When an 11-year-old O'Connell made his film debut as a chunky goofball in 1986's Stand by Me, no one---not even the actor himself---imagined that he would one day become a Hollywood heartthrob and land looker Rebecca Romijn as his better half. O'Connell was already slimming down during his three-year stint as a teen with superpowers on My Secret Identity, and by the mid-'90s he was in great shape on the sci-fi show Sliders. O’Connell then made a bid for big-screen success, staring in a couple of comedies, tackling a few dramatic supporting parts, and even branching out into screenwriting with 2004’s First Daughter. But the small screen remained his primary medium. He landed a plum role as hunky detective Woody Hoyt on Crossing Jordan in 2002, and stayed with the show until it ended. Since then, he starred in several short-lived sitcoms, including Carpoolers and Do Not Disturb, and has kept busy raising his twin daughters. In his spare time, O’Connell attends Southwestern Law School in Los Angeles.