Jerry O'Connell Reveals the Unexpected Toll Being an 'In-Demand' Child Actor Had on Him
Jerry O'Connell Reveals the Unexpected Toll Being an 'In-Demand' Child Actor Had on Him
Virginia ChamleeWed, April 8, 2026 at 9:08 PM UTC
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STAND BY ME, Jerry O'Connell, 1986.Credit: Columbia Pictures/Courtesy Everett Collection; Gilbert Flores/Variety via Getty -
Jerry O'Connell is sharing how it felt coming to terms with not being as "in demand" an actor as he aged
In an interview, he spoke about how actors are "busy all the time" in their 20s, though opportunities are fewer later in life
The actor got his start in the 1986 film Stand By Me, filmed when he was 11 years old
Jerry O’Connell is opening up about aging in an industry that often rewards youth.
Speaking on an episode of the Work In Progress podcast with host Sophia Bush, O'Connell, 51, said, "Being in the entertainment industry is really all I know, so it's all I can speak on."
"And it's crazy because when you're younger, you're busy all the time," he added. "It's just, it's a young person's medium. Like, they're the ones who are in demand the most. There's the most amount of roles for the ages of 20 to late twenties."
He continued: "So that's when you're in the most demand. It's funny. When you get a little older, you feel as though there's not as much opportunity. I'm happy with the opportunities that I've had, but there's not as much."
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"I did start to panic a little bit. I don't know if it was having kids, definitely insecurity. I think mostly feeling like I had no control of something. And now that I'm older, I've come to terms with, I have no control over anything. I have no control," he added.
O'Connell got his start in Hollywood in the 1986 film Stand by Me alongside Wil Wheaton, River Phoenix and Corey Feldman as a group of friends on a once-in-a-lifetime adventure that now continues into its fourth decade. He was 11 years old at the time of filming.
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Speaking to PEOPLE in December, in honor of the film's 40th anniversary, he said the film "helped me become who I am."
"For me personally, I was what they called a hyperactive kid. I was always getting in trouble at school for making jokes or speaking out of turn," he recalls.
Actor Jerry O'Connell poses for a studio portrait circa 1992 in Los Angeles, California.Credit: Ron Davis/Getty
On set, though, he felt rewarded for being himself by late director Rob Reiner, who encouraged him to be loud and act up.
"I heard Rob Reiner come over to where we were filming and be like, 'Jerry! Jerry!' And he was yelling and he was a big dude. And I was like, 'Oh, God. I forgot. I was supposed to sit on my hands and shut up. I totally forgot. I just got in the moment. I can't believe it. Oh, God. Here we go again.' And Rob Reiner came into set, and all four of us were there, and he went, 'Hey, Jerry, more of that. Keep going, dude. Keep going. Go farther.' "
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The actor also credits the movie that made him a child star with helping him meet his wife, Rebecca Romijn. "My children are because of this movie," he said. "Beyond that, it got me a family, more than laid. I met my wife."
A year after tying the knot with his wife in July 2007, the pair welcomed their twin daughters, Charlie Tamara Tulip and Dolly Rebecca Rose, 16, in December 2008.
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Source: “AOL Entertainment”
