Jerry O'Connell says “Big Brother” fans are now DMing wife Rebecca Romijn about live feeds
"I didn't want to ruin anyone's Thursday night," the substitute host says.
The star of Sliders just did the ultimate slide — sliding into the Big Brother hosting chair, if only for an evening.
Regular Big Brother host Julie Chen Moonves came down with a case of Covid-19, meaning the emcee of the show for 24 years had to miss her first ever live eviction episode, and when producers needed to find a one-night fill-in, they found it in O'Connell. The move made sense seeing as how O'Connell is a big fan of the franchise, has reality hosting experience on The Real Love Boat, and has already followed Chen Moonves once — as a host on CBS' daytime gabfest The Talk. And fans tuned in to see the switch, with the episode averaging 3.31 million viewers, up 12 percent from the season to date average.
Watching from home, Chen Moonves was a fan of her substitute, telling Entertainment Weekly that "His personality really comes through in all he does 'cause he's a genuine and genuinely funny guy. He made it his own and he did awesome!"
When and where did O'Connell get the call to fill in? What sort of advice did Chen Moonves give him? How did it feel saying Julie’s famous "But first…" line? And what made him the most nervous about his one-night stand? We asked the super sub all that and more, and found that Big Brother fans are now sliding into the DMs of his wife, Rebecca Romijn, and you won't believe why.
Related: Julie Chen Moonves reacts to watching Jerry O'Connell host Big Brother (exclusive)
ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: Where were you and when was it that you got the call to step in for Julie for a night as host of Big Brother? Just take me though the timing and circumstances of that call.
JERRY O'CONNELL: It was frightening. I got a call from my agent at 8 a.m. yesterday. And, by the way, when your agent calls you at 8 a.m., it's usually bad news. So I was like, "Oh gosh, am I getting dropped by CAA? Here we go." And they said, "Julie Chen Moonves has Covid. You think you can handle this?"
I had just watched Wednesday night's episode, and it was crazy. I forgot that when they start to do the jury, they don't reveal if the Power of Veto is used until Thursday. So I was like, "Hold on a second, before I say yes to anything, did Makensy use the Power of Veto on anybody?" And he went, "Well, do you want to know?" And I was like, "Yes, I want to know. I'm not doing this unless you tell me." They said, "Angela got taken down." And I was like, "I have to call you back." And I hung up and I was like, I cannot believe Angela made it another week.
You mentioned you and Julie communicated before you went on the air. What did she tell you?
Let me start by saying that I've been in this business for — get ready for it — three decades! And Julie Chen Moonves is the kindest person I've met in my 30-plus years in this industry. I don't even know an analogy to make other than being in an NFL game, and a starting quarterback gets injured, and then sitting down with the second-string quarterback and saying, "This is how you should win this game."
I don't want to go into too much detail about what we were saying. You have the relationship with her. You can ask her, but I will say she's the kindest person. I only know as a fan watching the show, it is a very intricate, complicated production. And after substitute hosting, I was shocked to find out, not only has the show never won an Emmy, it's never been nominated for an Emmy. And I right now its Emmy weekend and I want to kick off the 2025 Emmy campaign for Big Brother.
That show needs to be nominated for an Emmy. Every member of that crew, every member of that production team, every producer, the director, Tony — they are so good at what they do. They were able to take a schlub like me who had zero experience hosting that show and make me a passable host in three hours. And that is a testament to how good they are.
And, by the way, it's not just the live show and being on that shiny floor. There's a live aspect I'm not even getting into with the live feeds and all that stuff and how they wrangle all the houseguests. We did a dress rehearsal where all the houseguests were there, and I couldn't believe how organized it was. It was a humbling experience. So I am personally kicking off their 2025 Emmy campaign. Get Big Brother an Emmy!
You're selling yourself short and being very modest, but you're a pro and you know this franchise very well. What were you most nervous about? Because it is live, you are there without a net, and there are a lot of moving parts.
I was most worried about Big Brother fandom. I always look at the #BB26 on X, and I know I speak firsthand that Thursday nights, I want my Julie Chen Moonves. I want my "But first…" I want my "love one another." I want my coffee the exact same way every time. When I go to a bar I want my drink the exact same way every time. And I knew I had to be true to Julie Chen Moonves and true to the show. I didn't want to go out there and ruin anybody's Thursday night, especially Big Brother fandom, who are quite vocal and not afraid to let their opinions be known.
How did it feel saying Julie's famous line… "But first…"?
It's so funny. When we did the dress rehearsal, when I said “But first…” I was laughing and I said, “I'm so sorry. I got excited about that "But first…. I couldn't believe I was saying it.” And they went, “You know what? This is you. If you get excited saying it, that's okay. Everyone will understand it.” So that sort of loosened me up a little bit that I could react naturally to it.
And you know what? I have a WhatsApp [group chat] with my Big Brother friends and my good buddy Matthew who's on there, he's very opinionated about Big Brother. I found out at 8 a.m., but it wasn't announced until 11. So at 11, it went out, and I didn't tell my WhatsApp group that I was hosting tonight. I just was too afraid of saying any information. I didn't even tell my wife! But immediately I got a text from Matthew saying, "Dude, whenever the evicted houseguest sits down, you have to do the Julie Chen Moonves 'Stay right there!'" So when Quinn comes out and sits down right before the commercial break, I said an emphatic Julie Chen Moonves "Stay right there!" And my buddy Matt wrote, "Dude, I felt like you were saying that to me."
Speaking of Quinn, what did you make of him throwing in some Kangaroo Jack and Sliders references?
When I was in the dress rehearsal, I was talking about my personal feelings about how I feel the vote should go, and I was reminded, "Hey, man, you are Switzerland here." As a fan, we express dismay with who gets voted out or we express joy with who gets voted out. But that was a really good note that they gave me. That's why Julie Chen Moonves so good at this job, because Julie Chen Moonves is a journalist first, and a terrific one at that.
That said, I think they made a mistake voting Quinn out last night. I would've broken up that treat trio, personally. And that makes me think that that trio is going to go far.
I agree.
I would've voted Kimo out of there. I would've broken that trio up. And this is going to be a hot take, and I don't care if everybody on #BB26 gets mad at this: When I heard that Angela got taken down, now I hope Angela wins the whole thing. Sorry, not sorry! I hope the tears start flowing and I hope Angela wins this whole thing. The fact that Angela got taken down? That's it. Let's go.
It's crazy. It reminds me of Dr. Will back in season 2 where they're like, "Oh, we'll just get him next week, we'll get him next week, we'll get him next week." And we all know how that went.
I am a hundred percent in on Angela now. Sorry, not sorry. And I do want to say this is to the fandom: I have nothing to do with the live feeds going on or off. I'm guessing they're doing sort of stamina challenge, right? I don't know why they're not on. Please stop hitting me up. I'm getting a lot of DMs about "Turn the feeds back on!" I have nothing to do with that. I'm sorry.
Wait, you’re not the one controlling the feeds?
I have nothing to do with the live feeds. Please stop DMing me. By the way, they were DMing my wife! My wife said to me this morning, "What is this? What do you have to do with the live feeds?" I went, "Just ignore it. They think I have to switch on the live feeds."
Well, next time they're down, I'm calling you whether you like it or not.
Hey, can I end this interview with something?
Absolutely.
Just remember to love one another.
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