Christina Applegate on her “incredible” TV dad Ed O’Neill
Written by ABC AUDIO ALL RIGHTS RESERVED on August 27, 2024
On the Aug. 27 installment of Christina Applegate‘s podcast, MeSsy with Christina Applegate and Jamie–Lynn Sigler, the pair welcomed Christina’s TV dad and former Married with Children co-star Ed O’Neill.
His TV daughter’s introduction revealed the relationship rubbed off on the pair, even off camera. “I don’t even know how to explain this person. He raised me, so if you don’t like anything about me, it’s his fault.”
She continued, “If you do like anything about me, also his fault. Years, years of my life spent with this man and he’s an incredible actor, he’s an incredible human being.”
Applegate, who is now 52, met O’Neill when she was 15. He played family patriarch Al Bundy on the sitcom that ran on Fox from 1987 to 1997.
Christina went on to star in movies like the Anchorman franchise and shows like Dead to Me before becoming an advocate for multiple sclerosis.
O’Neill, of course, went on to star on Modern Family for 11 seasons.
The actor revealed how when he was cut as a rookie player for the Pittsburgh Steelers, he returned to Youngstown, Ohio, broke and was “thinking about” making money through a friend’s connection by working with the mafia.
Instead, he followed his dream to move to New York and become an actor, logging much dramatic stage work, until a turn in Of Mice and Men onstage — “NOT A COMEDY!” he laughed — led to Married with Children.
Applegate later said, “Nobody could have played Al like you,” due to his real-life blue-collar background.
She also shared how nurturing her onscreen mom Katey Sagal is: “You can lay in her lap and feel safe.”
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