By Mariel Turner
8:42am PST, Dec 22, 2017
Jerry O'Connell has royal aspirations for his girls! While chatting with Wonderwall.com about his hosting duties for the AKC National Championship Dog Show Presented by Royal Canin, the actor revealed that he would like his twin daughters to follow in Meghan Markle's footsteps. Keep reading to see what else Jerry told us — including details on his holiday plans with wife Rebecca Romijn, how he manages a household with four dogs and two cats, his favorite thing about hosting the competition, his thoughts on a "Stand by Me" reboot and more! And be sure to tune in to the prestigious dog show when it airs on Animal Planet on Jan. 1, 2018, at 7 p.m. ET.
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Jerry O'Connell on being a dog dad to four pups — Phil, Holiday, Pirate and Pip:
"I had a dog growing up. He was a rescue. I loved him, he was great. Then I didn't have a dog for a while when I was single but then I met my wife [Rebecca Romijn], who had two dogs. My wife started to adopt animals, so now we currently have four dogs and two cats. It's a lot; I would get angry at my wife when she would adopt another dog. I don't even know if it's legal for us to have four dogs — I should probably Google that — but they're so cute, they're such a part of our family. We love them so much. I gotta be honest with you, I love my dogs a lot of the time more than I love my children."
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Jerry O'Connell on his twin girls, Dolly and Charlie, getting older:
"We're very excited about Meghan Markle. I keep showing them Meghan Markle when it comes to storybook time and I'm like, 'Girls, that's what I'm talking about. Do you see that? Do you see Meghan Markle? Like, I'd be cool with that. Get a prince; that's what I'm talking about.' They're 8, they're not even thinking about that now. Their relationships are with their dogs."
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Jerry O'Connell hosting the AKC National Championship again
"It's so cute being around those dogs. They're just so cute and so well-behaved and so pretty. Their outfits and their hair is so perfectly coiffed. It's so funny too, because when you're around it all weekend, not that I'm a depressed person, but it just puts you in such a good mood. You're just so happy to be around all these beautiful animals. Everyone is so passionate and also, it's a competition; you get to see who's best in show. You get to pick your favorites. It's a really cute weekend."
Jerry O'Connell on holiday plans with wife Rebecca Romijn and their twins:
"We do the holidays right. We have Christmas lights up there on the roof. We got someone to do it this year because a couple years ago, I almost fell off the roof and I swore I'd never do it again. Our kids … really get into Santa. [Then on] New Year's Day, we will be watching the AKC National Championship Dog Show Presented by Royal Canin on Animal Planet at 7 p.m."
Jerry O'Connell on his girls' love of the AKC dog show:
"It is by far their most favorite thing that I am a part of. They love it. On New Year's Day, they will be watching. I do a lot of the behind-the-curtain and sort of sideline stuff. I get to give everybody all the behind-the-scenes stuff, which is so fun for me."
Jerry O'Connell on his own dogs being in the competition:
"As a dog owner, I have aspirations and dreams of trying to show my dogs. It's never going to happen because my dogs can't sit still [for] more than a half a second. It's funny — after I worked with one of the trainers at the AKC National Championship, I tried to do some of the show-dog skills with my Great Dane. My Great Dane could not stop jumping on me and going crazy. My dogs just don't have it. They look good, but they just don't have it. But let me tell you this: My dogs are a lot of fun. If you want to party, my dogs are the ones you should party with."
Jerry O'Connell on his daughters' love of holiday shopping:
"My wife took one daughter to go shopping for me and her sister, and I took our other daughter [to the mall] to go shopping for my mom, my wife and her sister. My one daughter, who does have a little bit of a shopping problem — you can tell — loved the whole retail holiday experience."
Jerry O'Connell on participating in a "Stand by Me" reboot:
"It's not my call. Rob Reiner, who directed it, would probably be the one who would do that. I don't know if that's going to happen. You know, the best reboot recently was "It," which is also based on a Stephen King story. I mean, that was as good as reboots get. I can't wait for the second one."
