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Detective Woody Hoyt is a naïve Kewaunee, Wisconsin native who’s determined to do his job properly while earning Jordan’s trust in the process.  Jordan relies on Woody to put in the legwork to hunt down the perpetrators of the crimes they investigate.  The Wisconsin native endeavors to follow the letter of the law in performing his duties.  However Hoyt constantly struggles not to give in to Jordan’s unorthodox work methods.

His mother died of cancer when Woody was 4.  His father died when Woody was 16.  Woody’s father was sheriff of Kewaunee, WI (he also served in Vietnam).  He was killed by an 18-year old who was robbing a connivance store.  The kid shot him in the back.  Woody watched his father suffer for two days before he died in Woody’s arms.  Woody was left to raise his younger brother alone.  Woody gives us the impression he was always trying to prove himself to his father.  (We’re given the impression that his father was distant and cold.)  Woody followed in his father’s footsteps career wise.

Woody has a younger brother, Calvin.  He’s practically raised his younger brother.  Woody and Cal have a tough relationship.  Woody is regularly bailing his brother out of trouble (ever since they were kids).  Cal leaves Woody constantly disappointment in him.  The two brothers were named after American presidents—Woodrow Wilson and Calvin Coolidge.

Back in Wisconsin Woody loved a girl named Annie.  He wanted to marry her, but when he asked for her father’s permission he told Woody his daughter could do better than a cop—Woody was a deputy before he became a member of the Boston police force.  Instead of telling Annie what her father had said he hightailed it out of there leaving them both broken hearted.

Woody ‘likes’ Jordan.  He’s spent the past two seasons trying to get closer to Jordan—an effort that’s proven to be quite a challenge because of Jordan’s commitment issues.  Woody briefly hooked up with Devan before she died in a plane crash, abruptly ending that relationship.

Woody admits that’s he doesn’t like heights.

Woody collects antique robots.

He loves the Kinks.  It brings back good memories of his father.

Woody’s a good practicing Catholic.  He goes to church every Sunday and he knows his saints.

 

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Jeremiah (Jerry) O'Connell (as Detective Woody Hoyt)

Birth date and Place: February 17^th, 1974. New York, NY.

Family: Has a younger brother

Facts:
During his junior year at NYU film school (for screenwriting), Jerry decided to try out for two TV pilots: Sliders and a new Fox show called Party of Five. He spent a single day in L.A. and landed the Bailey role in Party, but before he could get back to New York, the studio's first choice for SLIDERS backed out. Stuck a day before shooting without a lead, they begged Jerry to fill in. The rest is teen-idol history.

Living, muscular proof that ugly ducklings can indeed turn into swans, O'Connell first became known to film audiences as that fat kid from

Stand By Me, when he starred in the 1986 film at the age of eleven.

Played the 'heartbreaker' in Mariah Carey's Heartbreaker video. The single went on to become Mariah's 14th #1 hit.

Fimography:

O'Connell began taking acting classes at the age of six. He got his first professional work acting in commercials when he was ten, and a year later made his film debut in the critically acclaimed Stand By Me. After Stand By Me, he appeared in a television series or two and enrolled at Manhattan's Professional Children's School. Following his graduation, he attended New York University, where he attained a B.A. in Film and Television in 1995. While still an NYU student, O'Connell appeared in the Jason Priestley vehicle Calendar Girl in 1993.

After his college graduation, O'Connell began to pursue his acting career full-time. He soon landed a starring role on the sci-fi series Sliders, which, despite low ratings, had a very loyal viewership. In 1996, the actor's popularity grew beyond the confines of television when he starred in both Joe's Apartment and Jerry Maguire. The latter film was a particular success, and O'Connell began to find steady film work. Next up was Scream 2 (1997), in which he played Neve Campbell's boyfriend. After an un-credited role in the Jennifer Love Hewitt vehicle Can't Hardly Wait (1998), O'Connell returned to television to star as a young Vietnam War soldier in the miniseries The '60s in 1999. That same year, he starred as a Neanderthal-like jock in Body Shots, a film about the search for love and/or a lay amongst a group of Los Angeles twenty-somethings.

For more on Jerry O’Connell: visit the JOC Fansite. (See links page)

See IMDb for complete filmography.