Jerry O’Connell knows firsthand how one decision can change everything.
While discussing his new movie, “Summer’s Last Resort,” now streaming on Tubi, the actor told Fox News Digital that the biggest turning point of his own life was meeting his wife, Rebecca Romijn.
“My wife was definitely the biggest turning point in my life,” O’Connell said. “I can’t believe that my wife is with me, first of all. Thank you, honey, if you’re watching this, thank you for being with me this week.”
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The 52-year-old star said meeting his wife forced him to grow up and embrace a future he never saw coming.
“Meeting my wife was one of the biggest turning points of my life. I was very immature,” O’Connell admitted. “And then I met my wife, and my wife wanted to start a family. … I was like, ‘It’s not going to get better than this for me, so I might as well settle down.’ And I’m so glad I did. We have two great kids, and we have a lot of fun.”
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O’Connell and Romijn first met in 2004 at the Maxim Hot 100 party. The couple got engaged the following year before tying the knot in July 2007. They now share 17-year-old twin daughters Charlie and Dolly.
WATCH: JERRY O’CONNELL EMBRACES EMBARRASSING DAD MOMENTS FOR ‘SUMMER’S LAST RESORT’
The themes of family and personal growth also resonated with O’Connell while making “Summer’s Last Resort,” in which he plays the overenthusiastic boyfriend of a single mom whose relationship is tested by her skeptical teenage daughter.
As the father of twin teenage girls himself, O’Connell said his daughters unknowingly inspired many of his comedic choices in the movie.
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“It’s not one scene. I think it’s just like an aura,” he told Fox News Digital. “I live with teenage girls, my daughters, and they are eternally embarrassed by me. They can’t stand my presence. Everything I say is the wrong thing to say.
“And I really, I really brought that to ‘Summer’s Last Resort’ and our set. Anytime I did a scene with Violet, I thought, ‘Oh, what is something my daughters would not talk to me for weeks at a time for?’ And I just did that in every scene.”
Fatherhood has also changed the way O’Connell approaches parenting, he confessed.
WATCH: JERRY O’CONNELL SAYS WIFE REBECCA ROMIJN CONVINCED HIM TO SETTLE DOWN
“They also taught me to give people space. … I have to trust my kids. They’re pretty good kids,” he said. “I have one daughter who was playing volleyball and then wanted to quit volleyball, and I was sort of getting on her for quitting volleyball.”
He explained that as his daughters discover new passions, including acting, he’s learned to step back.
“I just sort of let them find their own way. … I have to trust them. I have to stop telling them what to do. That’s something that they taught me. Stop trying to control situations.”
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O’Connell also embraced that same philosophy while working alongside young co-star Violet McGraw.
McGraw said watching veteran actors like O’Connell and Sophia Bush work taught her to be more fearless on set.
“Just by watching them, I feel like I learned so much,” McGraw said. “Basically just, you can improv, take risks and trust your instincts … just fully go for it and really commit.”
O’Connell acknowledged that confidence came with experience.
“When I was a younger actor, I was afraid to, like, go off script and like, goof around,” he said. “I think when you’re younger, you’re sort of … afraid of, like, making too much of a splash. I was just a little quieter. And when I got to set, I wanted to really loosen up for Violet.”
McGraw said his example encouraged her to do the same.
“I learned to have more fun with it, and with [improvising] that really, really helped.”
“Summer’s Last Resort” follows a high-strung teenager whose vacation is upended when she’s forced to spend time with her free-spirited mother’s eager-to-please boyfriend, who also happens to be her vice principal. Determined to break up the romance, she launches a secret sabotage plan that quickly spirals into unexpected lessons about family, love and growing up.
Alongside O’Connell and McGraw, the movie stars Sophia Bush, Tim Rozon and more.
“Summer’s Last Resort” is available to stream on Tubi.
