Christina Applegate Makes Bold Declaration About TV Dad Ed O'Neill

Christina Applegate had some kind words for the actor who, years ago, played her on-screen father.

Applegate, 52, spoke with Ed O’Neill during a recent episode of MeSsy, the podcast she co-hosts with Jamie-Lynn Sigler. While their podcast is primarily focused on the two actress’ battles with multiple sclerosis, they occasionally invite guests to join them for special discussions, as they did with the latest podcast episode that was released on Tuesday, Aug. 27.

Applegate and O’Neill co-starred in Married… with Children, the popular family sitcom that began its 11-season run in 1987. O’Neill played Al, the patriarch of the Chicago, Ill.-based Bundy family, and Applegate played his daughter Kelly. The show also starred Katey Sagal as Peggy, Applegate’s onscreen mom, and David Faustino as Bud, Applegate’s onscreen brother.

As Tuesday’s podcast episode began, Applegate introduced O’Neil, 78, to listeners by first declaring, “I don’t even know how to explain this person,” before giving a glowing synopsis of their relationship.

“He raised me, so if you don’t like anything about me, it’s his fault,” she declared. "If you do like anything about me, also his fault. Years and years of my life spent with this man, and he’s an incredible actor, he’s an incredible human being,” she added.

As the episode continued, the Dead to Me star offered additional praise for the person who “taught” her how to bring comedic elements into her performances.

“I think that nobody could have played Al but you,” she said. She attributed O’Neill’s ability to do so to his “rough around the edges” vibe, which she suggested was a result of his childhood growing up in a blue-collar family in Youngstown, Ohio.

Applegate also attributed her own decision to join Married… with Children to watching O’Neill and Sagal perform together. Though she’d been initially resistant to the idea of joining a show that embraced what she described as “toilet humor,” she was impressed by the comedy she saw on display in the pilot, which she’d watched after being urged to reconsider joining the cast.

“My mom and I did not want to laugh,” Applegate remembered. “And you came on, you’d hit your hand on a cactus instead of the alarm, and you had a bandage on your hand, and my mom and I were like, ‘Oh god. This is f---king hysterical.’” As Applegate told O’Neill, “You and Katey just killed me, man.”

After watching the pilot, Applegate said she’d read for the role as “a formality.”

“The rest is history,” she said.

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