
Ed O’Neill has been working in the entertainment industry for over 50 years, but it wasn’t until he was over 60 that he really hit it big with his roles in Married… With Children and Modern Family. Despite his long career, he became a household name later in life.
In a recent episode of his podcast Dinner’s On Me, where he sat down with his former co-star Jesse Tyler Ferguson, O’Neill shared an unexpected story about almost getting involved in organized crime during his early career struggles.
He revealed that a close friend once offered him a deal he couldn’t refuse—joining the mob. O’Neill was down on his luck and struggling financially at the time when his friend, who had connections to organized crime, suggested he join the underworld for some easy money. O’Neill mentioned that he had friends whose fathers were involved in this type of work, so it wasn’t completely out of the blue.
In the story, O’Neill was driving with his friend Jim when Jim noticed that O’Neill was broke and asked him how he was doing. When O’Neill admitted that he didn’t have much, Jim suggested a possible solution. They stopped by a bar where Jim spoke to the bartender and then turned to O’Neill, saying, “I’ll give you easy stuff. You just collect money here, drop things off there, maybe intimidate someone now and then. You’d make good money doing this.”
At first, O’Neill wasn’t sure and told his friend he would think about it. After returning to Pittsburgh, he gave it more thought, but eventually, he decided against it. Instead of taking up the offer, O’Neill called Jim to let him know he was going to try again in New York to pursue his dreams of making it as an actor.
Looking back on it, O’Neill reflects on how close he came to taking a different path, but in the end, his dedication to acting paid off. His big break came with Modern Family, where he played Jay Pritchett, a role that made him even more famous, especially alongside Sofia Vergara.