Secret’s Out

Jerry O’Connell has been growing. The pudgy little kid with close-cropped hair who played Vern Tessio in Rob Reiner’s “Stand By Me,” is 5-foot-8, has dropped about 20 pounds and now stars in his own series “My Secret Identity” (KTLA-TV Channel 5, Tuesdays at 7:30 p.m.). “I’ve stretched out,” the cheery 14-year-old native New Yorker says.

As Andrew Clements in “My Secret Identity,” O’Connell sees himself as “just a normal kid” and believes that he and his character have a lot in common.

“Andrew is a lot like me.” O’Connell says. “He collects comic books, he’s a happy-go-lucky kid and he always wanted to be a super hero. The only difference is that he is (a super hero).” (Andrew developed his super powers when he was accidentally “zapped” by a photon beam while visiting his eccentric scientist neighbor, Dr. Jeffcoate, played by Derek McGrath.)

But looking at O’Connell’s schedule, one might think he was zapped with few super powers of his own. Although he spends three hours each day on his school work, works eight-hour days, five days a week on the set of “My Secret Identity” in Toronto, often wired into the harness that allows him to “float,” O’Connell also finds time for sports, including fencing with his brother--a New York State junior fencing champion.

O’Connell admits he’s a bit of a dreamer, especially when it comes to sports. He said he’d like to be a forward for the New York Knicks or a tight end for the Jets.

But, he says, he has other dreams as well that focus on his future as an actor. “I love to play comedic roles, that’s my favorite,” he says. “But I’d like to play a dramatic role, too. I’m just beginning to realize my dreams, I know I haven’t fulfilled them all.”