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Jerry O’Connell On Kelly Ripa, Taking His Shirt Off For ‘Mistresses,’ And Memories Of Alan Rickman

By Stacey Cole
Published on: 05:16 PST, Jun 20, 2016

Jerry O’Connell, the actor best known for having the starring role in comedy horror film Piranha 3D, might be making the jump from actor to TV co-host soon. Jerry O’Connell joined Kelly Ripa on Live with Kelly just last Tuesday and Wednesday, according to Parade.

O’Connell gladly made the appearance as he said he would do anything for Kelly and has even said that she is “the best,” given that they have worked together in the past.

Jerry O’Connell could use his new co-hosting gig as a platform for promoting the fact that he plays Mistresses’ Robert, who takes care of Karen’s baby by day while pursuing his entertainment career on the side. Apart from acting on the show, O’Connell has directed some of the episodes this season. Working on the show and being an object of affection for Karen has given Jerry O’Connell plenty of motivation to hit the gym because he would never know when he would need to take off his shirt for a scene on the show.

Jerry O’Connell spoke on him having to take off his clothes during filming for a scene.

“I would come to work and we’d rehearse the scene and they’d go, ‘Hey, do you want to try this scene without a shirt,’ and I go, ‘Well, okay, but we are in a mall,’ and they’d be like, ‘Well, yeah, you’re changing into your gym clothes.’ It’s a fun, sexy show. While I’m still young, I might as well try and do these things. Someday pretty soon nobody’s going to want me in these shows, so I may as well do it now, you know?”

Regarding his directing job on the show, O’Connell looks to John Scott as a mentor. Jerry also says that he is a fan of the show, both personally and professionally. Joy had hit O’Connell once the show was picked up for a fourth season, and he immediately called the bosses to say that he wanted to be a part of it.

Apart from acting and directing, as well as soon to be hosting, Jerry has also had an interest in Broadway and stage productions. Having grown up in New York City, Broadway will always have a place in his heart. Since he spent a good majority of his career working on one-hour-long TV shows, taking his acting skills and his wealth of experience to the stage would be a welcome change in his life. Jerry O’Connell has also been able to use some of the experiences he has had working on and observing the stage on his shows.

Jerry O’Connell spoke on working in a play with Alan Rickman. He had fond memories of performing in a Broadway show in New York with Alan Rickman but noted that it happened years ago. He explained that the play ran for nine months and expressed that to this day, he carries the memory of seeing Rickman perform day after day for hundreds of performances. In particular, Jerry O’Connell said that he has taken what he learned from his Broadway experience with Rickman and has applied it to his role on Mistresses.

Things are looking very promising for Jerry O’Connell as he might even be able to take all those experiences to Live with Kelly after all. According to Heavy, Kelly Ripa is looking for a new co-host after Michael Strahan left the show last May.

Whether Jerry O’Connell will be the one to fill Michael Strahan’s empty chair remains to be seen, but it is worth noting that the admiration that Jerry has for Kelly seems to be reciprocated by Kelly for Jerry. The pair has also worked together in the past as Jerry has been a guest on the show 19 times previously.

[Photo by Michael Loccisano/Getty Images for JCPenney]

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