Between The Hunger Games franchise and an Oscar for Silver Linings Playbook, it may seem like Jennifer Lawrence came from nowhere.

But there was at least one person who always saw her success coming: her TV dad, Bill Engvall!

In Touch caught up with Bill after he danced the samba last night with partner Emma Slater on Dancing With the Stars—and he couldn’t help but gush about his Bill Engvall Show costar Jen!

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“I’m so proud of Jenny,” he told In Touch. “I knew from the moment we hired her that we wouldn’t have her very long. I hate this phrase, but there’s no way to describe it: She had ‘it.’”

The proud on-screen dad continued, “When I would do scenes with her I would go, ‘Wow, this little girl has really got it together.’”

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For two years, Jen and Bill starred as daughter and dad on the comedian’s sitcom, The Bill Engvall Show, which was about a family counselor who struggled keeping his own family together.

Bill shared some of his favorite production moments with Jen, which included a scene where the family dog had to put down.

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“There was another one that Jennifer and I had a scene together on the back porch and I tried to give her her teddy bear back to her and she was mad at me,” he gushed. “It was just a really nice dad/daughter moment.”

In addition to his own two kids—a son, 22, and daughter, 27—Bill admitted that his  partner Emma is like his daughter as well!
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‘It seems like whenever I have a lady on my shoulders, they go on to big things,” Bill bragged to In Touch.

Emma was ready with a playful retort.

“Can I expect an Oscar tomorrow?”

 

Catch Bill and Emma on Dancing With the Stars, every Monday at 8 PM on ABC!

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