'Modern Family' 's Nolan Gould Goes Shirtless and Talks Growing Up on the Show: 'It's Pretty Crazy'

Fans of Modern Family have watched Nolan Gould grow up for years, but they’ve never seen the actor like this.

In a new feature for C’est Prune magazine, the 20-year-old star looks all grown up in a series of brooding photos, which include several shirtless shots, while also opening up about what it’s like to have spent almost half of his life on the long-running ABC series, which has been renewed for an 11th — and final — season.

“I think it goes without saying that it’s pretty crazy having spent ten, coming up on eleven, years on a TV show,” Gould, who plays Luke Dunphy, tells C’est Prune‘s Dylan Rubinstein. “That’s almost half my life.”

“It’s been such a big part of my life for the last decade that it’s going to be very strange moving on,” he adds. “I’m not sure what to compare it to for someone that hasn’t been a part of it. Maybe it’s similar to finally finishing school after years of studying and hard work. I’ll be sad to leave it behind but I’m looking forward to the future.”

According to Gould, even when Modern Family isn’t filming, his on-screen family is as tight-knit as ever.

“We spend almost every day together for eight months straight while filming,” he says. “When the show goes on break some people go back home, some work on other projects, and some, like me, go traveling. But just like family I know they’re always there when I need them.”

“I call Ariel [Winter] when I need girl help, share nerdy stuff with Julie [Bowen], and reach out to Ty [Burrell] for advice in anything outdoors related,” he adds. “I know we’ll definitely all be close for life.”

Opening up to PEOPLE in 2014, Gould said that it’s “kind of crazy sometimes” to look back at how much he’s grown since he first began working on the show at the age of 10.

“I’ll see a side-by-side shot of when I first started the show and how I look now — it’s like a metamorphosis,” he said. ” ‘Who is that little curly-headed kid right there?’ ”

The actor said that although some viewers have been receptive to his more mature looks, others have mixed feelings about seeing his character change before their eyes.

“There’s one group on the Internet that hates me growing up. They are like, ‘No, our little baby is growing up! Awww Luke!’ ” he said. “You have the other side which is like the teenage girls who are all into it. They are like, ‘Oh yeah, he’s getting older, woo!’ It’s really interesting to see what you find.”