Some movies shape careers, while others shape lives and generations. For Jerry O’Connell Stand By Me did all three, and his recent reflections on Rob Reiner make it painfully clear just how deep that impact ran. In the wake of the When Harry Met Sally director’s tragic death, the child star-turned-leading man has been opening up about the director who gave him his first real shot and, in many ways, set the entire course of his future in Hollywood.
O’Connell recently spoke about the mockumentary pioneer while appearing on CBS News: Rob Reiner — Scenes From a Life (via US Weekly), and his emotion was impossible to miss. The 51-year-old actor broke down while recalling a moment after filming Stand by Me, the former All in the Family star heard O’Connell was in Los Angeles and took the then-12-year-old out to lunch. According to O'Connell:
