Vern From Stand By Me Is Completely Unrecognizable Today

In 1986, Rob Reiner directed one of his best films, "Stand by Me." Itmade stars out of its young cast, which included River Phoenix, Corey Feldman, Will Wheaton, and Jerry O'Connell. O'Connell, who was 12 at the time, plays a chubby kid named Vern. In the years after, his acting career took off, and the extra weight fell away. O'Connell transformed himself into a Hollywood hunk, and although he's still looking good in his 50s, he no longer resembles the boy with the fat cheeks from so long ago, joining the ranks of '80s child stars who are unrecognizable now.

O'Connell has aged naturally. In the late '90s, when he was starring in "Sliders" and "Scream 2," the actor was trim, sporting a thin face and impossibly high eyebrows. As he got older, O'Connell started aging naturally, with his hairline getting a little higher and the crows' feet around his eyes more noticeable. Now married to Rebecca Romijn, with whom he has twin daughters, he's hard to recognize as Vern today.

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As O'Connell's face got a little wider and more stretched out than it used to be, it led to rumors that he might be yet another Hollywood star going under the knife. The actor addressed it in his usual light-hearted style in a 2021 Instagram post, which showed a before and after photo of him with two decades in between. O'Connell wrote, "Taken 20 years apart and Internet claiming I got plastic surgery. Have not (YET). Was just SUPER hung over on left."

Jerry O'Connell has always had bushy, rather expressive, hooked eyebrows. In 2024, after someone on social media with too much time on their hands commented, "Why not trim your eyebrows? I can't believe your wife thinks they are okay," O'Connell responded on Instagram with, "SICK OF THIS. SWIPE to see @rebeccaromijn finally deal with this. You like?" The following photos showed Rebecca Romijn trimming his eyebrows until almost nothing was left, resulting in the two strips of hair below his forehead looking like frail caterpillars.

Rather than being obsessed with his appearance, O'Connell seemingly appears fine to joke about his looks and how they've changed over the years. However, that hasn't stopped him from bringing up how other famous men look. During a 2025 appearance on "Barstool Sports,"  football players losing weight was the subject of conversation. He said, "We know they're using prescribed drugs to lose weight, right?" When Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce's smaller frame was brought up, O'Connell dug in. "I had a theory. I know people are on Ozempic. You eat less, it hurts like muscle mass and stuff." 

As he spoke, the former child star was wearing round glasses, and his now longer hair combed back. If you didn't follow his career, you would have never known it was Vern from "Stand by Me."