Kiefer Sutherland isn’t alone in saying that he kept his conduct professional and didn’t bully anyone while filming “Stand by Me.” Jerry O’Connell, who played Vern Tessio, was also involved in the Deadline interview. While he admitted to being intimidated by his older co-star on set, it wasn’t because Sutherland was bullying him or anyone else, but because the older actor seemed so mature. “You were 17 when you did ‘Stand By Me?'” O’Connell said. “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.”
And that, in all likelihood, is that. There are many little-known facts about Kiefer Sutherland and all sorts of obscure “Stand by Me” trivia out there, but if the two stars of the movie are to be believed, at no point did Sutherland become anything like an on-set incarnation of Ace Merrill during filming. Perhaps the bullying rumors are part of the same phenomenon that makes some people assume that the actor is the same guy as his torture-happy “24” protagonist, Jack Bauer. Basically, it seems that Sutherland is simply so convincing in his roles that it’s easy to think he’s playing a version of himself.