Kiefer Sutherland reunites with “Stand by Me” costar Jerry O'Connell, debunks rumors of being a bully on set

“I'm not that kind of actor and I wouldn't want to be that kind of person,” the “24” star said.

Kiefer Sutherland played one of the scariest characters in Stand by Me, but the actor insists that there’s no merit to rumors that he bullied his young costars in real life.

In an appearance on The Talk, which is cohosted by fellow Stand by Me actor Jerry O'Connell, Sutherland laid rumors of on-set bullying to rest. Cohost Natalie Morales asked Sutherland to fact check a viral social media post about the movie, "Stand By Me Fact - to keep in character while off camera, Kiefer Sutherland often picked on Wil Wheaton, River Phoenix, Corey Feldman and Jerry O'Connell' – True or not true?"

Sutherland responded with an adamant refutation. "Absolutely not true,” he said. “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?'”

The former 24 star also expressed disappointment that he didn’t share more screen time with O’Connell in the 1986 coming-of-age classic. “We didn't get to work together,” he said. “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.”

O’Connell jumped in to add that although Sutherland was just a teenager during filming, he viewed him as someone with endless experience compared to his own. "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,” he said. “Now I will say that Kiefer did not bully us, there was no bullying. But Kiefer, I was so scared of you."

O’Connell had previously (and seemingly jokingly) responded to the viral post in question, writing, “Yes but we can take him now. Anytime. Any place."

Sutherland also recalled his surprise at O’Connell’s physical transformation when they eventually reunited years after Stand by Me released. "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,’” he explained. “And I said, "No it's not.’ And they said, ‘No, honestly, it really is, you should go say hello.’ And the whole way I’m just swearing to myself in my head, ‘Are you serious?’ 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.’"

Watch the full clip from The Talk above.

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Related content:

• Jerry O'Connell recalls Kiefer Sutherland bullying Stand by Me boys to stay in character: 'We can take him now'

• Stand by Me turns 30: The blueberry pie scene gets an oral history

• Rob Reiner talks about River Phoenix, Leonardo DiCaprio

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