The actor believes he’s always been a Jerry.

Jerry O’Connell explains why he’s never gone by his real name

The actor believes he's always been a Jerry.

By Derek Lawrence

Derek Lawrence

Derek Lawrence is a former associate editor at **. He left EW in 2022.

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May 8, 2026 3:54 p.m. ET

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Jerry O'Connell at the 2025 Academy Awards. Credit:

Kevin Mazur/Getty

- Jerry O'Connell revealed his real name on *Live With Kelly and Mark*.

- The actor appeared alongside his mom on the special episode.

- O'Connell thinks that he was always meant to be a Jerry.

It turns out that Jerry O'Connell is not actually Jerry O'Connell.

Appearing alongside his mother, Linda, the *Stand by Me* actor made the shocking confession on Friday's *Live With Kelly and Mark*, when Kelly Ripa confronted him about using a "fake name."

"His real name is Michael Jeremiah Witkowski O’Connell," said Mrs. O'Connell, whose maiden name is Witkowski. "His grandfather is Jeremiah, and our favorite cousin is Jerry DeScipio."

Despite his given name being Michael, O'Connell doesn't believe it ever really fit him.

"I was always a Jerry," he declared. "Sometimes I look at myself, and I go, 'Yeah, I am a Jerry. I don't look like a Michael, actually.'"

On the special Mother's Day episode, O'Connell's mom opened up about her son being "very active, very energetic, and always in trouble" as a kid. "Energetic is a code word for annoying," he joked.

O'Connell's energy led him to pursue acting at a young age, and he made his film debut in Rob Reiner's iconic 1986 coming-of-age film *Stand by Me*. He went on to appear in *Jerry Maguire*, *Scream 2*, and *Kangaroo Jack*, before later transitioning into daytime television as one of the hosts of CBS' *The Talk*.

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"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!"

With all of the sharing from his mom, O'Connell declared, "You're learning everything about me today!"

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