Jerry O’Connell apologizes to Wil Wheaton for ‘Stand by Me’ experience

During an appearance on "The Talk" on April 14, actor Jerry O'Connell apologized to his "Stand by Me" co-star Wil Wheaton for not emotionally supporting him during the shooting of the 1986 film.

Jerry O’Connell had a touching heart-to-heart with his childhood co-star Wil Wheaton on “The Talk” Thursday.

O’Connell and Wheaton starred in the 1986 coming-of-age drama “Stand by Me,” directed by Rob Reiner and co-starring Corey Feldman and River Phoenix. During Wheaton’s appearance on the CBS talk show, O’Connell apologized to “The Big Bang Theory” star for not standing by him emotionally at the time.

“I heard before you talk about some of the struggles you were going through during ‘Stand by Me,’ and you know, while I was 11 at the time, that’s an excuse,” O’Connell told Wheaton. “I do want to apologize for not being there more for you when you were younger.”

He added: “To the bigger picture, you never know what someone is going through when you’re with them. I don’t feel guilt, but I just wanted to say I’m sorry I wasn’t there for you more.”

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In a May 2021 interview with Yahoo Entertainment, Wheaton revealed he channeled the “incredible emotional abuse” and “manipulation” from his parents, who he said forced him into acting as a child, into his performance as Gordie Lachance in the film.

“Gordie’s experience very much reflected my experience,” he told the outlet. “We’re both invisible in our homes. We both have a brother who is the golden child. We’re both the scapegoat in the family. So when I watch ‘Stand by Me’ now, I cannot ignore the unbelievable sadness in my eyes. And I cannot ignore the reality that it was that sadness, that isolation that I think gave me what Gordie needed to come to life and I think Rob Reiner saw that.”

(Left to right:) Wil Wheaton, River Phoenix, Jerry O'Connell and Corey Feldman appear in the film "Stand By Me."

Wheaton accepted O’Connell’s apology. “I deeply appreciate that,” he said, adding, “You were 11. How could you have possibly known?”

Wheaton added, “Everyone in the audience who is a trauma survivor knows this: We’re real, real, real good at covering up what we’re going through.”

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The 49-year-old actor, who also starred in the 1991 action thriller “Toy Soldiers” and the sci-fi series “Star Trek: The Next Generation,” is also a longtime mental health advocate. Wheaton made waves in 2018 with his Medium essay “My name is Wil Wheaton. I Live With Chronic Depression and Generalized Anxiety. I Am Not Ashamed,” which was based on remarks he delivered at a National Alliance on Mental Illness conference.

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Contributing: Alex Biese, Asbury Park Press

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