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Macaulay Culkin

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Macaulay Culkin
Culkin at the Berlin Festival in 2010
Born
Macaulay Carson Culkin

(1980-08-26) August 26, 1980 (age 44)
New York City, U.S.
Occupations
  • Actor
  • musician
  • web host
Years active
  • 1985–1994
  • 1998–present
Spouse
​
​
(m. 1998; div. 2002)​
Partners
Parents
Relatives
Musical career
Genres
Instruments
  • Vocals
  • kazoo
  • percussion
Years active2013–2017
Websitebunnyears.com

Macaulay Carson Culkin (born August 26, 1980)[1] is an American actor, musician, and web host. He is known for playing Kevin McCallister in the Christmas films Home Alone (1990), which he was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy for, and Home Alone 2: Lost in New York (1992).

Along with the Home Alone series, Culkin 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). He has been nominated for the MTV Movie Awards and Young Artist Awards. At the height of his fame, he was regarded as the most successful child actor since Shirley Temple.[2] Culkin ranked at number two on VH1's list of the "100 Greatest Kid-Stars" and E!'s list of the "50 Greatest Child Stars".[3]

He took a break from acting in 1994, and made his return in 2003 with a guest appearance on the television show Will and Grace and a role in the film Party Monster (2003). He wrote an autobiographical book titled Junior, which was published in 2006. In 2013, Culkin co-founded the New York-based, pizza-themed comedy rock band the Pizza Underground, of which he was the vocalist. They toured in 2014, beginning in Brooklyn on January 24, 2014. On July 10, 2016, Culkin stated that the Pizza Underground was splitting up and their next album would be the last. Culkin is currently the publisher and CEO of a satirical pop culture website and podcast called Bunny Ears.[4]

Early life

Macaulay Carson Culkin was born on August 26, 1980 in New York City.[1] Culkin's father, Christopher Cornelius "Kit" Culkin, is a former actor known for his productions on Broadway and is the brother of actress Bonnie Bedelia. His mother is Patricia Brentrup, who never married Culkin.[5] He was named Macaulay after Thomas Babington Macaulay and Carson after Kit Carson of the Old West. Culkin is the third of seven children, five boys and two girls: Shane (born 1976), Dakota (1979–2008),[6] Kieran (born 1982), Quinn (born 1984), Christian (born 1987), and Rory (born 1989). During Culkin's early childhood, the family lived in a small apartment. His mother was a telephone operator and his father worked as a sacristan at a local Catholic church.[7] He was raised Roman Catholic[8] and attended a Catholic school called St. Joseph's School of Yorkville for five years[9] before going to Professional Children's School.[10]

Career

See also: Macaulay Culkin filmography
Culkin at the Governor's Ball after the Emmy Awards on August 25, 1991

1985–1989: Early work

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 a small 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. He made his big-screen debut portraying the character of Cy Blue Black in the drama film 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).[11]

1990–1994: Breakthrough

Culkin rose to fame with his lead role of Kevin McCallister in the blockbuster Christmas film Home Alone (1990), in which he was reunited 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. He was nominated for a Golden Globe Award, and won an American Comedy Award and a Young Artist Award for his role as Kevin McCallister. 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.

He was paid $4.5 million (compared to $110,000 for the original) to reprise his role of Kevin McCallister in the sequel Home Alone 2: Lost in New York (1992).[12] He played the role of Henry in the drama-thriller film The Good Son (1993), which only did reasonably well, although he was nominated for an MTV Movie Award in the category for Best Villain for his performance. He was also a student at the School of American Ballet, and appeared in a filmed version of The Nutcracker as the title role in 1993, which was staged by Peter Martins from the 1954 George Balanchine New York City Ballet version of the work. He was also in the films Getting Even with Dad (1994), The Pagemaster (1994) and Richie Rich (1994), which were all poor performers at the box office.

1994–1998: Career break

In 1994, Culkin took a break from acting after his 15th film in seven years. Wanting a "normal life", he went to a private high school in Manhattan.[13][14]

1998–2010: Return to acting and book debut

In 1998, he appeared in the music video for the song "Sunday" by the rock band Sonic Youth. In 2000, Culkin returned to acting with a role in the play Madame Melville, which was staged in London's West End.[15] In the spring of 2003, he made a guest appearance on the NBC sitcom Will & Grace.[16] His role as Karen Walker's deceptively immature divorce lawyer won him favorable reviews. Culkin headed back into motion pictures in 2003 with Party Monster, in which he played a role very different from those he was known for; that of party promoter Michael Alig, a drug user and murderer. He quickly followed that with a supporting part in Saved!, as a cynical wheelchair-using, non-Christian student in a conservative Christian high school. Though Saved! 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.[17][18][19] Culkin began doing voice-over work, with appearances in Seth Green's Robot Chicken. In 2006, he published an experimental, semi-autobiographical novel titled Junior, which talked about Culkin's stardom and his shaky relationship with his father.

Culkin starred in Sex and Breakfast, a dark comedy written and directed by Miles Brandman.[20] Alexis Dziena, Kuno Becker and Eliza Dushku also star in this story of a couple whose therapist recommends they engage in group sex. Shooting for the film, Culkin's first since Saved!, 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-episode NBC television series Kings as Andrew Cross.[21]

In 2009, Culkin appeared in a UK-based commercial for Aviva Insurance (formerly Norwich Union) to help promote their company's rebranding. Culkin stared into the camera stating, "Remember me." On August 17, 2009, Culkin made a brief cameo appearance on WWE Raw at the Scottrade Center in St. Louis, Missouri, following a "falls count anywhere" match between Hornswoggle and Chavo Guerrero, in which Guerrero was defeated by the classic Home 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." In February 2010, Culkin appeared in an episode of Poppy de Villeneuve's online series for The New York Times, The Park. On March 7 of the same year, he appeared alongside actors Matthew Broderick, Molly Ringwald, Judd Nelson, Ally Sheedy, Anthony Michael Hall, and Jon Cryer in a tribute to the late John Hughes at the Oscars.

2010–2016: Musical and other artistic endeavors

Main article: The Pizza Underground
Culkin with the Pizza Underground in Chicago, 2014

In April 2011, Culkin was featured in musician Adam Green's experimental film The Wrong Ferarri, which was entirely shot on an iPhone. In the same month, he also appeared in the music video for "Stamp Your Name On It" performed by Green's former bandmate Jack 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.

In December 2013, a viral video that Culkin co-produced and directed of himself eating a cheese pizza was uploaded to YouTube, co-starring Phoebe Kreutz. He was parodying Andy Warhol consuming a Burger King Whopper in Jørgen Leth's documentary 66 Scenes from America.[22] Culkin was promoting the debut of his New York-based, pizza-themed comedy rock band the Pizza Underground.[23] Their tour began in Brooklyn on January 24, 2014.[24] In late May 2014, Culkin stormed off stage at Rock City during his kazoo solo after fans began booing and throwing pints of beer at the band.[25] They subsequently cancelled the remaining UK shows, though they claimed the cancellation had nothing to do with the Rock City performance.[26] On July 10, 2016, Culkin announced that the Pizza Underground was splitting up and their next album will be the last.[27]

2016–present: Web content and continued acting career

In July 2016, Culkin appeared in a television advertisement for Compare the Market.[28] In January 2018, Culkin launched a comedy website and podcast called Bunny Ears, which parodied other celebrity-owned websites such as Gwyneth Paltrow's Goop.[29] Since 2018, Culkin has been a frequent guest of RedLetterMedia, appearing in multiple episodes of their Best of the Worst, re:View, and Half in the Bag webseries, as well as Angry Video Game Nerd, appearing as either himself, a character, or a parody of himself.[30][31] In an advertisement for Google Assistant published on December 19, 2018, Culkin reprised his Home Alone role as Kevin McCallister after 28 years. 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. The advertisement quickly went viral.[32][33][34] In 2019, he had a role in Seth Green's movie Changeland with Brenda Song, which was released on June 7, 2019.[35][36] In February 2020, American Horror Story co-creator Ryan Murphy announced that Culkin is part of the starring cast of the series' upcoming tenth season.[37] In 2020, Culkin revealed he had auditioned for an undisclosed role in Quentin Tarantino's Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. It was his first audition for a film in eight years. [38]

Personal life

In December 2018, Culkin announced that he would legally change his name to "Macaulay Macaulay Culkin Culkin" after holding a vote on Twitter to choose a new middle name, with "Macaulay Culkin" winning the vote over four other candidates.[39]

On September 17, 2004, Culkin was arrested in Oklahoma City for the possession of 17.3 grams (0.61 oz) of marijuana and two controlled substances, 16.5 milligrams (0.25 grains) of Alprazolam and 32 milligrams (0.5 gr) of Clonazepam,[40] for which he was briefly jailed, then released on a $4,000 bail.[41][42] After being arraigned in court for misdemeanor drug offenses, he pleaded not guilty at the trial (October 15, 2004, to June 9, 2005), then later reversed the plea to guilty. He received three one-year suspended prison sentences and was ordered to pay $540 in fees.[43]

Relationships

Culkin stated in a May 27, 2004, interview on Larry King Live that he tends to refrain from disclosing aspects of his personal life, though he 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.[8] Culkin married actress Rachel Miner in 1998 when they were both 18,[44][45] but they separated in 2000[46] and divorced in 2002.[47]

Culkin began dating actress Mila Kunis in May 2002.[47] By 2006, he was living in New York, while Kunis was living in Los Angeles.[48] On January 3, 2011, Kunis's publicist confirmed reports that Culkin and Kunis had ended their relationship several months previously, saying, "The split was amicable, and they remain close friends."[49] Since 2013, Culkin has lived in Paris.[50] As of October 2017, Culkin has been in a relationship with his Changeland co-star Brenda Song.[44][51]

Friendship with Michael Jackson

Around the time of the first Home Alone movie, Culkin became friends with pop singer Michael Jackson,[52] and appeared in Jackson's 1991 "Black or White" music video.[53] In 2005, at Jackson's trial for sexual child abuse, Culkin testified that he had slept in bed with Jackson but that he was never molested. He dismissed the allegations as "absolutely ridiculous".[54] Culkin attended Jackson's burial on September 3, 2009.[55] Culkin is also the godfather of Jackson's children Paris Jackson, Prince and Michael Jr.[56] In 2020, he told Esquire magazine: "I never saw anything; he never did anything".[57]

Awards and nominations

Macaulay Culkin award nominations
Year Nominated work(s) Award Result Ref.
1994 Getting Even with Dad / The Pagemaster / Richie Rich Stinkers Bad Movie Award for Worst Actor Nominated [58]

References

  1. ^ a b Neal, Rome (June 4, 2004). "Macaulay Culkin's 'Saved!'". CBS News. Retrieved February 23, 2010.
  2. ^ Gliatto, Tom (December 17, 1990). "Running Away with the Box Office by Staying Home Alone, Macaulay Culkin Is Hollywood's Newest Little Big Man". People. Retrieved February 22, 2010.
  3. ^ "The Greatest: 100 Greatest Kid Stars (100 - 81)". VH1.com<!. Retrieved August 7, 2009.
  4. ^ Jensen, Erin (November 29, 2018). "Macaulay Culkin to legally change middle name to something totally outrageous". USA Today. Retrieved March 26, 2019.
  5. ^ "Macaulay Culkin profile at FilmReference.com". Filmreference.com. Retrieved August 7, 2009.
  6. ^ "Macaulay's Sister Dies". TMZ.com. December 11, 2008. Retrieved August 7, 2009.
  7. ^ "FILM "I thought nothing could possibly go wrong. Huh"]: Ian McEwan was happy with his first Hollywood film. It was small, but classy. Then along came Macaulay Culkin's dad ... Sabine Durrant reports". The Independent. London. August 19, 1993. Retrieved August 8, 2010.
  8. ^ a b King, Larry (May 27, 2004). "CNN: Larry King Live: Interview With Macaulay Culkin". CNN. Retrieved March 26, 2018.
  9. ^ Rebecca, John. "Macaulay Culkin Talks About "Saved!"". About.com. Archived from the original on September 16, 2011. Retrieved June 22, 2010.
  10. ^ Zernike, Kate (May 23, 2000). "From Curtain Calls to Ivy Halls; Top Colleges Take Notice of Special School's Young Stars". The New York Times. Retrieved February 18, 2020.
  11. ^ Uncle Buck: John Candy, Macaulay Culkin, Jean Louisa Kelly, Gaby Hoffmann, Amy Madigan, Elaine Bromka, Garrett M. Brown, Laurie Metcalf, Jay Underwood, Brian Taran... ISBN 0783227388.
  12. ^ Home Alone 2: Lost in New York at the AFI Catalog of Feature Films
  13. ^ Zoglin, Richard (April 29, 2001). "I Was Just Hoping To Disappear". Time. Retrieved May 1, 2018.
  14. ^ "Macaulay Culkin Takes Another Role". ABC News. January 6, 2006. Retrieved May 1, 2018.
  15. ^ "ENTERTAINMENT | Culkin happy away from home". BBC News. October 19, 2000. Retrieved August 7, 2009.
  16. ^ "Macaulay Culkin – Yahoo! TV". Tv.yahoo.com. August 26, 1980. Retrieved August 7, 2009.
  17. ^ Burr, Ty (June 11, 2004). "Saved! Movie Review – Saved! Movie Trailer". Boston Globe. Retrieved August 7, 2009.
  18. ^ "Things To Do in Dallas: Find Dallas Events & Attractions". GuideLive. Archived from the original on April 7, 2009.
  19. ^ Denby, David (January 7, 2009). "Outsiders". The New Yorker. Retrieved August 7, 2009.
  20. ^ "Macaulay Culkin has 'Sex and Breakfast'". Digital Spy. August 3, 2006. Retrieved August 7, 2009.
  21. ^ "NBC's Kings snags Macaulay Culkin". TV Squad. July 22, 2008. Retrieved August 7, 2009.
  22. ^ Fossum, Mike 'Artsy Macaulay Culkin conceptually eats pizza', retrieved December 27, 2013
  23. ^ Luling, Todd Van, December 27, 2013 'The 34 greatest moments in pizza history from 2013', retrieved December 27, 2013
  24. ^ Catalano, Angelica, January 7, 2014 'Macaulay Culkin performs in The Pizza Underground's debut music video, starts tour', retrieved January 29, 2014.
  25. ^ "Macaulay Culkin storms off stage after fans interrupt his kazoo solo". The Independent. Retrieved September 8, 2015.
  26. ^ "The Pizza Underground cancel U.K. tour and Primavera Sound appearance". New Musical Express. May 31, 2014. Retrieved June 4, 2014.
  27. ^ "Macaulay Culkin confirms his band's next album will be their last". The New Zealand Herald. July 10, 2016. Retrieved July 17, 2016.
  28. ^ Bullock, Andrew (July 8, 2016). "WATCH: Macaulay Culkin joins the famous meerkats in new Compare The Market TV ad". Daily Express. Retrieved July 17, 2016.
  29. ^ Atad, Corey (March 26, 2018). "Macaulay Culkin Launches Goop Parody Site Bunny Ears". ET Canada. Retrieved December 20, 2018.
  30. ^ Burwick, Kevin (December 17, 2018). "Macaulay Culkin Has a Blast Reviewing Home Alone 4 & Old Home Alone Video Games". MovieWeb. Retrieved December 20, 2018.
  31. ^ Good, Owen (December 16, 2018). "Macaulay Culkin teams with Angry Video Game Nerd to dump on Home Alone". Polygon. Retrieved December 17, 2018.
  32. ^ "Macaulay Culkin is "Home Alone" again in new ad". www.cbsnews.com. Retrieved December 19, 2018.
  33. ^ Darrah, Nicole (December 19, 2018). "Macaulay Culkin reprises 'Home Alone' role in new Google ad". Fox News. Retrieved December 19, 2018.
  34. ^ Dellatto, Marisa (December 19, 2018). "Macaulay Culkin reprises 'Home Alone' role; internet screams". New York Post. Retrieved December 19, 2018.
  35. ^ McNary, Dave (June 21, 2017). "Seth Green to Make Feature Film Directorial Debut With 'Changeland'". Variety.
  36. ^ D'Agostino, Ryan. "Macaulay Culkin Is Not Like You". Esquire. Retrieved February 12, 2020.
  37. ^ Strause, Jackie (February 26, 2020). "'American Horror Story': Macaulay Culkin Joins Sarah Paulson, Evan Peters in Season 10". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved February 26, 2020.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  38. ^ Harrison, Ellie (February 12, 2020). "Macaulay Culkin says his Once Upon a Time in Hollywood audition was a "disaster"".
  39. ^ Mitrokostas, Sophia (April 25, 2019). "Macaulay Culkin is working on legally changing his name to 'Macaulay Macaulay Culkin Culkin' after fans voted in a public poll". Insider. Retrieved August 7, 2019.
  40. ^ "Actor Macaulay Culkin arrested for drug possession". USA Today. September 17, 2004. Retrieved August 7, 2009.
  41. ^ "Macaulay Culkin Drug Bust – September 17, 2004". Thesmokinggun.com. September 17, 2004. Retrieved August 7, 2009.
  42. ^ "Macaulay Culkin Arrested On Drug Charges". Archived from the original on September 4, 2009.
  43. ^ SIlverman, Stephen M. (June 8, 2005). "Macaulay Culkin Pleads Guilty to Pot Charge". People. Retrieved August 1, 2012.
  44. ^ a b Respers France, Lisa (March 21, 2018). "Macaulay Culkin gets real personal". CNN.
  45. ^ "He's not home alone now. (teen actors Rachel Miner and Macaulay Culkin, both 17, announce their marriage intentions)(Brief Article) | HighBeam Research". Highbeam.com. April 13, 1998. Archived from the original on June 24, 2011. Retrieved August 7, 2009.
  46. ^ Tyrangiel, Josh (August 14, 2000). "People: August 14, 2000". Time. Retrieved February 21, 2010.
  47. ^ a b Friedman, Roger (August 20, 2002). "Macaulay Culkin's Happy 'Ending'". Fox News. Retrieved February 21, 2010.
  48. ^ "Culkin and Kunis Plan a Wedding". Hollywood.com.
  49. ^ Jessica Derschowitz (January 3, 2011). "Mila Kunis and Macaulay Culkin Split". CBS News. Retrieved January 3, 2011.
  50. ^ Grazia.fr (May 10, 2016). "VIDEO - Macaulay Culkin dans C à vous : Les choses vont plutôt bien pour moi, j'ai de la chance". Grazia.fr (in French). Retrieved April 10, 2017.
  51. ^ "EXCLUSIVE: Macaulay Culkin and Brenda Song Are Dating, Show PDA During Theme Park Date: Pics!". Entertainment Tonight. October 1, 2017. Retrieved March 20, 2018.
  52. ^ Leonard, Kevin (August 1, 2013). "Michael Jackson was surprise guest on family vacation of former Laurel High teachers". The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved September 8, 2013.
  53. ^ "Michael Jackson With Macaulay Culkin". YouTube. Retrieved September 8, 2013.
  54. ^ "CNN.com". May 11, 2005.
  55. ^ Kaufman, Gil (September 4, 2009). "Michael Jackson's Kids Lay Golden Crown On His Casket At Funeral". MTV.com. Viacom. Retrieved May 17, 2010.
  56. ^ "Macaulay Culkin Now: We Totally Forgot The Actor Is Paris Jackson's Godfather". huffingtonpost.ca. December 19, 2016.
  57. ^ "Macaulay Culkin Wants to Set the Record Straight About His Relationship With Michael Jackson". Esquire. February 11, 2020.
  58. ^ "1994 17th Hastings Bad Cinema Society Stinkers Awards". Stinkers Bad Movie Awards. Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on August 15, 2007. Retrieved April 3, 2013.

Bibliography

  • Holmstrom, John. The Moving Picture Boy: An International Encyclopaedia from 1895 to 1995, Norwich, Michael Russell, 1996, p. 398.
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