Why Hollywood Won't Cast Macaulay Culkin Anymore

This article contains references to addiction and child abuse.

Macaulay Culkin has had an interesting career, to say the least. He began working as a professional actor in 1985's "The Midnight Hour" at the age of four, but it wasn't until he appeared in "Uncle Buck" in 1989 that people took notice. That film helped Culkin land the role of Kevin McCallister in 1990's "Home Alone," rocking the young actor to superstardom. It seemed like you couldn't watch a movie in the '90s without seeing Culkin in something.

As a child, Culkin appeared in a ton of films — more than most kids could handle. As it happens, that proved true for him, and he took a significant hiatus after knocking out eight movies in only five years. Culkin was only ten years old when he appeared in "Home Alone," but he worked for years as if he were an adult. Eventually, he took some time for himself, and he never regained the same level of fame he had as a child actor.

That's not entirely uncommon, but Culkin didn't completely stop acting either and occasionally appears in various projects. Despite this, it's almost impossible to find him in anything these days, while his brother, Kieran, has been killing it in hit series like "Succession." Still, Culkin's time in the sun may have set because these days, it seems like Hollywood won't cast him anymore.

Few actors work as hard as Macaulay Culkin did in his youth. After "Home Alone" made him a star, his father pushed him to appear in as many movies as he could, and Culkin did what his dad wanted. He played the lead or significant parts in "My Girl," "Home Alone 2," "The Good Son," "The Nutcracker," "Getting Even with Dad," "The Pagemaster," and "Richie Rich."

He was only 14 years old at the time and one of the most successful child actors to ever grace the screen, but he had enough. Up to that point, Culkin didn't have what most would consider to be a normal childhood, and he desperately wanted one. According to his brother, Kieran, Macaulay took a hiatus from acting so he could just be a kid. Culkin discussed his decision with his parents, telling them and his management, "I'm done, guys. Hope you all made your money because there is no more coming from me."

Culkin had to take his parents to court, not to emancipate himself as some believe, but to ensure they couldn't retain control of the $15-20 million he'd earned up to that point that resided in his trust. This, and his insistence that his children work to the bone, alienated the Culkin kids from their father, Kit, and they remain estranged.

Child actors like Macaulay Culkin are governed by various rules and regulations that ensure they grow up like other children. Unfortunately, the sad truth of most child actors' situations is that they aren't raised like normal kids, and Culkin is an example of one who was exploited for his talent. His parents, particularly his father, pushed him beyond what should have been acceptable, and it took a heavy toll.

The family struggled financially before Macaulay and his siblings began bringing in a ton of cash for the Culkins, which weighed heavily on someone so young. Most of his work came between the ages of six and fourteen, which is a time when few children do more than go to school, participate in sports, or engage in a variety of activities with other kids.

Culkin explained his work-life situation during an appearance on "WTF With Marc Maron," "[His father said], 'Do good or I'll hit you.' He was a bad man. He was abusive, physically and mentally — I can show you all my scars if I wanted to." After years of being in front of the camera and having to do press tours, Culkin had to take a step back just so he could grow up and be like any other kid.

If you or someone you know may be the victim of child abuse, please contact the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-4-A-Child (1-800-422-4453) or contact their live chat services.

In the years during his hiatus from acting, Macaulay Culkin didn't entirely leave Hollywood or its influences. Culkin spoke with Spin magazine in 2004, describing all the tropes he dealt with as a child star. "Either you're going to lose all your money, you're going to be addicted to drugs ... or you're going to get married young. Okay, guilty on that count."

Culkin did indeed marry young, as he was only 17 when he tied the knot with fellow actor Rachel Miner. Unfortunately, Culkin's first marriage was also a failed one, as the couple divorced shortly after when he was only 19 years old. They met while attending New York's Professional Children's School, though Miner thought he was a jerk in the beginning. The couple dated seriously four times before they got engaged, as Miner dumped him three times before ultimately saying, 'Yes.'

Culkin and Miner married in a small church in Connecticut in 1998, which they kept out of the press. The two divorced at an age before most people get married, but they have a cordial relationship. Culkin told New York magazine, "We still talk and stuff like that ... I'm always going to love her." Culkin's ex-wife continued acting, but her condition of multiple sclerosis made doing so challenging.

While Macaulay Culkin avoided most of the negative tropes of child actors, there's one he brushed up against in 2004. While riding as a passenger alongside driver and fellow actor Brett M. Tabisel through Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, the local police pulled their car over for a routine traffic stop. The authorities uncovered some things Culkin shouldn't have had in his possession, including 17.3 grams of marijuana.

The cops also found unprescribed Xanax and sleeping pills in Culkin's pocket, meriting additional charges. Culkin received a bail of $4,000, which he posted within two hours. He avoided the media when he left the jail and went to trial over misdemeanor drug offenses. Culkin pled not guilty but later reversed his plea to guilty, likely to receive a plea agreement.

Culkin received three one-year suspended prison sentences (one for each charge), and he had to fork over $540 in fees. Given how many child stars go down a much darker path, this incident is comparably minor, and it's the only time Culkin has been in trouble with the law.

If you or anyone you know needs help with addiction issues, help is available. Visit the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration website or contact SAMHSA's National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357).

After a six-year hiatus, Macaulay Culkin decided it was time to get back into acting. He was 20 and recently divorced, but no longer the famous child star he was in his heyday. In many ways, he was something of an oddity, drawing interest in his first project in over half a decade. He chose to appear in the independent film "Party Monster" as its lead, Michael Alig.

The film is based on a true story and is a docudrama-horror about Alig, a Club Kid party organizer who does something foolish on live television. He brags about killing his drug dealer and roommate, which sends his life into a tailspin. Unfortunately, "Party Monster" was bashed by critics and maintains a measly 29% on Rotten Tomatoes.

Despite this, audiences liked it, with a 75% on the site's Popcornmeter. Culkin, to his credit, turned in a noteworthy performance, but the film just didn't prove to be the vehicle to return Culkin to superstardom.

In 2006, Culkin tried his hand at something new by writing a semi-autobiographical novel, "Junior (or) Oscar De La Mancha, the Wembling Warrior, and the People I Like the Least, A Written Project from the Normal, Well Adjusted and 'No I Don't have Issues with my Father!' Mind of ... Junior (Meaning Me)." The book is only 224 pages long, but its content isn't entirely taken up by its rather exposition-heavy title.

"Junior" is a collection of short stories and vignettes from different periods of Culkin's life, though it's interspersed with fiction as well. The Guardian listed it as one of the worst novels written by Hollywood actors, but despite this declaration, its first print consisted of 50,000 copies. Much of the book centers around Culkin's father and the abusive relationship he had with him, though they hadn't spoken in 11 years.

Culkin explained, "This is so surreal for me, this whole thing, it's the most intimidating thing I have ever done to kind of just throw it all out there. This book is really just a series of moments in my life" (via ABC News). The book didn't do well in the literary community, so he didn't launch a second, but writing it likely brought Culkin some much-needed catharsis regarding his challenging upbringing. Still, he dissected Hollywood's treatment of child actors, which might keep casting agents from calling.

Macaulay Culkin has tried out various professions since stepping back from acting at a young age. One such profession is art, and in 2012, Culkin converted his $2 million New York City home into an art studio. When most people think of Culkin and paint, they probably recall Kevin McCallister's penchant for swinging them into The Wet Bandits' unsuspecting faces in the "Home Alone" films, but he has a creative side.

Culkin uses his studio not only to create artwork but also to show it off to the public. He held an art exhibit called Leisure Inferno for his work and two of his friends, and they referred to themselves as Three Men and a Baby. In addition to their art, the trio created a video of how they converted the home into an art exhibit as well as a showcase to exhibit their art, so they were fully invested in this venture.

Culkin described his 5,100-square-foot condo as a playground workspace because it reminded him of the apartment Tom Hanks' character rented in the movie "Big." The exhibit seemed to be more about the trio having fun and showing off their art than a serious venture for the former child actor. These days, he spends more time developing his comedy website, Bunny Ears, which takes his focus away from acting, likely making it difficult for him to find work as an actor. 

Macaulay Culkin has a thing for bunny ears; he named his website Bunny Ears, he's worn them out in public, and it's arguably his brand. In 2018, Culkin entered the podcasting scene with the "Bunny Ears" podcast, which is filled with his unique brand of parody and satirical comedy. Culkin launched the podcast via his website of the same name, and it has a theme.

The site is all about comedy, or as the About Us puts it, "We create premium lifestyle content (some call it "satire," others call it "The Word") relating to proclivities, diet & exploration, upscale culture, and whatever else enriches lives and promote chuckles." The site parodies other celebrity websites like Gwyneth Paltrow's Goop, which lends to the podcast quite nicely.

While Culkin no longer makes the "Bunny Ears" podcast and appears to have finished in 2019, the episodes are available online for anyone who wants to listen to them. The episodes often feature fellow celebrity guests, including one with Wil Wheaton. The former child actors commiserate about their upbringing in front of the camera and how that experience impacted their youth and adulthood, so there's a personal touch to the podcast.

In a move that pushed him even further from Hollywood's radar that nobody saw coming, Macaulay Culkin jumped into the music scene. As a child actor, Culkin appeared in several music videos, including Michael Jackson's "Black or White" and others. Still, he didn't play music, but as an adult, he branched out, forming The Pizza Underground, a cover band that played Velvet Underground songs by substituting many of the lyrics for pizza-related words and themes.

The Pizza Underground recorded "Live at Chop Suey," consisting of two tracks and two albums, "Demo" and "Pizza Box." Culkin fronted the band, providing vocals and percussion, and the whole thing was a sort of schtick. Pizza was handed out for free at their concerts, and they had a lot of fun engaging with fans and creating their unusual pizza-related parodies of classic Velvet Underground songs.

The band wasn't as beloved as Culkin might have liked, but they went all-out for their final performance. Culkin said, "It's intense; we have a children's choir; I hired a 120-piece symphony. It's the other side of the coin; all of our stuff is like jingly-jangly and this is this big, grand lush sound. Essentially, that's going to be the end of the band, and this is our gift to the world — 'Thanks for enjoying our silly pizza band'" (via The New Zealand Herald).

Macaulay Culkin is a well-adjusted adult, which is impressive given his unusual upbringing. That doesn't mean he isn't without his quirks, and an unusual one arose in 2018 that left many shaking their heads. As you probably know, Culkin doesn't have a middle name ... at least, he doesn't include it in the credits. He was given the middle name Carson upon birth but never used it professionally.

Culkin never liked his middle name, and in 2018, he tweeted, "My middle name is something dumb. Larry? Orange? Honestly, I can't even remember it" (via Newsweek). Because he never liked or used his middle name, Culkin reached out to his fans on Bunny Ears and asked them to give him a new middle name, and they didn't disappoint. As odd as it is, the winning name was "Macaulay Culkin."

Culkin posted in December 2018 on X (formerly Twitter) that he would change his legal name in 2019 to Macaulay Macaulay Culkin Culkin. Some might have thought the tweet was a joke, but true to his word, he went through with it, and now his legal name is Macaulay Macaulay Culkin Culkin. In his post, he noted, "It has a nice ring to it (if you like my name)." It was an odd move that likely alienated him a bit further from his profession.

Like any celebrity in Hollywood, fans paid attention to Macaulay Culkin's dating history. His first marriage ended in divorce, and he spent years with Mila Kunis. In the end, he finally met the love of his life and made a family, and he wasn't a teenager this time around. Culkin first met Brenda Song on the set of "Changeland," which is one of the few feature-length movies he's done of late.

The film is also Seth Green's directorial debut, and it was marginally successful with audiences and critics. For Culkin, it was the project that introduced him to his future wife, and the couple began dating in 2017. Culkin spoke about Song in 2018 on "The Joe Rogan Experience" podcast, saying, "This one's a good one, so I'm probably going to put some babies in her in a little bit. I mean, we've definitely been practicing" (via People).

Culkin and Song welcomed their son Dakota, who is his father's twin, in 2021. He was named after Culkin's late sister, who died in a car accident in 2008, and the family happily announced the birth. The following year, they were engaged, though the couple seems to be in no rush to make it official, and they hadn't officially tied the knot as of January 2025.

Macaulay Culkin hasn't had a hit movie in a long time, and the few films he did before he retired didn't do exceptionally well. Despite this, there's no denying his impact on cinema, even if it permeated popular culture back in the 1990s. Culkin was finally honored for his contributions when he was awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in December 2023. Culkin's wife and son were on hand for the unveiling, as were several former castmates. 

Catherine O'Hara, who played Culkin's mother in "Home Alone" and its sequel, gave an impassioned speech, saying in part, "'Home Alone' was, is, and always will be a beloved global sensation; the reason families all over the world can't let a year go by without watching and loving 'Home Alone' together is because of Macaulay Culkin." Culkin became emotional in his acceptance speech, hearing lovely tributes from O'Hara and Natasha Lyonne, who starred alongside him in "Party Monster." 

Culkin said at the ceremony, "Thanks for all your kind words and your stories and stuff. You know, you made my kids' dad, their papa, look good. And the most important thing to me is also that their papa understands that he wasn't always his papa; he used to be a kid, too, you know?" While Culkin isn't dominating headlines in Hollywood these days, perhaps this recognition will entice casting directors to give him a call, but given his penchant for limiting his acting work, it's more likely he'll stray further from Tinseltown.