Jerry O’Connell is grieving the loss of Rob Reiner, a filmmaker he credits with shaping both his career and his life.
The actor, now 51, says the director’s death feels deeply personal, describing it as the loss of a guiding presence who stood by him from childhood.
O’Connell was just 11 years old when he starred as Vern Tessio in Reiner’s coming-of-age classic “Stand By Me,” a role that launched his career.
GettyIn the days since Reiner’s death, he has spoken openly about the bond they shared.
Talking to people, O’Connell called the news ‘really devastating,’ and said: “Everything I have in my life is because of Rob Reiner. Everything I have, my children, my wife, my, just everything.”
A Father Figure From ‘Stand By Me’
O’Connell told People that learning of the deaths of Reiner, 78, and his wife, Michele Singer Reiner, 68, left him shaken.
“We’re all shocked. I can’t speak for them [costars Wil Wheaton and Corey Feldman], but for myself, I feel like a parent has passed, you know?” he said. “I just feel like a parent has passed.”
O’Connell described Reiner as a protector on the set of “Stand By Me,” noting how rare that care felt for a group of young actors.
“We were saying, we have no idea how he herded a bunch of like 11, 12, and 13-year-olds for this movie,” O’Connell said of conversations with Wheaton and Feldman.
“And not only herd us, but it also wasn’t like a teacher or an authority figure. He was just a special, he was just a special human being… he is just a kind soul, really. A kind soul.”
A Director Who Changed Everything
O’Connell said Reiner’s influence followed him throughout his career, shaping how he viewed every professional experience afterward.
“Every professional experience I’ve had after Stand By Me, you sort of feel alone a little bit because Rob isn’t there,” he shared.
Reflecting on loss in his own family, O’Connell added, “Luckily, I have both of my parents with me, but my mother-in-law passed, and just to see that loss that my wife never has really gotten over it, you know? You almost feel like you’re alone now. You know? It’s really it’s really devastating.”
A Moment That Defined His Confidence
Appearing on “CBS Mornings” on Monday, December 15, O’Connell again described Reiner as “like a father to me” and recalled a pivotal on-set moment that stayed with him.
Before filming, O’Connell said he was used to getting in trouble for speaking up.
“I was always getting in trouble for speaking out loud in class and not being able to keep my mouth shut,” he said. “And my mother would always say, ‘Just sit on your hands and shut up.’ I would get in trouble with teachers.”
When Reiner stopped filming after O’Connell ad-libbed a scene, the young actor expected to be scolded.
“I thought, ‘Oh boy, here we go. He’s gonna [yell at me]. Why didn’t I sit on my hands and shut up?'”OO’Connellrecalled. “”nd he goes, ”erry, keep going, man. TThat’swhat II’mtalking about right there. Keep going. More.'”
Before becoming one of HoHollywood’sost respected directors, Reiner appeared on 185 episodes of “A”l in the Family” “s Michael “M”athead” “tivic, earning two Emmy Awards.
He went on to direct landmark films including “S”and By Me,” “W”en Harry Met Sally,” “T”is Is Spinal Tap,” “nd “A”Few Good Men,” “he latter earning him an Oscar nomination in 1993.
Rob and Michele Reiner were killed at their home on Sunday, December 14.
