Macaulay Macaulay Culkin Culkin[a] (bornMacaulay Carson Culkin; August 26, 1980 (1980-08-26))[1] is an American actor and musician. Considered one of the most successful child actors of the 1990s, Culkin has received aGolden Globe Award nomination andother accolades. In 2005, he was ranked second onVH1's list of the "100 Greatest Kid-Stars". In 2023, he received a star on theHollywood Walk of Fame.
Culkin wrote the autobiographyJunior (2006), which describes his experiences with stardom and relationship with his father. From 2013 to 2016, he was a member of thecomedy rock bandthe Pizza Underground, serving as the lead vocalist. In 2018, Culkin became the publisher and CEO of Bunny Ears, a satiricalpopular culture website and podcast.
During Culkin's early childhood, the family lived together in a small apartment in theYorkville neighborhood of Manhattan, and struggled financially.[4] His mother worked as a telephone operator and his father was asacristan at a local Catholic church.[11] Culkin was raisedCatholic[12] and attended St. Joseph's School of Yorkville for five years[13] before transferring to theProfessional Children's School.[14]
Despite Culkin having a good relationship with his mother,[15] Culkin said his father was violent towards him and their family, calling him the "worst person he's ever known." He said he felt that the abuse was caused by jealousy, because "everything [Kit] tried to do in his life [Macaulay] excelled at before [he] was 10 years old".[16][17] In a 2025 interview, Culkin revealed that he and his father have not made contact in over 30 years.[18] His parents never married; they split during his teens, and his mother filed forcustody.[19] Culkin took his parents to court to remove their name from histrust fund, which was reportedly worth between $15 and 20 million, and hired anexecutor.[16][19]
Culkin began acting at age four. His early roles included a stage production ofBach Babies at theNew York Philharmonic. He continued appearing in roles on stage, television and films throughout the 1980s. He made an uncredited appearance in the television movieThe Midnight Hour (1985).[20][21] Culkin's first credited screen role came in February 1988, as a co-star in "Something Green," an episode of the popular action television seriesThe Equalizer, in which he played a kidnapping victim, Paul Gephardt.
Culkin rose to fame with his lead role of Kevin McCallister in the blockbuster comedy filmHome Alone (1990). The film reunited him withUncle Buck writer and directorJohn Hughes andUncle Buck co-starJohn Candy, who played the role of Polka band memberGus Polinski. For his performance, Culkin was nominated for aGolden Globe Award[23] and won anAmerican Comedy Award[24] and aYoung Artist Award.[25] In a 2022 interview withPeople, co-starJoe Pesci said Culkin was "a really sweet kid and, even at his age, very professional".[26]
Culkin established himself as one of the most successful child actors of the 1990s.[29] He grew tired of acting and retired afterRichie Rich.[19] Wanting a "normal life", he went to a private high school inManhattan.[30][31] In 1998, he appeared in the music video for the song "Sunday" by the rock bandSonic Youth.[32]
2000s: Guest roles and independent films
In 2000, Culkin returned to acting with a role in the playMadame Melville, which was staged in London'sWest End.[33] In early 2003, he made a guest appearance on theNBC sitcomWill & Grace.[34] His role asKaren Walker's deceptively immature divorce lawyer won him favorable reviews. Culkin headed back into motion pictures in 2003 withParty Monster, in which he played a role very different from those he was known for, that of party promoterMichael Alig, a drug user and murderer. He quickly followed that with a supporting part inSaved!, as a cynical wheelchair-using, non-Christian student in a conservative Christian high school. ThoughSaved! only had modest success at the box office, Culkin received positive reviews for his role in the film and its implications for a career as an adult actor.[35][36][37] Culkin began doingvoice-over work, with appearances inSeth Green'sRobot Chicken. In 2005, he was ranked second onVH1's list of the "100 Greatest Kid-Stars" behindGary Coleman.[38]
In 2006, he published an experimental, semi-autobiographical novel titledJunior, which talked about Culkin's stardom and his shaky relationship with his father. He starred inSex and Breakfast, a dark comedy written and directed by Miles Brandman.[39]Alexis Dziena,Kuno Becker andEliza Dushku also star in this story of a couple whose therapist recommends they engage in group sex. Shooting for the film, Culkin's first sinceSaved!, took place in September 2006. The film opened in Los Angeles on November 30, 2007, and was released on DVD on January 22, 2008, by First Look Pictures. Culkin's next project was a role in the thirteen-episodeNBC television seriesKings as Andrew Cross.[40]
In 2009, Culkin appeared in a UK-based commercial forAviva Insurance (formerly Norwich Union) to help promote their company's rebranding. Culkin stared into the camera stating, "Remember me."[citation needed] On August 17, 2009, Culkin made a brief cameo appearance onWWE Raw at theScottrade Center inSt. Louis, Missouri, following a "falls count anywhere" match betweenHornswoggle andChavo Guerrero Jr., in which Guerrero was defeated by the classicHome Alone gag of rigging a swinging paint can to hit him upon opening a door. Culkin appeared in the doorway and said, "That's not funny."
2010s: Professional expansion
Macaulay Culkin at Berlin Festival in 2010
In February 2010, Culkin appeared in an episode ofPoppy de Villeneuve's online series forThe New York Times,The Park. On March 7 of the same year, he appeared alongside actorsMatthew Broderick,Molly Ringwald,Judd Nelson,Ally Sheedy,Anthony Michael Hall, andJon Cryer in a tribute to the late John Hughes at the Oscars. In April 2011, Culkin was featured in musicianAdam Green's experimental filmThe Wrong Ferarri, which was entirely shot on aniPhone. In the same month, he also appeared in the music video for "Stamp Your Name on It" performed by Green's former bandmateJack Dishel/Only Son. In September 2012, he appeared in a video on YouTube explaining how he turned his apartment in New York into a painting workshop.
Culkin with the Pizza Underground in Chicago, 2014
In December 2013, aviral video of Culkin eating a cheese pizza was uploaded to YouTube. This was a parody ofAndy Warhol consuming a Burger King Whopper inJørgen Leth's documentary66 Scenes from America.[41] Culkin was promoting the debut of his New York–based, pizza-themed comedy rock bandthe Pizza Underground.[42] Their tour began in Brooklyn on January 24, 2014.[43] In late May 2014, Culkin stormed off stage atRock City during hiskazoo solo after fans began booing and throwing pints of beer at the band.[44] They subsequently cancelled the remaining UK shows, though they claimed the cancellation had nothing to do with the Rock City performance.[45] On July 10, 2016, Culkin announced that the Pizza Underground was splitting up and their next album would be the last.[46]
In July 2016, Culkin appeared in a television advertisement forCompare the Market.[47] In January 2018, Culkin launched a comedy website and podcast called Bunny Ears that parodied other celebrity-owned websites such asGwyneth Paltrow'sGoop.[48] Since 2018, Culkin has been a frequent guest ofRed Letter Media, appearing in multiple episodes of theirBest of the Worst,re:View, andHalf in the Bag webseries, as well asAngry Video Game Nerd, where he appears as a parody of himself.[49][50] In an advertisement forGoogle Assistant published on December 19, 2018, Culkin reprised hisHome Alone role as Kevin McCallister after 28 years.[51] It recreated scenes from the movie where McCallister shaved his face, jumped on the bed, and decorated the Christmas tree, all while asking Google Assistant to set reminders for him.[52] In 2019, he had a role inSeth Green's movieChangeland with his future partner,Brenda Song,[53] which was released on June 7, 2019.[54][55]
Culkin tends to refrain from disclosing aspects of his personal life; however, he has discussed his life as a child actor, the conflict in his family life, including his estrangement from his father, and how he retired from acting at age 14.[12] He resides in theToluca Lake neighborhood of Los Angeles.[59]
On September 17, 2004, Culkin was arrested inOklahoma City for the possession of 17.3 grams (0.61 oz) ofmarijuana and two controlled substances, 16.5 milligrams (0.25grains) ofalprazolam and 32 milligrams (0.5 grains) ofclonazepam,[60] for which he was briefly jailed and then released on $4,000 bail.[61][62] After being arraigned in court for misdemeanor drug offenses, he pleaded not guilty at the trial (October 15, 2004, to June 9, 2005), but later reversed the plea to guilty. He received three one-yearsuspended prison sentences and was ordered to pay $540 in fees.[63]
In December 2018, Culkin announced that he would legally change his name to "Macaulay Macaulay Culkin Culkin" after holding a vote through his website to choose a new middle name, with "Macaulay Culkin" winning the vote over four other candidates.[64][65] He announced in April 2019 that the legal name change process had been completed.[1]
In August 2020, on his 40th birthday, Culkintweeted, "Hey guys, wanna feel old? I'm 40. You're welcome." The tweet became one of themost-liked tweets of all time, peaking at number 9.[66]
Relationships
Culkin married actressRachel Miner in 1998 when they were both 18,[67][68] but they separated in 2000[69] and divorced in 2002.[70]
In 2017, Culkin started datingChangeland co-starBrenda Song,[73] having met while working together on that film. Their first child, a son, was born on April 5, 2021.[74][75] Shortly after their son's birth, comments Culkin made on a 2018 episode ofThe Joe Rogan Experience about his relationship with Song (aHmong–Thai American) resurfaced, which were criticized forstereotyping Asians.[76] In the interview, Culkin joked about the shape of Song's eyes, their interracial relationship, and the appearance of their potential future children. He argued that he was entitled to make Asian jokes because of his relationship with Song, and because of his future fatherhood to multiracial children, stating that he would "understand the struggle".[77] Culkin and Song's second son was born in December 2022.[78]
Friendships
Around the time of the firstHome Alone movie, Culkin became friends with the pop singerMichael Jackson[79] and appeared in Jackson's 1991 "Black or White" music video.[80] In 2005, atJackson's trial for sexual child abuse, Culkintestified that he had slept in bed with Jackson but that he was never molested. Culkin dismissed the allegations against Jackson as "absolutely ridiculous".[81] Culkin attendedJackson's burial on September 3, 2009.[82] Culkin is also the godfather of Jackson's childrenParis Jackson, Prince and Michael Jr.[83] Culkin has consistently defended Jackson against allegations of child molestation, and said in a 2020 interview withEsquire: "I never saw anything; he never did anything."[84]
Culkin is close with fellow actorSeth Green, with whom he co-starred in the filmParty Monster, as well as in Green's 2019 directorial debut,Changeland, and on episodes of Green's adult animated sitcomRobot Chicken.[85]
Awards and nominations
Awards and nominations received by Macaulay Culkin
^Kepnes, Caroline (October 2005)."Schmoozin' with Mila Kunis".JVibe. Archived fromthe original on June 3, 2006. Retrieved January 16, 2016. Mila Kunis on Culkin: "No my boyfriend was raised Irish Catholic..."
^Uncle Buck: John Candy, Macaulay Culkin, Jean Louisa Kelly, Gaby Hoffmann, Amy Madigan, Elaine Bromka, Garrett M. Brown, Laurie Metcalf, Jay Underwood, Brian Taran...ISBN0783227388.
^Wilson, Jeff (February 15, 1995)."OJ, odd couples are razzed".Great Falls Tribune. Associated Press.Archived from the original on December 23, 2021. RetrievedApril 14, 2021.
_(cropped).jpg)
.jpg)
