Modern Family: Edward Norton’s Bizarre Season 1 Cameo Explained

With Modern Family coming to end, what better time to take a look back on Edward Norton’s bizarre season 1 cameo? Modern Family has given fans some excellent cameos and guest stars over its eleven seasons on the air. Season 5 featured a perfectly cast Jesse Eisenberg as Mitch and Cam’s condescending, environmentally conscious neighbor Asher and a hilarious turn from British actor Stephen Merchant as an eager-to-please butler named Higgins – a role he reprised in the show’s final season.

Going even further back in Modern Family’s history, Matthew Broderick was brilliant in the season 4 episode “Mistery Date” as Dave – a gay friend of Cam’s who mistakenly believes he’s on a date with Phil. The sitcom’s second season boasted an entertaining cameo from Sonic The Hedgehog star James Marsden in “Slow Down Your Neighbors” as a reiki-practicing nut who claims to be Mitch and Cam’s new neighbor but is actually living in their garden in Lily’s princess playhouse.

If Modern Family fans can cast their minds back all the way to season 1 episode “Great Expectations,” they may remember a bizarre but funny cameo from Edward Norton sporting a dodgy mullet and an even dodgier British accent as Izzy LaFontaine – the (fictional) bass player of 1980s new wave band Spandau Ballet. He’s hired by Claire to perform a private concert as a wedding anniversary gift for Phil as she mistakenly believes he’s a big Spandau Ballet fan -or “fandau” as Mr. LaFontaine terms it – and that the band’s ballad “True” is their special song.

Unfortunately for Claire, it turns out Phil has no idea who Spandau Ballet are – much to Izzy LaFontaine’s disappointment, who’s even more offended to learn that Phil thinks their special song is “If You Leave” by Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark. To appease both Claire and Izzy, Phil tells them that “True” is now their new song and so the fading rock star’s private, bass-and-vocals-only performance goes ahead.

While Edward Norton has had a few comedic roles like Moonrise Kingdom he’s better known for his more serious films like Primal Fear or American History X, so seeing him pop up on a sitcom like Modern Family was quite surprising. Apparently, Norton is a big fan of the show and he and star Ty Burrell go way back, having worked on Leaves Of Grass and The Incredible Hulk together, so his cameo makes sense. Plus, while Edward Norton’s Modern Family cameo was bizarre, it was also pretty funny and the sitcom is quirky enough to pull it off.