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Jerry O'Connell

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For the politician, see Jerry J. O'Connell

Jerry O'Connell (born February 17, 1974) is an American television and film actor best known for playing "Vern Tessio" in the film Stand by Me, "Quinn Mallory" in the TV series Sliders, and Detective Woody Hoyt on the hit NBC drama Crossing Jordan. He currently appears in the ABC sitcom Carpoolers.

Biography

Early life

O'Connell was born Jeremiah O'Connell in New York City, the son of Linda Witkowski, an art teacher, and Michael O'Connell, an advertising agency art director. He is of Irish and Polish ancestry (his maternal grandfather was Charles S. Witkowski, the former mayor of Jersey City, NJ). O'Connell was raised in Manhattan with a younger brother Charlie O'Connell, also an actor. O'Connell began his acting career at a young age. As a child, he did commercial work for Duncan Hines cookies. Shortly after at the age of eleven, he landed his first feature film role in Rob Reiner's Stand By Me. As a teenager, he starred in the series My Secret Identity, and attended Manhattan's Professional Children's School. His first starring role was in the Canadian television series My Secret Identity from 1988-1991.

O'Connell attended New York University (NYU) from 1991 to 1994, majoring in film. While there, he studied screen writing and competed on the NYU fencing team, serving a stint as captain of the sabre squad. However, he left NYU several credits short of graduation in 1995.

Adult career

During a summer break from NYU, Jerry starred in the feature film Calendar Girl along side Jason Priestley and Gabriel Olds. He also appeared in the short-lived ABC sitcom, Camp Wilder with Jay Mohr and Hilary Swank in 1992. In his Junior year, O'Connell auditioned for the TV pilot Sliders. He was offered the role of Quinn Mallory in the series, which ran for three seasons on Fox and two seasons on the Sci-Fi Channel. He served as producer during his fourth and final season, and is credited with writing and directing several episodes.

O'Connell has since gone on to star in such movies as Body Shots, Mission to Mars, Tomcats, Scream 2, and Kangaroo Jack. O'Connell has also tried his hand at screenwriting and sold his first screenplay, for First Daughter, to New Regency in 1999. The film was released in 2004 by 20th Century Fox-based Davis Entertainment. O'Connell served as executive producer on the film, which was about a young secret service agent sent to keep an eye on the president's college-age daughter and starred Katie Holmes.

O'Connell starred as Detective Woody Hoyt on the NBC crime drama Crossing Jordan (2001) until its cancellation, and was engaged to TV personality Giuliana DePandi. Now, he is married to actress/model Rebecca Romijn. He starred opposite his fiancée in an episode of Ugly Betty. O'Connell has also starred as Hoyt in several episodes of Las Vegas. In 2004, he wore a diaper on Last Call with Carson Daly, during a mock commercial skit for the GoodNites bedwetting product. The National Enquirer caught him filming the skit and printed a photo of him in his diaper.

In 2005, O'Connell guest-starred in one episode of the animated series Justice League Unlimited. In the episode, entitled "The Clash", he provided the voice of Captain Marvel.

His younger brother Charlie O'Connell, an alumnus of NYU who was most recently seen as The Bachelor, is also an actor who has appeared with Jerry in several productions, usually playing the brother of Jerry's character, such as in Sliders and Crossing Jordan.

In 2008 he acted in a widely circulated Internet video parody of the leaked Tom Cruise video on Scientology.

On February 2, 2008, he hosted VH1's Pepsi Smash Super Bowl Bash, which aired the night before Super Bowl XLII and featured musical guests Maroon 5 and Mary J. Blige.

Personal life

On July 14, 2007, O'Connell married actress and former model Rebecca Romijn near Los Angeles in Calabasas, California.

Filmography

Producer

Director

  • Sliders (1997) TV series - "Stoker"
  • Sliders (1999) TV series - "Slidecage," "Lipschitz Live," "Data World," "Roads Taken"

Writer

  • Sliders (1999) - "Way out West",
  • First Daughter (2004) - screenplay

Music videos

References

External links



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Last updated on Thursday March 13, 2008 at 22:47:20 PDT (GMT -0700)
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