The actor’s mother lifted the lid on his full birth name during a television appearance, prompting stories about the actor’s chaotic childhood and early fame as a child star.
Jerry O’Connell has revealed his real name is actually Michael Jeremiah Witkowski O’Connell.
The Stand By Me and Kangaroo Jack actor, 52, shared the family revelation during a US Mother’s Day edition of Live with Kelly and Mark, where he appeared alongside his mother Linda O’Connell – and insisted he has “always” felt more like a Jerry than a Michael.
Jerry – who has remained a familiar television presence through projects including Sliders, The Talk and his recent hosting work on Pictionary – has also recently attracted attention for candid interviews about family life with wife Rebecca Romijn and their twin daughters.
During the daytime television appearance, Linda reflected on Jerry’s childhood personality and the behaviour which frequently landed him in trouble at school.
She said: “His grandfather is Jeremiah and our favorite cousin is Jerry DeScipio. But actually, his real name is Michael Jeremiah Witkowski O’Connell.”
Jerry explained Witkowski was his mother’s maiden name before joking he had never truly identified with his formal first name.
He added: “And by the way, sometimes I look at myself and go, ‘Yeah, I am a Jerry! I don’t look like a Michael, actually’.”
Asked whether his full name only surfaced when he was in trouble as a child, Jerry dismissed the suggestion and insisted he had always been known as Jerry.
The actor’s mother went on to describe her son as an energetic and difficult child at school.
Linda said: “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’.”
Jerry interrupted to joke that the description was “code word for annoying”.
Linda continued: “So I said, ‘You don’t realise, you’re trying to stifle the very things we’re trying to encourage in this bo..’
“So she shut up!”
Jerry added: “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.”
The actor has frequently spoken publicly about his close relationship with Linda over the years, including stories about her defending him against comments linked to his appearance as a child actor.
Jerry first rose to prominence playing Vern Tessio in the 1986 coming-of-age classic Stand By Me, adapted from Stephen King’s novella The Body.
The film remains one of the defining titles of his career alongside later comedy roles in Jerry Maguire, Scream 2 and Kangaroo Jack.
In 2015, a source told Page Six Jerry joked during a stand-up appearance at the Slipper Room alongside comedian Seth Herzog that strangers still referenced his childhood role in Stand By Me.
The insider added: “Jerry was talking about how people still call out – ‘Hey, you’re the fat kid from Stand by Me’.”
According to the source, Jerry added if Linda happened to be present she would immediately intervene.
They said Linda would “chase down strangers to come to his defense and be like, ‘Sir, my son isn’t fat!’.”
Jerry O’Connell finally reveals his real name
