Although he has had a fairly successful acting career over the years, Ed O’Neill admitted that he almost ended up in the mafia.
During a recent episode of Dinner with me with Jesse Tyler Ferguson podcast, O’Neill spoke with his Modern Family co-star about how he almost turned to a life of crime due to his financial difficulties. “I had friends in organized crime,” he explained about almost joining the mafia when he was 20 years old. The actor referred to an old friend named Jim, who lived in his hometown of Youngstown, Ohio.
“[Jim] He called me and said, ‘Hey, come take a walk with me.’ I want to talk to you,’” Ed O’Neill recalled. “We were driving and he said, ‘How are you? You know, they cut you off, you have no money,’ I said, ‘No, I’m broke.’ “You know, I don’t know what I’m going to do.”
Ed O’Neill further recalled that his former friend took him to a “fancy” restaurant he would never go to. “He started talking to the waiter,” he continued. “He says, ‘I’m looking for this kid, his name is whatever, Demko, his name is Jimmy Demko, do you know him?’ And the guy says, ‘No, it doesn’t ring any bells.'”
Jim then described the man before finally deciding to bribe the waiter. He “Gives him 20 and says, ‘Look, he’s an old friend of mine, I haven’t seen him in years, you know, I’m looking to reconnect, but I’d like to surprise him.’ So if he comes back in, this is my, you can call this number. You can reach me.'”
After he and Jim leave the restaurant, Ed O’Neill is offered a job that he almost can’t resist. “We left and he said, ‘You can do this kind of thing for me, you know, I’ll protect you, I’ll give you easy things.’ You only pick up here. You do that. Run, leave something here and there.’”
Jim also said that O’Neill would make a lot of money doing these races.
Fortunately, Ed O’Neill’s father intervened after seeing him leave with Jim
Although he told Jim he would think about the offer, Ed O’Neill was quick to turn it down after talking to his father about the situation.
O’Neill said his father saw him leave with Jim and immediately had some questions. “He said, ‘I saw you taking a walk with Jimmy… I just want to ask you a question. Can you serve time?’” the actor said. O’Neill then told his father: “No.”
Ed O’Neill also recalled that his father said he would have a hard time in prison. “I said, ‘No, I don’t think he can do time.’ He said, ‘Okay.'”
After having that conversation with his father, Ed O’Neill left for New York City, where he pursued acting. He became a theater artist in just a few months.
Categories: Biography
Source: vcmp.edu.vn