“I don’t know anybody here”: When Modern Family star Ed O’Neill revealed how he initially thought none of his co-stars were famous

The Modern Family cast is counted among the best ensembles to ever grace the television screens. Each actor played their role as if they were born to play it. Over the years, each character has become iconic, and it’s pretty difficult to choose a favorite.

While all the actors, including Sofía Vergara, Julie Bowen, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Eric Stonestreet, and Ty Burrell, have shot to super stardom after the show, Ed O'Neill was the only established television actor when the series began.

During an appearance on The Ellen Show in 2018, O'Neill talked about his first impression of his Modern Family co-stars. He revealed that when he first met all of them at the table read, he thought none of them were famous, and hence, the show might not be successful:

“Well, the first time that I met everybody was at the table read…So, we’re reading through the pilot, we’re reading the script. And so I sat down, and I looked around. And I waved and I thought, ‘I don’t know anybody here.’ None of them were famous….I thought it was going to be no show.”

When Ed O’Neill opened up about his first impression of his Modern Family co-stars

During the conversation, Ed O’Neill added that while he was a little skeptical about his Modern Family co-stars when he first met them, his opinion changed almost instantly during the table read as he realized how talented they were:

“Anyway, we started reading and when I read, I don’t act it out. I’m more or less just reading it… two or three minutes in, I started going, who are these people? They were so good. The kids, everybody was so good. I thought, ‘Whoa, maybe we have a shot here.’”

Eventually, all the cast members gave stellar performances and made Modern Family a cult classic. The series went on for 11 seasons and won 22 Emmys, including six for the performances of Eric Stonestreet, Ty Burrell, and Julie Bowen. Audiences still love to watch its reruns as a comfort show.

Ed O’Neill’s initial concern does seem legit, as he was already a big star on television before the inception of the ABC sitcom. He became a household name with his role as Al Bundy in the FOX comedy series Married... with Children. He also appeared in the films The Dogs of War, The Bone Collector, and Spartan.

Modern Family chronicles three modern-day families in Los Angeles who are all related to each other. In mockumentary format, the series represents their routine life as they live with their growing-up kids and eccentric partners.

O’Neill played the patriarch Jay Pritchett in the show, and was joined by Sofía Vergara, who played his second and young wife, Gloria Pritchett. Julie Bowen starred as his daughter, Claire, and Ty Burrell played her husband, Phil Dunphy. Jesse Tyler Ferguson appeared as Jay’s son, Mitchell Pritchett, and Eric Stonestreet portrayed his partner, Cameron Tucker.

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The rest of the cast included Sarah Hyland as Haley Dunphy, Ariel Winter as Alex Dunphy, Nolan Gould as Luke Dunphy, Rico Rodriguez as Manny Delgado, Jeremy Maguire as Joe Pritchett, Aubrey Anderson-Emmons as Lily Tucker-Pritchett, and Reid Ewing as Dylan Marshall.

All seasons of Modern Family are streaming on Hulu.

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