Ed O’Neill is an accomplished television, movie, and stage actor who has been on the scene for decades. But two main roles have defined him as an actor: the dejected father Al Bundy on ‘80s and ‘90s sitcom Married…With Children, and as the wealthy patriarch Jay Pritchett on ABC sitcom Modern Family, which is currently airing its 11th and final season. The characters share some similarities, including being married to a beautiful young woman (for Jay, it’s his second marriage), having a son and a daughter (Jay later had a second son as well as a stepson), and being somewhat surly, grumpy men. But their lives also couldn’t be any different.
Al was a low-to-middle-class shoe salesman who hated his life and was annoyed by his wife and children. Struggling to make ends meet, he often fantasized about his glory days when he was younger. Jay, meanwhile, is an accomplished entrepreneur who started his own successful closets company. Extremely wealthy, he lives a life of opulence as he enters his golden years, gearing up for retirement (and, in the final season, officially retiring). But which is the better role?
Jay Pritchett: He’s Super Successful
While we want to root for Al because he was just so lovably angry and defeated, it is nice to see O’Neill play a wealthy, successful businessman instead of a young father who can’t stand his life and his job.
Jay lives in a massive house with a beautiful wife, his stepson and a new son. He has a pool, a dog, and a business that runs like a well-oiled machine. He’s everything Al wanted to become but didn’t have the smarts, the drive, or the motivation to accomplish.
Al Bundy: He Has a Quick Wit
While Jay sometimes comes up with clever one-liners in response to things his wife, kids, grandkids, or son-in-law Phil says, his humor is not on par with that of Al. While most of Al’s jokes involved mean insults and comments, they were downright hilarious.
He could come up with the most clever and hurtful insults in a heartbeat. Jay, meanwhile, often just prefers to shrug his shoulders, grab a glass of scotch, and walk away or head to the golf course where he can ignore those who were causing him stress.
Jay Pritchett: Al Is Really Offensive to Women
Sure, Al is super funny, but he’s also incredibly offensive to women, insulting their looks, clothing, and, most frequently their weight. There’s no chance Married…With Children would ever be made today.
Jay might throw an insult or two out to someone, especially his son-in-law Phil, but he knows where to draw a line. Al, meanwhile, had no line. Whatever it was he could say that might cross into offensive territory, he would leap and bound toward it.
Al Bundy: Jay Takes Things for Granted
Jay might be far wealthier than Al, but he also takes things for granted and might not appreciate what he has as much as someone like Al might. Imagine if Al and his wife Peggy had won the lottery! Would he be far more appreciative of such a big house, cars, and his family? OK, probably not.
Nonetheless, you can’t help but root for the underdog. And in this case, O’Neill’s ability to play Al as such a sad and pathetic man, right down to how he slumps down on the couch every day when he returns home from work, is second to none.
Jay Pritchett: He’s a More Realistic Representation of a Father
While the characters sit on two extremes of what family life could be like, Jay is the more realistic representation of a father. He was a traditional working man who didn’t spend much time with his kids when they were growing up, who was somewhat distant but always authoritative, and who provided for his family.
By contrast, Al went a bit too far sometimes in left field. His constant insults towards customers at work, for example, would have easily gotten him fired, something someone in Al’s position wouldn’t risk having happen to him.
Al Bundy: He Was a Football Hero
Who can forget Al’s constant storytelling about his glory days in high school, when he scored those four touchdowns in a single game way back in 1966. He accomplished this against his nemesis at the time, Bubba “Spare Time” Dixon, who was playing for the rival team at Andrew Johnson High School.
Al claimed to have scored the game-winning touchdown. He relived that moment in his head every time he felt down, which was often. And watching O’Neill tell the story as Al made you feel like he really, truly was back in that moment every time he did.
Jay Pritchett: He Loves to Work
While Al was generally lazy and angry about his life, just wanting to come home, sit on the couch, and watch the game every night, Jay isn’t afraid to take chances. When he finally decided to retire and hand the company over to his daughter Claire, Jay tried to sit back and relax. But he couldn’t.
Unlike Al, Jay felt like he always needed to be doing something. So he started up another business designing and building fun and themed dog beds. Jay is a go-getter whereas Al was a no-getter.
Al Bundy: He Wants A Better Life
Jay has the better life, so it’s easier to play a guy who has it all. But playing a guy who is completely down on his luck, unhappy with every aspect of his life, from his job to his family, his neighbors and friends, and his inability to get any time to himself? Now that is difficult.
O’Neill did a wonderful job of portraying Al in such a way that made you loathe and love him at the same time. It made you turn up your nose at how he treated his wife and kids, and even his neighbor Marcy.
Jay Pritchett: He’s a True Family Man
Jay also loves his family but doesn’t always show it. A traditional, old school man, he accepted his son Mitch (eventually) when he came out as gay, and he puts up with his daughter Claire’s obsessive and anxious nature, supporting her in any way he can.
He might not have been the most present father when they were growing up, focused more on building his business while leaving the parenting to his then-wife. But he does what he can to make up for it now.
Al Bundy: He’s Unlike Any Other Character Ever on TV
Despite his shortcomings, what made Al the best character O’Neill has ever played on TV is that he was unlike anyone else. We’ve seen middle-class dads and we’ve seen mean characters. But there’s something about the way O’Neill made Al into a caricature of a person that was so enticing to watch.
Al represented everything you might despise about your life, every missed dream and opportunity. He showed you how someone should not speak to others and what happens if you focus too much on your past and not enough on your future. But when it comes down to it, Al still loved his kids and wife, and O’Neill’s portrayal helped make that crystal clear.
