"Mission to Mars" Star

March 08, 2000

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Jerry O’Connell: The Knicks won by a great lead. It was a fun game.

ManolisVarnas: What kind of movies attracted you most? Do you like playing the good or the bad character?

Jerry O’Connell: I like playing good guys. Sometimes when I play bad guys I feel bad. Right now, I'm about to start shooting a film called "Tomcats" which is about a guy who makes a bet with his friends that he'll be the last one to get married. And he convinces a girl, played by Shannon Elizabeth of "American Pie," to marry a friend of his. In the process, he falls in love with her and he must stop the wedding, because he loves her. I have a lot of fun doing comedies.

Cc498: Hi Jerry, do you find it hard to keep a 'normal' life being a celebrity?

Jerry O’Connell: No, not at all. I'm very normal. If you ever see me walking down the street, tap me on the shoulder. I might even take you out for lunch!

KerBear: Are you single?

Jerry O’Connell: Very. Please leave all email addresses, as I'm looking for a girlfriend!

EZGuest132947572: Jerry is there a special lady in your life right now?

Jerry O’Connell: No. Once again, all emails will be answered!

Cage: You passed up a chance to compete on the Olympic fencing team in order to concentrate on your acting. any regrets?

Jerry O’Connell: No. I made a conscious decision. I loved acting, and I couldn't dedicate all my time to fencing. So far, I'm pretty pleased with my decisions.

Cage: Do you find that people still identify you with Vern, "the fat kid," in Rob Reiner's 1986 film, "Stand By Me?"

Jerry O’Connell: Yes, but I like to refer to him as Vern, "the husky kid."

TheMaskedBandit: When you played Vern in "Stand By Me," did you ever envision yourself being where you are today, coming as far as you have come?

Jerry O’Connell: No. This career is all very exciting. You take it on a project to project basis. Right now, I'm very excited about "Mission to Mars."

ManolisVarnas: Jerry, tell us more about your new movie - who do you play, and what is the movie all about?

Jerry O’Connell: I play Phil Olmyer, and I am the computer operations officer, which means I fly the spaceship to Mars. Once we get to Mars, we experience some extraterrestrial wackiness, and the movie begins. It's a classic adventure, with serious moments of scariness.

Beefcake: I saw you on TRL a few months ago, and you looked pretty beef. What kind of work out regimen did they have you on for Mission To Mars?

Jerry O’Connell: They had me lifting weights on a daily basis. These astronauts are in tip-top shape, and I wanted to make sure that I was as well. By the way, I'll be on TRL tomorrow - Total Request Live.

Gustowind: Did you get to try space food?

Jerry O’Connell: Yeah, a lot of freeze-dried everything. It's delicious. But then again, I'll eat anything.

Shannon513: Jerry, what's it like making a movie with a lot of special effects?

Jerry O’Connell: It's pretty incredible. You find yourself acting to a green screen most of the time, and you don't get to see the final product until you actually see the movie. It's amazing what they can do with computer-generated images.

Megawatt2: What word or phrase do you most overuse?

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