'Modern Family' star Ed O'Neill recalls daughter's funny reaction to meeting Leonardo DiCaprio

Ed O'Neill's daughters are probably thankful for their embarrassing dad now.

During his appearance on "The Ellen DeGeneres Show," O'Neill recalled how he introduced his two daughters to Leonardo DiCaprio, despite his older daughter's fears that he'd embarrass her.

The "Modern Family" actor said the incident happened while taking his daughters, Sophia and Claire, to an Italian restaurant on Father's Day.

At the restaurant, Sophia, 21, was shocked to see her longtime celeb crush DiCaprio walk in and take a seat at a table right behind her dad.

"She was on her phone, and then I saw her look up, and, all of a sudden, it was like she was stricken," O'Neill, 73, said in the clip published Monday. "I really thought something was wrong with her."

According to O'Neill, Sophia "freaked out" because she's "had a crush on Leo since 'Romeo & Juliet.' "

But the last thing she wanted was for her embarrassing dad to introduce her to a Hollywood heartthrob.

"I said to her, 'Do you want to meet him? And she said, 'Oh my God, you always do this! You say you know them, and you don't know him! You'll make a fool of me,' " O'Neill recalled.

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Luckily, DiCaprio recognized O'Neill, and walked up to their table to say "hi."

"All of a sudden, I heard, 'Hey, Ed, happy Father's Day,' " O'Neill continued. "And I said, 'Oh thanks, Leo.' "

The "Once Upon a Time in Hollywood" star even gave a special farewell to Sophia as the family was leaving.

"On the way out, he said, 'Sophia, it was really nice meeting you, sweetheart,' " O'Neill said. "So then we walked outside, and she was, like, comatose."

O'Neill plays patriarch Jay Pritchett, the husband of Gloria (Sofia Vergara) and father of Claire and her brother, Mitchell (Jesse Tyler Ferguson), on "Modern Family," which is currently airing its eleventh and final season.

In an interview with USA TODAY in February, he said he's very happy with the final script of the series.

O'Neill called the script "perfect, just the right amount of sentiment, but not too much. It was very good and very funny."

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Leonardo DiCaprio: 'Modern Family' star recalls kids meeting actor