Jerry O’Connell revealed his real name is actually Michael Jeremiah O’Connell — but he’s “always” felt like “a Jerry.”
“His grandfather is Jeremiah and our favorite cousin is Jerry DeScipio,” Jerry’s mom, Linda O’Connell, said on Friday’s special Mother’s Day episode of “Live with Kelly and Mark.”
“But actually, his real name is Michael Jeremiah Witkowski O’Connell.” Witkowski is his mother’s maiden name, Jerry explained.
When asked whether his full name ever came out when he got “in trouble” as a kid, the “Kangaroo Jack” actor shut down the idea, adding that he was “always a Jerry.”
“And by the way, sometimes I look at myself and go, ‘Yeah, I am a Jerry! I don’t look like a Michael, actually,’” Jerry continued.
Elsewhere in his interview, the mother-son duo reflected on the Jerry’s childhood.
Linda explained that her son was “very active, very energetic and always in trouble” — with Jerry jokingly confirming that was “code word for annoying.”
“He did get in a little bit of trouble in school because all of his teachers — especially one who stands out — said, ‘He talks too much and he never sits still and he’s always raising his hand and he never stops talking,’” Linda recalled.
“So I said, ‘You don’t realize, you’re trying to stifle the very things we’re trying to encourage in this boy.’ So she shut up!” she added.
Jerry chimed in, saying, “I believe the term was ‘hyperactive.’ I don’t know if they use it anymore and I’m sorry if anyone’s offended by that.”
It’s no secret that Jerry and his mom have maintained a close relationship. In 2015, a source told Page Six the actor cracked a joke about his mom coming to his defense when he was hit with comments about his weight as a child.
“Jerry was talking about how people still call out — ‘Hey, you’re the fat kid from ‘Stand by Me,’” said a spy at the Slipper Room when O’Connell went on stage with comic Seth Herzog during a stand-up routine.
The actor added that if he’s with his mother, she won’t hesitate to “chase down strangers to come to his defense and be like, ‘Sir, my son isn’t fat!’”
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