Al Bundy is a fictional character and the essential protagonist of the U.S. television series Married… with Children, played by Ed O’Neill. He is a beer loving, indebted, American father of two, portrayed as both a comedic and tragic figure. Although he is cheap, unsuccessful, lustful, unhappy, and scheming, he nevertheless stands by his family, displaying wit, self-sacrifice and resilience in times of crisis. He and his wife, Peggy Bundy, were rated the 59th best characters on television by Bravo. Al Bundy is a simple man, forever regretful of the turns his life has taken since the end of high school, when marriage and a broken leg prevented him from playing college football. .