https://youtu.be/k3H6qwedvCQ
Right before the pandemic started, David Alan Grier and Jerry O’Connell starred in the Broadway play A Soldier’s Play. In fact, its final weekend was the same one that they shut the Great White Way down for a year and a half.
Anyways, today DAG was on The Talk, and he had a story to share about O’Connell. Grier immediately started to tear up as he shared what happened between them. He said that after the first table read, the CBS host told him that he was going to win a Tony for that role. O’Connell said to him that every day they did the show, and the actor thought, “it was embarrassing, and I felt ashamed.”
However, O’Connell was onto something because Grier did win the Tony for that role. The Tony winner’s raw emotions on the show today were because O’Connell knew before everyone else that he gave a Tony-winning performance. Grier’s first win after three other nominations in nearly 40 years.
O’Connell was so happy for Grier on Tony night that he accidentally put his co-star’s phone number out on social media. Was Grier upset? He told the viewers, “people started texting me and calling me, and it was all love, though. Not one crank call. Every person called, they said, ‘Jerry gave us your number, and we just want to tell you how much we love you. How much we support you.’ So it turned out to the craziest thing, and I thank you, Jerry.”
And with that, everyone had all the feels as the two men wiped tears from their eyes. This is how all actors should work together. They should work as a supportive team and be thankful for the support they get from their coworker, who is now their friend.
I have never worked with Jerry O’Connell, but I can tell you he is one of the nicest people in Hollywood. I am not saying this from my own experience (which has always been delightful), but I say it from people who have encountered or worked with him. We need more of him in this town. So whenever he says he marry above his status, he is wrong. I am sure Rebecca Romijn knew she was marrying a man with a huge heart. What woman doesn’t want that? Plus, he is funny, good-looking and has a great body! But his no BS warmth is his most outstanding feature.
One last note, Grier better cast O’Connell in the limited series he wants to do as a prequel to A Soldier’s Play. This way, O’Connell can tell him he is going to win the Emmy every day that they work together.
