\u201cLive with Kelly and Mark.\u201d <\/a><\/p>\n\u201cBut actually, his real name is Michael Jeremiah Witkowski O\u2019Connell.\u201d Witkowski is his mother\u2019s maiden name, Jerry explained.<\/p>\nJerry O\u2019Connell (pictured above with his mother, Linda O\u2019Connell, on Friday\u2019s episode of \u201cLive with Kelly and Mark\u201d) revealed his real name is Michael Jeremiah O\u2019Connell. LiveKellyandMark<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\u201cHis grandfather is Jeremiah and our favorite cousin is Jerry DeScipio,\u201d Linda shared of her son\u2019s nickname. LiveKellyandMark<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n<\/aside>\nWhen asked whether his full name ever came out when he got \u201cin trouble\u201d as a kid, the \u201cKangaroo Jack\u201d actor shut down the idea, adding that he was \u201calways a Jerry.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd by the way, sometimes I look at myself and go, \u2018Yeah, I am a Jerry! I don\u2019t look like a Michael, actually,’\u201d Jerry continued. <\/p>\n
Elsewhere in his interview, the mother-son duo reflected on the Jerry\u2019s childhood.<\/p>\n
Linda explained that her son was \u201cvery active, very energetic and always in trouble\u201d \u2014 with Jerry jokingly confirming that was \u201ccode word for annoying.\u201d<\/p>\nBut the actor explained that he goes by his stage name because \u201csometimes I look at myself and go, \u2018Yeah, I am a Jerry! I don\u2019t look like a Michael.’\u201d LiveKellyandMark\/ Youtube<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\nThe mother-son duo (pictured above with Jerry\u2019s father, Michael O\u2019Connell, outside the \u201cLive with Kelly and Mark\u201d set) added that Jerry was \u201cvery active, very energetic and always in trouble\u201d as a child. Christopher Peterson \/ SplashNews.com<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\u201cHe did get in a little bit of trouble in school because all of his teachers \u2014 especially one who stands out \u2014 said, \u2018He talks too much and he never sits still and he\u2019s always raising his hand and he never stops talking,’\u201d Linda recalled.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo I said, \u2018You don\u2019t realize, you\u2019re trying to stifle the very things we\u2019re trying to encourage in this boy.\u2019 So she shut up!\u201d she added.<\/p>\n
Jerry chimed in, saying, \u201cI believe the term was \u2018hyperactive.\u2019 I don\u2019t know if they use it anymore and I\u2019m sorry if anyone\u2019s offended by that.\u201d<\/p>\n\u201cHe did get in a little bit of trouble in school because all of his teachers \u2014 especially one who stands out \u2014 said \u2018he talks too much and he never sits still,’\u201d Linda (seen above at the Board of Review\u2019s 58th annual D.W. Griffiths Awards with Jerry in 1987) recalled. Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\nBut Jerry\u2019s mom had his back and told the teachers: \u201cYou don\u2019t realize, you\u2019re trying to stifle the very things we\u2019re trying to encourage in this boy.\u201d (Seen above is Jerry posing for a promotional portrait in support of the 40th anniversary of \u201cStand By Me\u201d). AP<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\u201cJerry was talking about how people still call out \u2014 \u2018Hey, you\u2019re the fat kid from \u2018Stand by Me,\u2019\u201d said a spy at the Slipper Room when O\u2019Connell went on stage with comic Seth Herzog during a stand-up routine.<\/p>\n
The actor added that if he\u2019s with his mother, she won\u2019t hesitate to \u201cchase down strangers to come to his defense and be like, \u2018Sir, my son isn\u2019t fat!\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
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