Macaulay Macaulay Culkin Culkin (born Macaulay Carson Culkin; ) is an American actor. One of the most successful child actors of the 1990s, he was placed 2nd on VH1's list of the "100 Greatest Kid-Stars". Culkin rose to prominence as a child actor starring as Kevin McCallister in the first two films of the Home Alone film series (1990 and 1992), for which he was nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy. He also starred in the films My Girl (1991), The Good Son (1993), The Nutcracker (1993), Getting Even with Dad (1994), The Pagemaster (1994), and Richie Rich (1994).
Culkin took a break from acting in 1995. He returned in 2003 with a guest appearance on the television show Will & Grace and a role in the film Party Monster. He wrote an autobiography, Junior, which was published in 2006. In 2021, he starred in American Horror Story: Double Feature, the tenth season of the anthology series American Horror Story.
In 2013, Culkin co-founded the New York comedy rock band the Pizza Underground, of which he was the vocalist. In 2016, Culkin stated that the Pizza Underground was splitting up and their next album would be their last. He is currently the publisher and CEO of Bunny Ears, a satirical pop culture website and podcast.
He has also received an MTV Movie Award from three nominations, and a Young Artist Award.
Early life
Macaulay Carson Culkin was born on August 26, 1980, in New York City to Christopher Cornelius "Kit" Culkin, a former stage actor, and Patricia Brentrup, a native of North Dakota who met Kit in 1974 while working as a road traffic controller in Sundance, Wyoming. The couple soon relocated to Kit's native New York City, and gave birth to a total of seven children: Culkin's siblings include Shane ( 1976), Dakota (1979–2008), Kieran ( 1982), Quinn ( 1984), Christian ( 1987), and Rory ( 1989). He also had a paternal half-sister, Jennifer (born 1970), who died in 2000. His paternal aunt is actress Bonnie Bedelia. Culkin is of part-Irish descent.
During Culkin's early childhood, the family lived together in a small apartment in the Yorkville neighborhood of Manhattan, and struggled financially. His mother worked as a telephone operator and his father was a sacristan at a local Catholic church. Culkin was raised Roman Catholic and attended St. Joseph's School of Yorkville for five years before transferring to the Professional Children's School.
Career
1980s: Career beginnings
Culkin began acting at age four. His early roles included a stage production of Bach Babies at the New York Philharmonic. He continued appearing in roles on stage, television and films throughout the 1980s. He made an appearance in the TV movie The Midnight Hour (1985). In 1988, he appeared in an episode of the popular action television series The Equalizer, in which he played a kidnapping victim, Paul Gephardt.
Culkin made his film debut as Cy Blue Black in the drama Rocket Gibraltar (1988). He played the role of Billy Livingstone in the romantic comedy film See You in the Morning (1989), starring Jeff Bridges, Alice Krige, Farrah Fawcett and Drew Barrymore. He starred as Miles Russell alongside actor John Candy in the comedy film Uncle Buck (1989).
1990s: Breakthrough with Home Alone and mainstream child roles
Culkin rose to fame with his lead role of Kevin McCallister in the blockbuster comedy film Home Alone (1990). The film reunited him with Uncle Buck writer and director John Hughes and Uncle Buck co-star John Candy, who played the role of Polka band member Gus Polinski. For his performance, Culkin was nominated for a Golden Globe Award and won an American Comedy Award and a Young Artist Award. In a 2022 interview with People, co-star Joe Pesci said Culkin was "a really sweet kid and, even at his age, very professional."
In 1991, Culkin starred in an animated Saturday morning cartoon television series titled Wish Kid, hosted Saturday Night Live and starred in Michael Jackson's "Black or White" music video. He starred as Thomas J. Sennett in the film My Girl (1991), for which he was nominated for Best On-Screen Duo, and won Best Kiss at the MTV Movie Awards, with Anna Chlumsky.