“Nathan, he’s a 5-year-old. Like, let it rest,” Ferguson recalled telling Lane afterwards.

Jesse Tyler Ferguson shares Nathan Lane’s unhinged remark to his 5-year-old son

"Nathan, he's a 5-year-old. Like, let it rest," Ferguson recalled telling Lane afterwards.

By Lauren Huff

Lauren Huff

Lauren Huff is an award-winning journalist and staff writer at ** with over 12 years of experience covering all facets of the entertainment industry.

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January 27, 2026 7:50 p.m. ET

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Jesse Tyler Ferguson; Nathan Lane. Credit:

Karwai Tang/WireImage; Stephanie Augello/Variety via Getty

Never change, Nathan Lane.

On the latest episode of Jesse Tyler Ferguson's podcast *Dinner's on Me*, the *Modern Family* star reminisced to guest Mary Elizabeth Ellis about a time Lane came over to his house for dinner, and the *Only Murders in the Building* alum did not hold back in front of Ferguson's children.

Ellis and Ferguson were discussing people in the industry who they look up to, and Ferguson mentioned Lane and how his advice is always "so funny, because I don't even think he's like trying to give me advice, but I think [it's] just his sort of sense of humor and willingness to just be himself around me."

To illustrate, he told Ellis about how he invited Lane to his house a few weeks ago to have dinner with his family, which includes husband Justin Mikita and sons Beckett, 5, and Sullivan, 3.

Jesse Tyler Ferguson and Justin Mikita celebrate Christmas with sons Sully and Beckett.

Jesse Tyler Ferguson/Instagram

"[Lane] was in town shooting something and we've been trying to meet for dinner and it was just easier," Ferguson explained. "I was like, 'Do you just want me to cook for you? I'll cook for you.' And he came over." Ferguson added that Lane brought along mutual friend and fellow star Pamela Adlon to the get-together, all of which he had to explain to his kids.

"'You know, my friend Nathan's coming over and he's bringing our friend Pam,'" Ferguson recalled telling his sons. "And I was like, 'You know Nathan, of course. You've listened to him, you know his voice from [Timon in] *The Lion King*.' So I played 'Hakuna Matata' and on my way to school they were singing 'Hakuna Matata' and I was like, 'This is Nathan who is coming to dinner!'"

He continued, "So that evening, Nathan comes over with Pam, and Nathan comes in, and my son goes, 'I know who you are!' He called him 'Athan.' 'Athan, Athan, Athan, I know who you are! You're from 'Hakuna Matata,' you're from *Lion King!*' And Nathan was like, 'Oh god.' Like as if he was being stopped in the street by a fan. I was like, 'Nathan, he's a 5-year-old. Like, let it rest.'"

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Lane didn't stop the foolery there, though. Ferguson told Ellis that his oldest son, Beckett, then went off to his room and came back a little while later with something hidden behind his back to show Lane.

"He's like, 'Athan, Athan, Athan, guess what I have?'" Ferguson remembered. "And Nathan goes, 'Hepatitis.'"

While some parents might not have appreciated the wisecrack, Ferguson apparently took it all in stride. He told Ellis, "I loved him so much for just being authentically himself. He's like, 'I don't mind kids, but I also don't relate to them. And I hear an opportunity for a joke and this is what I'm going to give.'" Fair enough.**

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