Ed O'Neill Movies
Rising to fame as American family man Al Bundy on the lowbrow sitcom Married...With Children, actor Ed O' Neill was the physical embodiment of almost every stereotype leveled at lower-middle-class husbands and fathers. Although many sneered at the bathroom humor and questionable taste of the series (O'Neill himself admitted that he thought the show would be canceled after a mere... (read more) six episodes), his perfection in the role was undeniably effective -- so much so that it was difficult for him to avoid typecasting despite the versatility he displayed in such features as Prefontaine and The Spanish Prisoner (both 1997). Following graduation from Ursuline High School, the Youngstown, OH, native worked a series of odd jobs before studying theater and history at Ohio University College and, eventually, Youngstown State University. A talented football player, O'Neill was drafted by the Pittsburgh Steelers in 1969, though was cut from the team shortly thereafter. His early stage auditions weren't much more encouraging, and between minor theater roles, the acting hopeful returned to his former high school to teach social studies. He continued to dream of becoming an actor, however, so moved to New York in 1977 and studied at the famed Circle in the Square. An early break came when O'Neill, an understudy for the lead role in the Broadway play Knockout, was asked to take the stage when the original actor abandoned the production.
Although O'Neill had appeared in a brief (one-line), uncredited role in 1972's Deliverance, he had his first real part as a police detective in the Al Pacino thriller Cruising in 1980. As the decade progressed, O'Neill found steady work in made-for-TV features and occasional television guest appearances. In 1986, his performance in the title role in Popeye Doyle (a real-life character memorably portrayed by Gene Hackman in The French Connection) showed him to be a confident and effective lead. During a stage performance as Lenny in Of Mice and Men in Hartford, CT, an executive from FOX happened to be in the audience. After showing the script of Married...With Children to his wife, O'Neill knew that it was not an opportunity to let pass. He landed the role with ease, and his portrayal of the bumbling Al Bundy not only formed the backbone of the series, but created a caricature of American family life which would only be matched by the likes of Homer Simpson. O'Neill appeared in several feature films during the show's ten-year run, including Dutch (1991), Wayne's World (1992), Blue Chips, and Little Giants (both 1994). As the series drew to a close in 1997, the actor began to venture outside the confines of the Bundy family living room in such unexpectedly dramatic turns as The Spanish Prisoner and The Bone Collector. O'Neill later returned to the small screen in Big Apple (2001) and a 2003 remake of Dragnet, playing policemen in both series.
He appeared in the David Mamet thriller Spartan in 2004, and worked with the director again on 2008's Redbelt. He was on the short-lived HBO series John From Cincinnati in 2007. However, in 2009 he scored a major career boost as the patriarch in the ABC sitcom Modern Family. His work on the show earned him an Emmy nomination, something that never happened during his days as Al Bundy. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
Modern Family: Season 01
2009
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Modern Family [TV Series]
2009
This mockumentary-style sitcom chronicles the unusual kinship of the extended Pritchett clan, a brood that includes patriarch Jay (Ed O'Neill), his younger Latina wife, Gloria,...
Redbelt
R 2008
Tim Allen and Chiwetel Ejiofor co-star in writer/director David Mamet's martial arts drama Redbelt. Ejiofor plays Mike Terry, a jujitsu master who co-runs...
John From Cincinnati [TV Series]
2007
Created by the same team responsible for the quirky, iconoclastic HBO western series Deadwood, John from Cincinnati was a magical mystery tour of the California surfing...
Dragnet: Season 02
2004
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Spartan
R 2004
David Mamet writes and directs the political thriller Spartan. Respected Secret Service agent Robert Scott (Val Kilmer) is assigned to the kidnapping case of...
Married... With Children Reunion
2003
Telecast seven years after the final first-run episode of Married. . .With Children, this 42-minute reunion special originally aired with a minimum of commercial interruptions....
Dragnet: Season 01
2003
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K-9: P.I.
PG13 2002
Dooley and Jerry Lee are at it again. The day after Dooley (James Belushi) retires as a detective from the police force, he finds himself -- and his faithful canine...
Nobody's Baby
R 2001
A slack-jawed yokel discovers the joys of parenthood while trying to avoid the law in this gleefully tasteless comedy. Billy (Skeet Ulrich) and Buford (Gary Oldman) are two...
Lucky Numbers
R 2000
While lots of people dream of winning the lottery, one man hatches a more ambitious plan than just buying a ticket and hoping for the best in this satiric comedy. Russ Richards...
The 10th Kingdom
2000
This ten-hour mini-series extravaganza originally aired on February 26, 2000 on NBC, and concerns the fate of a janitor, Tony (John Larroquette), and his lovely daughter...
The Bone Collector
R 1999
Filmed on location in Montreal and New York, The Bone Collector is a suspense thriller that combines Rear Window and Seven. Two cops on the trail of a brutal serial...
The Spanish Prisoner
PG 1997
Writer-director David Mamet crafted this unusual, Hitchcockian thriller in which no one is who they appear to be. Campbell Scott is Joe Ross, who has just created a...
Prefontaine
PG13 1997
This biographical sports drama is the true story of an Olympic runner whose life ended tragically short. Jared Leto stars as Steve Prefontaine, a teen who develops a...
Married... With Children: Season 11
1996
Having clocked in eleven seasons, Married...With Children was Fox's longest-lasting series of the 1996-1997 TV season. Unfortunately, the 11th season was the last, due in...
Married... With Children: Season 10
1995
With the launching of the 1995-1996 TV season, Married...With Children became the first Fox network show to remain on the air for ten years. It is clear, however, that age...
Married... With Children: Season 09
1994
As Married...With Children enters its ninth season, the Bundy family's youngest member, Bud (David Faustino), has gotten a job at the motor vehicle bureau; Bud's older...
Little Giants
PG 1994
A successful retired jock and his geeky younger brother play out their sibling rivalry by coaching rival little league football teams in this family comedy. Ed O'Neill plays...
Blue Chips
PG13 1994
Blue Chips examines greed, cheating, and "winning at all costs" in the world of college basketball. Nick Nolte plays the stressed-out coach on the verge of his first losing...