Jerry O'Connell

Jerry O'Connell, born Jeremiah O'Connell on February 17, 1974, in New York City, is an American actor and television host whose career spans film, television, and Broadway. The eldest son of Linda O'Connell, a Special Education teacher in New Jersey, and Michael O'Connell, an advertising agency art director originally from the United Kingdom, he was raised in Manhattan alongside his younger brother, actor Charlie O'Connell. Of Irish, Italian, and Polish ancestry, O'Connell's paternal grandfather was from County Cork, Ireland, while his maternal grandparents hailed from Belfast, Northern Ireland and Jersey City, New Jersey, where his maternal grandfather, Charles S. Witkowski, served as the city's 34th mayor. As a teenager, O'Connell attended Manhattan's Professional Children's School before enrolling at New York University, where he studied film and screenwriting, competed on the fencing team as captain of the sabre squad, and graduated in 1995.

O'Connell's acting career began in childhood with commercial work, including advertisements for Duncan Hines cookies and Frosted Flakes. Shortly after turning eleven, he was cast as Vern Tessio in Rob Reiner's Stand by Me (1986), his first feature film role. He went on to star in the Canadian science-fiction sitcom My Secret Identity from 1988 to 1991, playing a teenager who develops superhuman abilities. During a summer break from NYU, he appeared in Calendar Girl alongside Jason Priestley and Gabriel Olds, and also had a role in the short-lived ABC sitcom Camp Wilder in 1992, which featured Jay Mohr and Hilary Swank.

While still a junior at NYU, O'Connell auditioned for the television pilot Sliders and was cast as Quinn Mallory, a role he held for the series' five-season run — three seasons on Fox and two on the Syfy Channel. He served as a producer during the fourth season and received writing and directing credits on several episodes. His film career expanded through the late 1990s and 2000s with roles including Frank Cushman in Jerry Maguire (1996), Joe in Joe's Apartment (1996), Derek in Scream 2 (1997), Michael in Tomcats (2001), and Charlie Carbone in Kangaroo Jack (2003). He also appeared in Body Shots and Mission to Mars. In 1999, O'Connell sold his first screenplay, for First Daughter, to New Regency; the film was released in 2004 by 20th Century Fox-based Davis Entertainment, with O'Connell receiving executive producer and story credits.

On television, O'Connell starred as Detective Woody Hoyt on the NBC crime drama Crossing Jordan from 2001 until its cancellation in May 2007, reprising the character in several episodes of Las Vegas. He starred in ABC's Carpoolers from October 2007 to March 2008, and appeared in Fox's Do Not Disturb in late 2008, which was cancelled after three episodes. In 2010, he co-starred with Jim Belushi in the CBS comedy-drama The Defenders as Pete Kaczmarek, a role he held for the show's single season before its cancellation on May 15, 2011. His film work during this period included a role in the 2009 thriller Obsessed, playing Ben alongside Idris Elba, and a starring role in Alexandre Aja's Piranha 3D (2010), in which he portrayed Derrick Jones opposite Adam Scott and Elisabeth Shue.

In voice work, O'Connell guest-starred in the Justice League Unlimited episode "Clash" in 2005, voicing Captain Marvel, and later reprised the role in the DC Universe Animated Original Movies short Superman/Shazam!: The Return of Black Adam. He subsequently voiced Commander Jack Ransom on the animated series Star Trek: Lower Decks.

O'Connell's Broadway career spans three productions between 2011 and 2020, all originating from his native New York. He made his Broadway debut in Seminar, written by Theresa Rebeck and directed by Sam Gold, which opened on November 20, 2011, at the Golden Theatre. The production starred Alan Rickman, Lily Rabe, Hamish Linklater, and Hettienne Park. In April 2015, O'Connell returned to Broadway in the comedy Living on Love, appearing alongside Renée Fleming, Anna Chlumsky, and Douglas Sills; the production closed after 37 performances. In January 2020, he appeared in the Roundabout Theatre Company's Broadway revival of A Soldier's Play at the American Airlines Theatre, playing Captain Taylor in an ensemble cast headed by David Alan Grier and Blair Underwood.

Born and raised in New York City, O'Connell married actress and former supermodel Rebecca Romijn on July 14, 2007; the couple's twin daughters were born in 2008. He holds dual American and British citizenship. In August 2009, O'Connell enrolled at Southwestern Law School in Los Angeles but left to return to acting full-time. In July 2021, CBS announced he would join The Talk as a permanent co-host, replacing Sharon Osbourne. That same month, he hosted a test run of a syndicated version of Pictionary on Fox stations, which launched with a full season in fall 2022. He and Romijn also co-hosted The Real Love Boat on CBS in 2022. O'Connell is a regular guest on the Barstool Sports podcast Pardon My Take, where he holds the official title of Fantasy Football Expert and manages the fantasy football team for hosts Dan Katz and PFT Commenter.