When you're known for something, it can be difficult to shake the shadow of notoriety. It's the sort of thing that can follow you around for the rest of your life, like a nasty fever that you just can't shake.

But for the cast of All in the Family, being known as the Bunker family wasn't a curse; it was a badge of honor.

During an interview with The New York Daily News, actor Rob Reiner said that he was proud of the work that he and his co-stars did on the hit series.

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"I looked at the episodes and said, 'Gee, did we do some great stuff!'" said Reiner, who revealed that he was moved to tears while watching old footage of All in the Family. "I was really moved. It was in another stratosphere that we worked in...I never want to distance myself from All in the Family," said the actor and director. "I always said, no matter what I do, I'll be thought of as Meathead. If I win the Nobel Prize, the headline will read: 'Meathead Wins Nobel.'"

Carroll O'Connor spent years living as Archie Bunker in sitcoms like All in the Family and Archie Bunker's Place. Though O'Connor decidedly made his mark in other roles like that of Bill Gillespie in the crime series, In the Heat of the Night, he was aware that he'd be first and foremost known as Archie.

"If I played King Lear," said the actor during an interview with The Daily Telegraph, "they'd see Archie Bunker in my performance."

During another interview with The Associated Press, O'Connor argued that he was fortunate to be known for his character. "It's been kind of miraculous," the actor said. "I've been terribly lucky...I know so many people who are so talented, just as talented as I am, if not more, and they get nothing but bad luck."