About
"That's the formula for comedy: it's one step forward and then two steps back. Or it's two steps forward and one step back. It can never be resolved. Then you have no show."
In his three-hour interview, Ed O'Neill discusses entering acting in his early thirties. He talks of his love of theater and speaks of several plays he was in before landing a role on the soap opera Another World. He recalls several guest appearances on television shows in the early 1980s and explains how starring in the play Of Mice and Men led to getting cast in his most iconic role, that of "Al Bundy" on Married...With Children. O'Neill describes shooting the pilot of the show, meeting fellow cast members, and what a typical work week on the program was like. He comments on how changes with the writing/production staff affected the show and shares that the series never had a last show/wrap-up episode. He discusses his roles in the movies Dutch and Wayne's World and outlines several David Milch series on which he worked, including Big Apple and John from Cincinnati. O'Neill also recalls his role as "Joe Friday" in the 2003 reboot of Dragnet and then details his role as "Jay Pritchett" on Modern Family. He recounts how he was approached for the series, what it's like working with the ensemble cast, and discusses some of his favorite moments from the program. Nancy Harrington conducted the interview on April 3, 2013 in Beverly Hills, CA.
Highlights
Ed O'Neill on being considered for the role of "Steven Keaton" on Family Ties
Ed O'Neill on how he's like his Married... with Children character, "Al Bundy"
Ed O'Neill on appearing in the "Wayne's World" movies
Ed O'Neill on contemplating how to play the role of "Jay Pritchett" on Modern Family
Ed O'Neill on why Modern Family resonates with fans
Full Interview
Chapter 1
On his childhood and early influences; on attending Ohio University and Youngstown State University; on his interest in acting and his experience with the Circle in the Square Theater
On his role as the villain in the play "Knockout"; on getting cast in Another World and the process of shooting a soap opera
On being considered for the roles of "Sam Malone" on Cheers and "Steven Keaton" on Family Ties; on getting cast in the pilot Farrell for the People with Valerie Harper
On guest appearances on several shows in the early 1980s; on trying to break into movies and doing plays; on changing agents and his audition process
On his role in the TV movie/pilot Popeye Doyle; on how starring in the play "Of Mice and Men" led to getting cast in Married...With Children
On the premise of Married...With Children and the success of the show
On shooting the pilot of Married...With Children; on his character "Al Bundy"
Chapter 2
On audience reaction to Married...With Children; on having his image on Married...With Children merchandise and promotions
On a typical work week on Married...With Children; on the atmosphere on set and the Terry Rakolta campaign
On working with the cast and his favorite episodes of Married...With Children; on changes with the writing/producing staff
On why Married...With Children ended and never doing a "last show" wrap-up for the series; on where "Al Bundy" would be today and reuniting with the cast on David Faustino's web series; on the legacy of Married...With Children
On starring in the John Hughes movie "Dutch"; on appearing in the "Wayne's World" movies
On his roles in David Milch's Big Apple and John from Cincinnati; on how he was supposed to appear as "Al Swearengen" in David Milch's Deadwood and instead starred in the 2003 reboot of Dragnet
On appearing in several episodes of The West Wing and reuniting with Katey Sagal in 8 Simple Rules for Dating My Teenage Daughter
Chapter 3
On how he was cast on Modern Family; on contemplating how to play the role of "Jay Pritchett" on Modern Family
On meeting Modern Family's Sofia Vergara and the rest of the cast; on shooting the pilot, the style of shooting (single camera), and working with the creators Steve Levitan and Christopher Lloyd
On his Modern Family character "Jay Pritchett"; on his style of acting; on the relationships between family members on Modern Family
On balancing humor and touching moments on Modern Family; on his favorite scenes and Emmy nominations
On his voiceover work; on fans and his approach to acting; on his proudest achievement and career regrets
Shows
8 Simple Rules ... for Dating My Teenage Daughter
Ed O'Neill on reuniting with Katey Sagal in 8 Simple Rules for Dating My Teenage Daughter
Another World
Ed O'Neill on getting cast in Another World and the process of shooting a soap opera
Big Apple
Ed O'Neill on his role in David Milch's Big Apple
Cheers
Ed O'Neill on being considered for the role of "Sam Malone" on Cheers
Deadwood
Ed O'Neill on how he was supposed to appear David Milch's Deadwood
Ed O'Neill on how he was cast in John from Cincinnati after he was not cast in Deadwood
Dragnet
Ed O'Neill on appearing in the 2003 reboot of Dragnet
Family Ties
Ed O'Neill on being considered for the role of "Steven Keaton" on Family Ties
John from Cincinnati
Ed O'Neill on working with David Milch again in John from Cincinnati
Ed O'Neill on how he was cast in John from Cincinnati after he was not cast in Deadwood
Ed O'Neill on a John from Cincinnati rewrite and how he responded to it
Married… With Children
Ed O'Neill on how starring in the play "Of Mice and Men" led to getting cast on Married...With Children
Ed O'Neill on how Married...With Children was described to him, and originally passing on the show
Ed O'Neill on the premise of Married...With Children and the success of the show
Ed O'Neill on how he's like his Married... with Children character, "Al Bundy"
Ed O'Neill on shooting the pilot of Married...With Children
Ed O'Neill on his Married... with Children character, "Al Bundy" and his strengths and weaknesses; on how "Al" evolved over the years
Ed O'Neill on his Married... with Children character, "Al Bundy's" walk and stance
Ed O'Neill on audience reaction to Married...With Children
Ed O'Neill on having his image on Married...With Children merchandise and promotions
Ed O'Neill on a typical work week on Married...With Children and shooting in front of a live audience
Ed O'Neill on his input on his Married...With Children character "Al Bundy," the atmosphere on set, and not getting along with a certain cast member
Ed O'Neill on working with Daivd Faustino, "Bud Bundy" on Married...With Children
Ed O'Neill on censorship issues on Married...With Children and the Terry Rakolta campaign
Ed O'Neill on working with Katey Sagal, "Peg Bundy" on Married...With Children
Ed O'Neill on his favorite episodes of Married...With Children
Ed O'Neill on how co-creator Michael Moye leaving the show affected Married...With Children
Ed O'Neill on why Married...With Children ended and never doing a "last show" wrap-up for the series
Ed O'Neill on where "Al Bundy" would be today
Ed O'Neill on the legacy of Married...With Children
Modern Family
Ed O'Neill on how he was cast on Modern Family
Ed O'Neill on contemplating how to play the role of "Jay Pritchett" on Modern Family
Ed O'Neill on meeting Modern Family's Sofia Vergara and the rest of the cast
Ed O'Neill on shooting the pilot for Modern Family
Ed O'Neill on the style of shooting (single camera) and production on Modern Family
Ed O'Neill on working with Modern Family creators Steve Levitan and Christopher Lloyd
Ed O'Neill on his Modern Family character "Jay Pritchett" and his style of acting
Ed O'Neill on the relationship between "Jay and Gloria Pritchett" on Modern Family
Ed O'Neill on the relationship between "Jay Pritchett" and his children on Modern Family
Ed O'Neill on the relationship between "Jay Pritchett" and his son, "Mitchell Pritchett" on Modern Family
Ed O'Neill on the relationship between "Jay Pritchett" and his son-in-law, "Phil Dunphy" (played by Ty Burrell) on Modern Family
Ed O'Neill on the relationship between "Jay Pritchett" and his stepson, "Manny Delgado" (played by Rico Rodriguez) on Modern Family
Ed O'Neill on balancing humor and the touching moments on Modern Family
Ed O'Neill on his favorite scenes on Modern Family (with Jesse Tyler Ferguson)
Ed O'Neill on taking himself out of the lead actor category for Emmy nominations for his work on Modern Family
Ed O'Neill on why Modern Family resonates with fans
West Wing, The
Ed O'Neill on appearing in several episodes of The West Wing
Topics
Censorship / Standards & Practices
Ed O'Neill on censorship issues on Married...With Children and the Terry Rakolta campaign
Characters & Catchphrases
Ed O'Neill on his Married... with Children character, "Al Bundy"
Ed O'Neill on how he's like his Married... with Children character, "Al Bundy"
Ed O'Neill on his Married... with Children character, "Al Bundy" and his strengths, weaknesses, stance, and catchphrases
Ed O'Neill on his Modern Family character, "Jay Pritchett"
Emmy Awards
Ed O'Neill on taking himself out of the lead actor category for an Emmy for his work on Modern Family
Fame and Celebrity
Ed O'Neill on getting recognized by fans
LGBTQIA+
Ed O'Neill on the relationship between "Jay Pritchett" and his son, "Mitchell Pritchett" on Modern Family
Pop Culture
Ed O'Neill on his Married... with Children character, "Al Bundy"
Ed O'Neill on how he's like his Married... with Children character, "Al Bundy"
Ed O'Neill on his Married... with Children character, "Al Bundy" and his strengths, weaknesses, stance, and catchphrases
Ed O'Neill on audience reaction to Married...With Children
Ed O'Neill on his Modern Family character, "Jay Pritchett"
Representation on Television
Ed O'Neill on the relationship between "Jay Pritchett" and his son, "Mitchell Pritchett" on Modern Family
Television Industry
Ed O'Neill on audience reaction to Married...With Children
Ed O'Neill on censorship issues on Married...With Children and the Terry Rakolta campaign
Ed O'Neill on getting recognized by fans
Professions
Actor
Ed O'Neill on his audition process
Ed O'Neill on his style of acting
Ed O'Neill on his approach to acting
Ed O'Neill on advice for aspiring actors
Performers
Ed O'Neill on his audition process
Ed O'Neill on his style of acting
Ed O'Neill on his approach to acting
Ed O'Neill on advice for aspiring actors
Genres
Comedy Series
Ed O'Neill on getting cast in Married... with Children; on his character, "Al Bundy"
Ed O'Neill on a typical work week, the cast, and the legacy of Married...With Children
Ed O'Neill on getting cast on Modern Family, working with the cast, and the characters' relationships
People
Christopher Lloyd (actor)
Ed O'Neill on how he was cast on Modern Family
Ed O'Neill on working with Modern Family creators Steve Levitan and Christopher Lloyd
Christina Applegate
Ed O'Neill on upsetting Christina Applegate on the set of Married...With Children
Ty Burrell
Ed O'Neill on the relationship between "Jay Pritchett" and his son-in-law, "Phil Dunphy" (played by Ty Burrell) on Modern Family
Nicholas Colasanto
Ed O'Neill on being a fan of Nicholas Colasanto who played "Coach" on Cheers
Barry Diller
Ed O'Neill on Barry Diller's thoughts on casting choices for Married... with Children
Ed O'Neill on Barry Diller vetoing a promotional idea for "Dutch"
David Faustino
Ed O'Neill on working with Daivd Faustino, "Bud Bundy" on Married...With Children
Ed O'Neill on reuniting with the cast of Married...With Children on David Faustino's web series
Michael Gross
Ed O'Neill on suggesting Michael Gross for the role of "Steven Keaton" on Family Ties and shooting a movie with Michael Gross
Valerie Harper
Ed O'Neill on getting cast in the pilot Farrell for the People with Valerie Harper
Bob Iger
Ed O'Neill on Bog Iger's thoughts on the Modern Family pilot
Ron Leavitt
Ed O'Neill on auditioning for Married... with Children creators Michael Moye and Ron Leavitt
Ed O'Neill on how co-creator Michael Moye leaving the show affected Married...With Children
Steve Levitan
Ed O'Neill on how he was cast on Modern Family
Ed O'Neill on working with Modern Family creators Steve Levitan and Christopher Lloyd
David Milch
Ed O'Neill on his role in David Milch's Big Apple
Ed O'Neill on working with David Milch again in John from Cincinnati
Ed O'Neill on how he was cast in John from Cincinnati after he was not cast in Deadwood
Ed O'Neill on a John from Cincinnati rewrite and how he responded to it
Michael Moye
Ed O'Neill on auditioning for Married... with Children creators Michael Moye and Ron Leavitt
Ed O'Neill on how co-creator Michael Moye leaving the show affected Married...With Children
Craig T. Nelson
Ed O'Neill on Craig T. Nelson being up for the role of "Jay Pritchett" on Modern Family
Katey Sagal
Ed O'Neill on meeting Katey Sagal, "Peg Bundy" on Married... with Children
Ed O'Neill on working with Katey Sagal, "Peg Bundy" on Married...With Children
Oliver Stone
Ed O'Neill on auditioning for Oliver Stone for a role in the film "Platoon"
Robert Urich
Ed O'Neill on his guest appearance on Spencer for Hire and working with Robert Urich
Sofia Vergara
Ed O'Neill on meeting Modern Family's Sofia Vergara
Dick Wolf
Ed O'Neill on Dick Wolf asking him to be "Joe Friday" in the 2003 reboot of Dragnet