ALMOST CANADIAN
Jerry O’Connell says it’s his job to let people know Ontario’s ‘north is gorgeous’
How many American TV stars could come up to Canada and belt out our national anthem at a hockey game without a TelePrompTer?
Jerry O’Connell performed the task - without missing a word - while working on his new series “Carter” in North Bay, Ont.
If that doesn’t sound honourary Canadian enough, here’s the plot of “Carter,” which premieres Tuesday, May 15, on Bravo: a Canadian actor (O’Connell), who stars in a toprated American detective series, heads back to his small town in Northern Ontario to escape the phoniness of Hollywood. He reunites with his old pals from high school (played by Sydney Tamiia Poitier and Kristian Bruun) and together they form a crime-solving team.
O’Connell was born in Manhattan but seems Canadian because: he’s super nice, even while being interviewed on the phone at 1 a.m., his time; his favourite TV show is “Schitt’s Creek”; and when he’s not working in Canada, he’s working with Canadians.
The 44-year-old made his film debut in 1986 as one of the young lads scrambling across railway tracks in Rob Reiner’s memorable feature “Stand By Me.” Among his co-stars: a young Kiefer Sutherland.
O’Connell was in Toronto for three of his teen years shooting the CTV comedy “My Secret Identity.” He was cast opposite Second City veteran Derek McGrath, who, as O’Connell points out, is from the northern Ontario town of Porcupine, near Timmins.
It was during those “My Secret Identity” years that O’Connell started identifying
with the Canadian anthem. “You go to enough Leafs games, Jays games and Argo games, you pick it up.”
He sang it loud and proud last fall with a children’s choir on the ice at an OHL North Bay Battalion game. “That night we went out after the game to a bar,” he says. “The whole crew was critiquing my performance of the national anthem. They said I was drowning out the kids.”
Several years after “My Secret Identity,” O’Connell was cast alongside another Canadian, Jill Hennessy, on the U.S. network drama “Crossing Jordan.”
“She was born in Edmonton and grew up in Ontario,” says O’Connell, who knows his Canadian towns, cities and actresses.
After that series, about 10 years ago, O’Connell was cast
in the short-lived U.S. sitcom “Carpoolers” which was created by Bruce McCulloch from “Kids in the Hall.”
“I have Bruce McCulloch to thank for this job,” says O’Connell of “Carter.” According to the actor, McCulloch told “Carter” creator Garry Campbell (a former “Kids in the Hall” writer who also has worked on “Kim’s Convenience” and “Less than Kind”) that he should cast the American.
“He said, ‘Jerry’s not that reliable but you’ll have fun working with him,”’ suggests O’Connell. “I’m totally joking - that was a joke. He must have said something positive. I got hired.”
O’Connell does squeeze in the occasional job on American soil. He’s in this week’s season finale of “The Big Bang Theory.” As Sheldon’s seldom-seen big brother Georgie, he’s among the
guests at the wedding of characters Sheldon and Amy.
His nine-year-old twin daughters - big “Young Sheldon” fans are thrilled dad’s going to be on “Big Bang.” O’Connell is married to actress Rebecca Romijn, who brought the kids to Canada for a visit during the series shoot.
O’Connell truly fell in love with North Bay, which, thanks to tax incentives, has become a thriving film and TV production site. He kept running into Billy Campbell, Karine Vanasse and the cast of “Cardinal” while in North Bay, and advocates for a “Carter”-“Cardinal” crossover.
“I really do feel like I have a job to do in letting people know that the north is gorgeous and everybody should come up there,” says O’Connell. “Not only is it a beautiful place to shoot, it’s a beautiful place to come visit.”