Ed O’Neill might be a legendary actor, but when it comes to recognizing celebrities, he’s in a league of his own—just not in a good way.
Back in 2018, the Modern Family star appeared on The Ellen Show and struggled hilariously through a game where he had to identify famous faces. Ariana Grande was the first celeb to pop up, and while O’Neill stuttered his way to the correct answer, things went downhill from there.
When shown a picture of Beyoncé, he hesitated before guessing, “Is that Kardashian?” Then, in a bizarre twist, he floated the name “Jennifer” (likely thinking of J.Lo) before finally landing on Queen Bey’s name.
Reese Witherspoon? He remembered she won an Oscar but couldn’t recall her name.
Chris Hemsworth? O’Neill thought he was a Jonas Brother. To be fair, he did compliment the Thor star, saying he looked like a young Brad Pitt. But even after multiple attempts—and zero help from his daughter in the audience—he gave up.
Ryan Gosling? Once again, O’Neill defaulted to “Jonas Brother” before admitting defeat.
Surprisingly, Meghan Markle was the only other celeb he could identify (though he only got her last name right).
This wasn’t even O’Neill’s first run-in with celebrity face blindness. He famously failed to recognize Britney Spears at an airport—even though she was the one asking for a picture. Taylor Swift? He unknowingly took a selfie with her at a birthday party and had to text the photo to his daughter for an ID.
At this point, Ed O’Neill might need flashcards before stepping into Hollywood events.