Actor Jerry O'Connell has revealed he has Irish roots from both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.
The Irish American star has previously visited his Irish family on his mother's side in Belfast, and said he now wants to track down his O'Connell family in Cork.
O'Connell told the Irish Sun: “I’m half Irish.
“My father is actually British, his father was from Co Cork, and my maternal grandmother is actually from Belfast.
“So I’m half southern Irish, half Northern Irish, how crazy is that?
“My paternal grandfather was from Co Cork, O Connell, I’m sure there is a lot of O’Connell’s down there.
“If ever I see one on Instagram or social media I follow them.”
The 47-year-old added: “My grandfather emigrated to England, so my father was born in England and my grandmother emigrated as a child from Belfast.
“I have not been to southern Ireland, I have only been to Northern Ireland to see my maternal family. I want to apologize to my paternal family, I will get there, I just had a couple of days and my brother and I decided to go to Belfast to see the relatives.”
Irish American actor Jerry O'Connell and his wife Rebecca Romijn. Credit: Getty
O'Connell said he was “very close” to his grandmother, who accompanied him on the set of "Stand by Me," one of his most famous films.
“She was a really funny Irish lady, God rest her soul," he said.
"It’s really funny, when I was a kid, I wasn’t acting and I was getting in a lot of trouble for being crazy and always getting in trouble for talking all the time.
“She really encouraged me to remain true to who I was, and she used to joke a lot about how wild I was, and it wasn’t until I got on a set — I was always getting in trouble in school — but when I got on a set on 'Stand By Me,' I was like, ‘This is what my grandmother was talking about, these are my people’.
“It’s funny, that grandmother came with me when I had to shoot 'Stand By Me.'
"My parents were working and you needed a guardian and my grandparents came with me.”
O’Connell currently stars alongside his wife, Rebecca Romijn, in the new film "Endangered Species," which is available for streaming.
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