Stand by him

Twentysomething actor defends new movie and frivolous lifestyle

By JASON TAYLOR
Staff Writer

Jerry O'Connell still remembers the good ol' days. It was almost 15 years ago that O'Connell first appeared on the screen in Rob Reiner's "Stand By Me." O'Connell's role of Vern Tessio in the film adopted from a Stephen King book is unforgettable. But times are changing, and O'Connell now acts for a different audience in the R-rated "Body Shots." O'Connell strongly defends the new film's ideals and meanings for the '90s.

Seemingly a comedian at heart, O'Connell sat down to discuss his new film and growing up in New York. Excited about his new film, and content with his success, O'Connell spent a large portion of the interview discussing his re-emergence as an actor years after his breakthrough film.

"I wanted to act when I graduated," O'Connell said. "My parents would have never let me come out to L.A. to act. I saw a lot of my friends come out here to California Pizza Kitchen to hustle. You know, I really didn't want to be that guy. I graduated in '95.

"I went out for the pilot season. I picked two shows. I told my agent I was only going out for those two. The show Sliders and this other one, Party of Five. I was cast for Party of Five and they wanted me to read for Sliders. I was in public school when I was in ŚStand By Me.' I am very glad that my parents made me go to college. I probably would have come straight out to L.A."

While attending NYU's film school, O'Connell studied film and business, thinking of going to work on Wall Street after he graduated, but eventually reconfirmed his dream of going out to Hollywood.

"My freshman year I went to a film theory class, it was called Language of Film," he said. "It was this pompous English professor in a huge class - 500 kids - it was like a Janet Jackson/'N Sync concert with one of those microphones.

"ŚToday we will be studying the American buddy film and we'll be looking at ŚStand By Me' by Rob Reiner with an hour discussion to follow. All right, roll the film.' I didn't tell him. What was I gonna do, raise my hand and say, ŚAaahh professor, you know that was me down there, and all this cinema mumbo jumbo that you are pulling is ahh, bullcrap. I was there. The reason we did that in the rain was not because it was supposed to be a Noah's Ark biblical reference, it's because it was actually raining that day.'"

O'Connell is getting used to his fame. He is often recognized and has numerous memories of the strange things people have said to him.

"I know and love when people are going to recognize me from ŚStand By Me,'" he said. "ŚHey you were the fat kid.' Or they'll recognize me from Sliders and be like, ŚYou're on that space show, umm, what's it called again?'"

O'Connell doesn't like the comparison of his "Body Shots" football character to the "Jerry Maguire" role of Cush.

"You know this character (in ŚBody Shots') is very different from anything that I have ever played," he said. "First of all there's some pretty serious and graphic stuff going on at the end of the film which I have never done.

"I get pretty gritty in this. I get as gritty as I've ever gotten. I mean, I was asked to do something at the end of the third act for Tara Reid's version of the night that I have never been asked to do. That's a horrible thing to do, to play that you are raping someone. It's very difficult as an actor because it's very disturbing as a human.

"There is some method to my madness. I picked up the script and it was my life. I'm a 25-year-old male. I was at that club. I met a girl just like that. And then you get to the third act and you realize this is going to be a dramatic piece, this is something I want to do as an actor. I was so into the shock, I read it again immediately. I couldn't believe that's where the script went. And in the third act, you realize there are consequences to this sort of '90s behavior. I think this film will have that effect on people. I know a guy like that, I know a girl like that. It's like a choose your own adventure for the '90s."

Originally called "Jell-O Shots" the name was changed to "Body Shots" because of the trademark of the Kraft product. The large food conglomerate did not want their product related to the crazy night life of the L.A. scene.

"A lot of crazy stuff happens because we do Jell-O shots," O'Connell said. "It has not stopped me from doing Jell-O shots. I love them. I make them. I rarely cook, but I cook Jell-O shots. Come on over, we've got some in the fridge right now. I'm swinging and single, and it's a great time to be single. I have a job. I have a convertible. I have a tan. ŚBody Shots' got me a trainer. Why shouldn't I be? I'll be the guy in the skintight T-shirt dancing on the bar at Skybar tonight."

Copyright 1999 by the Daily Trojan. All rights reserved.
This article was published in Vol. 138, No. 38 (Friday, October 22, 1999), beginning on page 20 and ending on page 19.