Wil Wheaton knows his "Stand By Me" co-star Jerry O'Connell wasn't there for him during his time of need, but he doesn't want "The Talk" host to feel guilt or regret.
Wil, who famously played Gordie Lachance in the 1986 classic, has recently opened up about the trauma he was going through while filming the movie, alleging that his parents were manipulative and emotionally abused him.
While speaking to Wil on "The Talk" on Friday, April 15, Jerry said, "I heard before you talk about some of the struggles you were going through during 'Stand by Me', and you know, while I was 11 at the time — that's an excuse — I do want to apologize for not being there more for you when you were younger."
As Jerry spoke, Wil, now 49, tried interrupting Jerry, telling him to "stop." Jerry, however, continued.
"I want to say, to the bigger picture, you never know what someone is going through when you're with them," he said. "I don't feel guilt, but I just want to say I'm sorry I wasn't there for you more."
Without hesitation, Will told Jerry he has nothing to apologize for.
"I deeply appreciate that. You were 11," he said as the crowd cautiously laughed. "I'm not saying that as a joke. I'm not doing a bit at all. All I'm saying is you were 11. How could you have possibly known?"
Wil then implied that Jerry — or anyone else for that matter — might not have recognized his struggles even as an adult.
"Everyone in the audience who is a trauma survivor knows this: We're real, real, real good at covering up what we're going through," he said.
Last year, after Wil made his childhood trauma public, Jerry expressed regret, saying, "I had no idea he was feeling this when we were doing this film. I wish I was older back then so I could have said, 'Hey Wil, hey man, is anything wrong?'"