“Married… With Children” star opened up about one of his “largest faults in life.”
The 65-year-old actor, who is next appearing in “The Baxters,” rose to fame on the hit TV sitcom from 1989 to 1997. He starred alongside Ed O’Neill, Katey Sagal, Christina Applegate, David Faustino and Amanda Bearse.
During an interview with Fox News Digital, McGinley shared whether he had stayed in touch with his former “Married… With Children” co-stars.
“One of my largest faults in life — and I have so many — is that I just keep moving on,” McGinley admitted.
“Married… With Children” star Ted McGinley shared one of his “largest faults in life.” (Getty)
“Yes, if we run into each other, we’re very friendly with each other, but I think mostly because I had young kids and a wife. I went on to work in New York.
“So I just kept going on,” McGinley added. “And I don’t do social media per se, so I don’t have that. I’m not able to connect like people do. It’s not my thing. I just keep going forward.”
“But, for example, if and I were to run into each other having coffee early in the morning, we would have an amazing time. Or a beer late at night. It would be fun. Same with Amanda. I have run into Amanda. You know, it’s just a very unique time.
“My friends will tell you that I have a difficult time connecting all the time. It’s hard for me.”
FOX’s longest-running live action show to date, airing 259 episodes over 11 seasons on FOX from 1987 to 1997. The raunchy and sometimes controversial sitcom followed the lives of the dysfunctional, working-class Bundy family, including misanthropic shoe salesman Al (O’Neill), his lazy wife Peggy (Sagal), their ditzy, promiscuous daughter Kelly (Applegate) and nerdy son Bud (Faustino).
The show also focused on the relationship between the Bundys and their materialistic, yuppie neighbors Marcy Rhoades (Bearse) and Steve Rhoades (David Garrison). After Garrison left the show following its fourth season in 1990, McGinley joined the cast to replace him. He played Jefferson D’Arcy, an ex-CIA agent turned white-collar criminal who becomes Marcy’s “trophy” husband after she divorces Steve.
Though “Married… With Children” was a ratings success and widely considered a groundbreaking series for the time, the show’s suggestive content occasionally sparked backlash.
While reflecting on going from a series like “Married… With Children” to his new faith-based show “The Baxters,” McGinley explained that he enjoys choosing projects from a wide variety of genres.
McGinley is pictured with former “Married… With Children co-stars Ed O’Neill, Katey Sagal, David Faustino and Christina Applegate. (Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic)
“It’s funny. I’ve been doing that for a long time where I’ve been doing more of a movie, and then I’ll go — like the show I’m doing right now is ‘Shrinking.’ They’re diametrically opposed in many ways,” he said. “It’s part of the life of being an actor.
“It’s fun when I get to work on something like ‘The Baxters’ because I think it’s important. That audience is really hungry for good content. And, so, it’s an honor to get to do that. I am still interested in doing all kinds of material.
“My wife and I produced a Western … last year … and it’s very difficult film to watch in some ways. The spectrum is pretty wide, and it makes it interesting. I don’t want to just do one genre of work.”
Based on novelist Karen Kingsbury’s bestselling book series of the same name, “The Baxters” follows the saga of the Baxter family, including patriarch John (McGinley) and matriarch Elizabeth (Roma Downey Jr.), and their adult children “as they navigate life’s highs and lows, both with and without God,” according to a synopsis of the show.
The first season of will center on Elizabeth and John’s daughter Kari (Ali Cobrin), “who learns the shocking truth that her professor husband, Tim, has been secretly having an affair with one of his college students.
“As her relationship is tested, Kari must seek comfort in her faith and family to discover if love is truly a choice and if her marriage can be redeemed. In this deeply moving faith-based journey, the Baxters must come together as a family to work through the challenges of life.”
During his interview with Fox News Digital, McGinley shared that he felt he had been preparing for the role of John “for years,” noting the similarities between him and his character.
“No. 1: family first. He’s a very faithful man,” McGinley said. “It’s important that his family is also part of that world.
“I relate to that as a father, as a man. I read at least probably eight of the books, maybe 10 of the books.”
“I understood well who the Baxters were and who John Baxter was,” he said. “It’s also a real honor to get to play. It’s also scary. It’s scary because you realize Karen Kingsbury has written maybe 25, 26 books on the Baxters.
“And she sold 25 million copies,” McGinley continued. “The people who read her stuff know these characters. You’re stepping into a world where you better show up as John Baxter.
“I think there will be a point where people say when they first see it, because they’ve been reading it for so long, they might think, ‘Oh, I don’t. I didn’t see her, I didn’t see him.’ But they will as it goes by. But, anyway, the preparation was kind of something — it’s not that far out of my spectrum of life.”
McGinley is starring alongside Roma Downey in “The Baxters.” (John Sciulli/Variety via Getty Images)
Downey is executive producing “The Baxters” through LightWorkers Media, the Christian media and film production company that was founded by the actress and her husband, Mark Burnett. LightWorkers Media is now owned by Amazon MGM Studios after Amazon acquired its parent company.
While speaking with Fox News Digital, McGinley raved about his “beautiful” working relationship
“Roma is like a warm blanket,” he said. “She’s spectacular. We hit it off day one, and it just kept escalating.”
The California native added he and his wife Gigi Rice have built a friendship with Downey and Burnett off set. McGinley and Rice have been married for over 32 years and share sons Beau, 29, and Quinn, 27.
“My wife and I have gone over to Mark and Roma’s house. We’re friends. We’re friends off the ice,” he said. “They’re just wonderful people. But, Roma, when you work with her, it feels like this beautiful, comforting warmth that sort of nuzzles your neck. She’s wonderful. She’s always right there for you. She’s very generous.”
Despite the popularity of “The Baxter” book series, McGinley explained that the TV series is “not going to be for everyone.”
“Roma Downey has described it as a “hope opera,” he said. “So, it is a soap opera. But I would say give it a chance.”
The actor joined the cast of “Happy Days” in 1982. (ABC Photo Archives/Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty Images)
A former model, McGinley made his acting debut in 1982 during the eighth season of the hit showwhich followed the lives of the Cunningham family and their friends. He played Roger Phillips, the nephew of Howard and Marion Cunningam, who were portrayed by Tom Bosley and Marion Ross.
McGinley was cast as a foil to Henry Winkler’s immensely popular character, Arthur “Fonzie” Fonzarelli, and he was introduced to help fill the void left by Ron Howard, who departed the series in 1980.
In 1982, McGinley told the Pennsylvania newspaper The Morning Call he felt uncomfortable watching his early episodes of “Happy Days.”
“It’s a wonder they didn’t fire me,” he said. “I realized I had to work on my lines at home and concentrate on the set before my cues. It was all so new. I’m bumbling away, and I hear stories of Ronny Howard, who forgot his lines just twice in 7½ years.”
McGinley told Fox News Digital he dedicated himself to studying the performances of other actors so he could learn from them.
“When I came in, I was just scared,” McGinley said. “I learned on the job. So, that was on-the-job training.
“I was as much of a sponge as I could possibly be. Like, I never left the set. I never went to my room to hang out. I watched. I would go to [tapings of the sitcom] ‘Mork and Mindy’ and sit in the stands and watch. I was always trying to just see what was going on and trying to make myself feel more comfortable.”
After “Happy Days” concluded in 1984, McGinley joined the cast of the hit comedy-drama series which was set on a cruise ship. He recalled that he felt at ease on set after being immediately welcomed by his co-stars.
McGinley also starred on the popular comedy-drama series “The Love Boat.” (ABC Photo Archives/Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty Images)
“When I got to ‘Love Boat,’ that group just opened up their arms and said, ‘Come on in.’” he recalled.
“They were so kind and generous and wonderful to me, and I felt so part of that team. We literally traveled around the world. And you went first class, like, I’ve never traveled like that since.
“Thank you, [“Love Boat” creators] Doug Cramer,” he added with a laugh. “But those were great days.”
McGinley recalled how he traveled to many destinations he had never been to before, including Leningrad, Russia (present-day Saint Petersburg); Copenhagen, Denmark; and the Rock of Gibraltar.
“We went everywhere, and it was so cool. And such a unique experience for a young guy,” he said. “It put the bug of travel in me like no other.
“And then we had kids, and then we never went anywhere again,” McKinley said with a laugh.
“The Baxters” will premiere March 28 on Amazon Prime Video.