How Ed O'Neill's TV Co-Stars Really Felt About Working With Him

Summary

• Ed O'Neill regrets not standing up for his co-star Amanda Bearse when they were on Married... with Children.
• Julie Bowen and Christina Applegate both had positive experiences working with Ed O'Neill.
• Sofia Vergara initially had reservations about working with Ed O'Neill due to the age difference.

Known for playing grumpy fathers/husbands on two hit sitcoms, Ed O'Neill seemed to stop acting once Modern Family went off the air in 2020. There's no doubt that he has had a respectable and interesting career. O'Neill said no to another sitcom role before being cast in Married... with Children, and many fans would say he was perfect as Al Bundy. The actor also made everyone laugh (and often feel frustrated) as Jay Pritchett.

There are countless examples of Ed O'Neill's famous characters being jerks on their respective sitcoms. Anytime fans watch Modern Family on Hulu, they can see all the times when Jay behaved badly. But is Ed O'Neill as grumpy as his characters? What is he like as an actor on set? Several of O'Neill's former co-stars have shared the truth about his behavior.

6 Ed O'Neill Fought With His Married... with Children Co-Star Amanda Bearse

Amanda Bearse Played Peggy Bundy's Friend And Neighbor Marcy Rhoades

Amanda Bearse called Married... with Children "misogynistic," and it turns out that she had a tough time with more than just the storylines. Bearse and her co-star Ed O'Neill didn't see eye to eye for a while. According to The Daily Mail, O'Neill was interviewed on Jesse Tyler Ferguson's Dinner With Me Podcast, and he talked about fighting with Bearse. O'Neill said:

"I did a thing on the show that involved Amanda Bearse that I regretted. We didn’t get along, but we did for a long time. We were great friends. And I could guess, I don’t want to speak for her, but it started when we got the cover of TV Guide."

O'Neill explained that TV Guide didn't want a lot of cast members posing for the magazine's cover. While he could have said that Bearse deserved to be on the cover, he didn't. The actor says he "regrets" not going to bat for Bearse. It sounds like this is something that still affects him to this day.

5 Julie Bowen Talked About Her Modern Family Co-Star Ed O'Neill Fondly

Julie Bowen Played Jay Pritchett's Daughter Claire Dunphy

In 2012, Julie Bowen was interviewed by The Hollywood Reporter Roundtable along with Christina Applegate. When Applegate mentioned Ed O'Neill's harsh Married... with Children character, Bowen noted that she couldn't associate her co-star with this harsh character.

Bowen said, “I don’t even think of [our] Ed O’Neill as Al Bundy. I’ll see him on an episode of Married … With Children, and I’m like, ‘Oh my God, that’s him!'”

Julie Bowen's TV Roles:

• Andie McDermott in Extreme (1995)
• Roxanne Please in E.R. (1998-1999)
• Carol Vessey in Ed (2000-2004)
• Sarah Shepard in Lost (2005-2007)
• Denise Bauer in Boston Legal (2005-2008)
• Claire Dunphy in Modern Family (2009-2020)
• voice of Queen Arianna in Tangled: The Series (2017-2020)

Based on this comment, it seems that Bowen views O'Neill warmly. Since Bowen doesn't associate O'Neill with such an angry character, that suggests that he was always great to work with. She doesn't seem to have said anything negative about working with him.

4 Christina Applegate Learned Life Lessons From Ed O'Neill

Christina Applegate Played Al Bundy's Daughter Kelly Bundy

In the same 2012 The Hollywood Reporter Roundtable, Christina Applegate shared positive memories about working with her Married... with Children co-stars Katey Sagal and Ed O'Neill. She said, “I grew up with Ed O’Neill and Katey Sagal as parents, so anything that I’ve done well or poorly you can blame pretty much on them." She said that from these two actors:

"I learned how to completely let go and that it’s OK to look foolish, and to come at it with truth. That all really came from Eddie and Katey.”

Since Christina Applegate was a teenager when she acted on Married... with Children, she worked with Ed O'Neill during an important time in her life. It sounds like she had a positive time on set and that she picked up some memorable life and acting lessons from O'Neill that she has applied ever since.

3 Sofia Vergara Had Fun Working With Ed O'Neill On Modern Family

Sofia Vergara Played Jay Pritchett's Wife Gloria Delgado-Pritchett

When it comes to how Ed O'Neill treats his co-stars, everyone is curious to hear what Sofia Vergara has to say. After all, she played Jay Pritchett's wife on Modern Family, and the two shared countless hilarious yet sometimes tense scenes. While Jay loves Gloria, he doesn't always know the right thing to say or do. It turns out that while the actress had some reservations about her co-star, she loved working with him.

According to Fandomwire.com, Sofia Vergara talked about Ed O'Neill on the podcast Hart to Hart. She said that when she lived in Colombia, she was a fan of Married... with Children, and she was concerned about having a dull time working with someone so much older than her. It was much better than she imagined. Vergara said, "I remember the first that they told me he was going to be, you know, my husband, and I’m like, ‘Oh my God, I am going to be stuck with the old guy in the set for hours and it’s going to be so boring’ and it was complete opposite."

2 Nolan Gould Looked Up To His Modern Family Co-Star Ed O'Neill

Nolan Gould Played Jay Pritchett's Grandson Luke Dunphy

According to Cheat Sheet, Nolan Gould shared a story about Ed O'Neill phoning him after Modern Family ended. Gould said that he missed his co-stars and that he was excited when O'Neill called to check in and chat. Gould said, “It was like the coolest, craziest experience of my life. I don’t think I’ve ever gotten a phone call from Ed O’Neill casually... we talked about life and the quarantine and everything.”

Nolan Gould's Other Memorable TV Roles:

• Jack Pierce / Greg in The Haunting Hour: The Series (2011-2014)
• Travis Tordjman in three episodes of What's Up North (2020)
• Chase Sams in one episode of Grey's Anatomy (2022)

1 Eric Stonestreet Praised His Modern Family Co-Star Ed O'Neill's Acting Talent

Eric Stonestreet Played Jay Pritchett's Son-In-Law Cameron Tucker

In April 2020, Ed O'Neill turned 74, and several Modern Family co-stars posted about O'Neill's birthday on social media. Eric Stonestreet praised Ed O'Neill and said that he was always impressed by O'Neill's talent. Stonestreet wrote:

"Happy birthday to the master of the 3 word sentence. No one can get more out of 3 words in a scene than the great Ed O’Neill."

Stonestreet made an interesting point about O'Neill's acting abilities. While Jay is a man of few words, his feelings are often written all over his face, and that's all thanks to O'Neill's captivating performance. Jay is often caught between the traditional father/husband role he has always played and realizing that his family members need more from him. It sounds like Stonestreet always enjoyed acting alongside O'Neill.