JERRY O'CONNELL ON NBC'S TODAY SHOW
NOVEMBER 18, 2002

Interview with Ann Curry (transcript)

Ann: Jerry O'Connell has been acting since he was just a little boy and has made the difficult transition from baby face to beefcake look effortless. (Shows clips from Stand by Me and Jerry Maguire) Well, now with his recurring role on NBC's Crossing Jordan he can add dashing detective to the list. (Shows a clip from Crossing Jordan)

Ann: Jerry O'Connell good morning to you.
Jerry: Good Morning
Ann: You grew up nicely; the first clip we saw was from Stand by Me.
Jerry: Yeah
Ann: And obviously now you've got your first big adult role.
Jerry: Yeah, it's very exciting; I was a little husky back then. Maybe a few too many Oreos. But I know - it's just a lot of fun being on Crossing Jordan. You know, I get to play a detective, I put a tie on every day…
Ann: And you get to play opposite Jill Hennessy - Hello! I mean, how did you luck out with that?
Jerry: It's not too bad, not too shabby. I run to work in the morning.
Ann: I'll bet you do! (Laughs) What a lot of guys wouldn't give for your job. Now she plays a medical examiner who's dedicated to her job - in part because she has so much empathy for the victims, and part because her own mother's murder was unsolved. And you play this guy named Woody, who's this guy from Wisconsin. And he's kind of a country bumpkin?
Jerry: Yeah, he's a little bit of a country bumpkin. He's starting to get a little slicker as the show evolves. It's jus a lot of fun to play a detective. I get to have a badge; I get to use a gun.
Ann: I know!
Jerry: I know - it's like every little boys dream come true. But Jill Hennessy, she's just a dream. She's the best. I like to refer to her as Quincy, but imagine if like Quincy were really hot.
Ann: (laughs) And there in lies the sexual tension. Let's take a look at this clip. (Shows clip from Crossing Jordan with Woody and Jordan arguing about going back to LA together)
Ann: OK, so what's ahead for these two, give us the skinny.
Jerry: I think… I don't want to give too much away.
Ann: You gonna kiss her?
Jerry: (smiles) I think there's gonna be… I think I'm gonna get me a little Jill Hennessy on the show.
Ann: (laughs)
Jerry: I'm gonna get me some! (laughs) I hope so! I took the job, I've gotta get it somewhere Ann. For Pete's sake!
Ann: But we have to be careful. You know what I've got to tell you though, I hear the executive producer of Crossing Jordan says quote, "It's rough to create a love interest for a female lead because once you heat up the relationship the poor jerk has to die in some fiery death!"
Sounds like you have to keep your hands to yourself there Jerry!
Jerry: Well, you know, times are hard on Jerry Boulevard. Ya know, it's not easy bein' me. But I'm - uh - I think there will be a little tension there. I think something's gonna happen.
Ann: OK, but whether or not the fiery death part happens; you have something else going on. You have a movie coming out.
Jerry: Yeah, a movie called Kangaroo Jack.
Ann: And it is with Christopher Walken
Jerry: Yes
Ann: Tell us about that
Jerry: Tell you about Christopher Walken?
Ann: No…
Jerry: He's weird, OK.
Ann: Headline!
Jerry: No, he's a very nice guy. But he is uh, weird.
Ann: OK (laughs)
Jerry: It's also with Estella Warren, Anthony Anderson who's very funny as well, and I play a sort of low-level Mafioso from New York who gets trapped in the Outback of Australia. It's very funny. It's a Bruckheimer movie. It's gonna be good.
Ann: So did the kid from Stand By Me find his true calling which is acting? Or did you just sort of fall into it and decide, 'well, OK I'll just stick with what I know.'
Jerry: Well, you know it's kind of a funny story. You know, when I did Stand By Me the casting director's assistant came to my school and sort of asked me to read a couple of lines. And then I went in and it was just - I sort of got the part. It was very lucky. And then when I got to the set, you know, I was always kind of a hyper active kid and I realized that kind of behavior was not only allowed but encouraged on a set. So here I am, 20 years later.
Ann: An actor!
Jerry: Yeah

-Transcript by kedd

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