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Ed O’Neill was a hardworking 41-year-old character actor when, in 1987, he was cast as Al Bundy in the Fox TV series “Married ... With Children.” The raunchy but hilarious show, which featured the most dysfunctional family on TV, ran for 11 seasons and made O’Neill a star. Since then, the likable actor has had a busy TV career, popping up on “The West Wing,” “8 Simple Rules,” “John From Cincinnati” and as Det. Joe Friday in a 2003 remake of “Dragnet.”
This year, O’Neill has hit pay dirt again, playing Jay Pritchett, patriarch of the hit ABC series “Modern Family.” Freelance writer Lewis Beale caught up with the 63-year-old star during a break in series production.
Question: “Modern Family” was a hit from the day it debuted. What was it you liked about the project?
Answer: I liked the fact there were no jokes, that it was story-driven. I liked the interconnectedness, yet the separateness of the three families, and I thought there was a lot of room for comedic situations. I liked that it was so ensemble. That’s my theater background.
Q: Your character is an older, successful guy married to Gloria, a Colombian hottie (Sofia Vergara) with a precocious, 10-year-old son, Manny (Rico Rodriguez). One of the things that makes Jay endearing is he’s really trying to be a father to Manny.
A: The fact he wasn’t the greatest dad the first time around, I think a regret is there. Now that he’s got another chance, even though I think Manny was not part of the bargain originally, now that he’s got him, he’s enjoying it. He’s basically a good guy, anyway.
Q: In a way, “Modern Family” is kind of a descendant of “Married ... With Children.” It’s about family dysfunction, but nowhere near as down and dirty.
A: The working title (of ‘Married ... With Children’) was “We’re Not the Cosbys.” They wanted to do a show about people who were never represented on TV before. Like the high school bimbo was always the friend of the star, but never the star. Also, the fact the husband was not wildly attracted to the wife anymore was never represented. It’s a bit uncomfortable for people to see that, but I think it smacked of reality.
Q: The show lasted a long time. Do you think it got the respect it deserved?
A: I would say yes and no. When it was really funny, it was really funny. But it was a show that the people who give out awards would pooh-pooh. It wasn’t polished enough; it was too crude. In that regard, we were often overlooked.
Q: You’re a working-class, Irish Catholic kid from Youngstown, Ohio, and at one time were drafted by the Pittsburgh Steelers as a linebacker. How did you get into acting?
A: I was with the Steelers about two weeks. I went back to Youngstown pretty lost, and I got involved in the community theater. I had done a little acting in high school, and I went back to school and sort of majored in theater. I went to movies a lot as a kid. I was the guy who would go and tell all my friends, line for line, the movie, and they’d see it and say, “It wasn’t that good.” I’m a good storyteller, which I get from my family, Irish-American storytellers, which is a natural for an actor.
Q: Yet you taught school for a while, and didn’t go to New York to break into theater until years later.
A: I was around 30 years old. I wasn’t a bad-looking kid, I was kind of handsome in a rough sort of way. I was a kind of physical guy, not bad looking, and I had a lot of theater background. I remember getting off the bus at Port Authority, going in a coffee shop across the street and asking the waitress, “Where do the actors live?” I soon realized I had to get a paying job, one that gives you freedom, and that was waiting tables. And I met other actors as waiters. I thought it was so exciting.
Q: Given that it’s football season, and the Steelers are defending Super Bowl champs, are you still a Steelers fan?
A: Of course. I’m born and raised in that area. When I was trying to make that team, what I recall the most was the graciousness of the Rooney family; they treated the players great. I was a rookie (during coach) Chuck Noll’s
