Kiefer Sutherland and Jerry O'Connell Put to Rest the Rumors That Sutherland Bullied the Boys on Set of STAND BY ME

Stand By Me is a classic, fan-favorite movie for so many of us, and it’s been one of the films we love to revisit and hear all the background and behind the scenes stories that went into creating it. One thing we’ve always heard from the actors who played the young cast members (Wil Wheaton, River Phoenix, Corey Feldman, and Jerry O’Connell) was how intimidated they all were by the film’s bully, played by Kiefer Sutherland, and while that’s true, a more recent rumor stated that Sutherland actually bullied the young cast members, and Sutherland wants to set the record straight.

In a recent appearance on The Talk, Sutherland was asked about the gossip, which allegedly was used to keep in character while off-camera. He responded:

“Absolutely not true. First of all, I’m not that kind of actor and I wouldn’t want to be that kind of person. I spent a lot of time with River Phoenix because we both played guitar, and so that was kind of an in to him. Even though I was seven years older, we were both beginning, right. And so there was a lot of discussion about ‘How do you develop a character’, ‘What is your process.’ Actually, it’s very funny, that at the age of 17, which I was in Stand By Me, I had probably a more in-depth process than I even do now. But we didn’t get to work together. I think one of things that’s been frustrating for me when I think about Stand By Me, is they always ask me what everybody else was like…we really only had the one big scene at the end, where Wil Wheaton pulls the gun and I had to run away like a girl.”

Jerry O’Connell, who also appeared on the show, chimed in to defend his friend and co-star.

“You were 17 when you did Stand By Me? I felt like you were like 40…I just thought you were the most grown-up person…Now, I will say that Kiefer did not bully us, there was no bullying. But Kiefer, I was so scared of you.”

Sutherland added:

“We ran into each other about 10 years after Stand By Me, and someone said ‘Oh, you should go say hi, that’s Jerry O’Connell.’ And I said, ‘No it’s not.’ We said hello and I gave you a big hug and then I walked away and looked at my friend and went, ‘Wow, he’s got a lot better trainer than I do.'”

That’s pretty funny! It’s good to hear that Sutherland didn’t terrorize his young co-stars, and they’ve remained friends.