Now, the 45-year-old is testing his own, eponymous daytime show,Jerry O, for three weeks while daytime divaWilliamstakes her summer hiatus. (She’s also an executive producer.)
PEOPLE caught up with O’Connell to learn more about the show, including how his family —— his wife, actress,Rebecca Romijn, and theirtwin daughters, Dolly and Charlie — are getting involved. Plus, he reveals that his dream guest isa certainSuitsstar turned Duchess of Sussex.
Why is hosting a talk show such a dream come true for you?I think it was my wife, about a decade ago, making me watch a little show calledReal Housewives of Orange County. We have a a television in our bedroom, and her saying, “We’ve got to watch this show together. This has got to be us.” And me immediately getting into it. And then that started a relationship, a marriage based on reality television. And then what happened is I started to do Andy Cohen’sWatch What Happens Live, and I started to doKelly Ripa‘sLive!with Kelly and Ryan. And Wendy and I started to talk about all these shows that I now watch, and I mean, here I am getting a shot at theJerry Oshow.
Jason Mendez/Getty
Can you explain the collaboration withFunny or Diemore, and how they are going to work with you on different segments?We are going to be doing these little like sketches, and these little like funny bits. And I’ve done a lot of videos for Funny or Die, that website thatWill Ferrellruns. And they’re going to be producing all the comedy content. It’s been really fun working with them, because we pre-taped some stuff, and it’s been great. I mean, our ultimate goal is to get people to really smile when they’re watching theJerry Oshow, and the fact that Funny or Die is producing all these segments, it’s really helping us reach that goal.
Who is like your dream guest?Meghan Markle.
What would you ask her?I would ask her, “How did you do it? Tell us. I’m the father of two daughters. How do I get them on the path?”
The path to princess!The path to princess. No, honestly, I would love to get … a little random. there’s a show calledThe Family Chantel, and it is a spin-off of90 Day Fiancé, and I would love to get Pedro, I’d love to get the whole family on there.
Kelly Ripais your first guest, though. Is that intimidating at all?It’s not intimidating. You know what it, it fills my heart with warmth. It just goes to show you theKelly Ripais literally the nicest person in the world. Because she’s a very busy woman, and has a lot going on, and has a lot with her family, and kids going to college and everything. And for her to take time off, for her to take time out of her busy life to come do the first episode ofJerry Ois a major deal.
RELATED VIDEO:Jerry O’Connell onShannon Beador’s Transformation onRHOC: ‘She Earned It’
Your wife Rebecca is going to be on, too.Rebecca is going to be on, but that was an easy booking. I just had to lean over and ask her.
Is that going to be exciting, weird — ?No, I love, I love it. My wife and I love being with each other, especially I mean as cheesy as this sounds, we love being on camera with each other. We really make each other laugh. My wife really makes me laugh hard. We’re going to have a good old time.
Have your girls hit any fun milestones lately?They’re 10. It’s so fun to have them in the city for the summer while I do theJerry Oshow. I have them in improv camp, so we’ll see. I’m going to pick them up right now. We’ll see how their improv skills are. It’s just a really fun age because it’s sort of pre-teenager, so I’m not dealing with boys yet, and it’s just such a fun time.
How do they feel about Dad becoming a talk show host?I’m forcing them to be on a segment. We’re going to have like a toy segment, and I’m like, “You’re going to be the girls who are trying out the toys.”
Jerry Obegins its three-week preview Monday on Fox television stations (check local listings).
source: people.com
