grey, best known for “The John Cena Prank.”

And for Stonestreet’s favorite childhood toys? That’s easy — they’re his Hot Wheels cars, which are on display in his house.

“As we get older, we want to find things that make us feel how we felt when life wasn’t as complex as it is now,” he explains. “So when I look at my Hot Wheels collection, I think about being on the playground and playing with my friends in elementary school.”

The Toy Box premiere’s Friday at 8 p.m. ET on ABC.

Written by: Leah Jones

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“Modern Family” star Eric Stonestreet taps his inner child on ABC's “The Toy Box”