CARTER’s Jerry O’Connell is Back on the Comic Campaign Trail, Hoping the Second Time’s a Charm at the Canadian Screen Awards

By BILL HARRIS Special to The Lede Ask not what Jerry O’Connell can do for you; ask what you can do for Jerry O’Connell. While the star of CTV Drama Channel’s CARTER is thrilled to have been nominated for a Canadian Screen Award for the second year in a row, he didn’t win last year, despite a hilariously aggressive election campaign. So O’Connell is back on the comic hustings, imploring voting members of the Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television to click the box beside his name. With this year’s Canadian Screen Week coming up soon (March 23-29), and official Academy voting closing this Friday, we caught up with O’Connell to see how the campaign is going: Q: Last year when you were campaigning, you insisted that I call you, “CSA-nominated Jerry O’Connell.” So, good afternoon, CSA-nominated Jerry O’Connell. JERRY O’CONNELL: “That’s how everybody addresses me now.” Q: Okay, let’s be blunt: Your campaign last year didn’t work. So what’s the new strategy? JERRY O’CONNELL: “I’m here to tell you, I am the best candidate because I am the mainstream candidate that can win. I’m kidding, I’m trying to mirror what’s going on here in the States.” Q: Have you sized up the competition in your category, “Best Lead Actor, Drama Series?” JERRY O’CONNELL: “It’s an honour to be up there with everybody. But … I know I’m not supposed to say this as a nominee, but enough, Academy – Billy Campbell (star of CTV’s CARDINAL) has enough of these. It’s becoming unfair, actually. It’s upsetting to me. I have spent, I’d say, thousands of dollars in therapy just about Billy Campbell. I know I’m supposed to make a gratitude list, and I’m supposed to be grateful for the nomination, and my wife (actress and legendary supermodel Rebecca Romijn), and my children, and all my friends on CARTER, and CTV Drama Channel, and you, Bill, and everybody. But like, there is one thing that’s missing.” Q: How do you feel about your chances? JERRY O’CONNELL: “You know, I’m feeling pretty good. My kids are in school and they had a fundraiser recently, and I won the raffle at their school. As I was going up to collect the gift certificate, it was for dinner, I was thinking, ‘This is possibly a premonition for my CSA, that this could be my year.’ ” Q You didn’t give your pre-written CSA acceptance speech, just for practice, did you? JERRY O’CONNELL: “I did. I said it in front of the whole school. They were a little weirded out, because they’re not as familiar with CARTER and CARDINAL as I am. So when I was yelling things like, ‘Ha ha, got you Billy Campbell! How does it feel?’ they didn’t know what I was talking about. They thought I was on drugs.” Q: Last year you promised that if you won, you’d throw a big parade in North Bay, where CARTER is shot. Are you upping the ante this year? JERRY O’CONNELL: “I’m not in any position to make this decision on my own, but I’m going to implore the powers that be in North Bay, where we shoot CARTER, that we make it a local holiday. Everyone, banks, post offices, schools, all places of work, get the day off. And it would be an annual thing, forever. It would be called, ‘I Can’t Believe He Won Day.’ And everyone in town will get free Tim Horton’s the entire day.” Q: But wouldn’t people just be coming into North Bay from everywhere, and claiming they lived there, merely for the free coffee and doughnuts? JERRY O’CONNELL: “Listen, it’s still in the planning stages, okay? There are still some details to be worked out. Mostly the financial part.” billharristv@gmail.com @billharris_tv