“They can’t really follow the storyline,” he explained, “so I kind of told them the story as it goes.”
And he’s sure that one day it will blow their minds when they realize that their dad is actually the leading star of the holiday classic.
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“I’m a lot taller now. I have a lot more body hair,” Macaulay joked. “But yeah, that was actually me.”
And though watching Home Alone has become a Christmas tradition for many families, Macaulay admitted that it personally took him a while to “embrace” the film.
“I’m kind of embracing it and, at the same time, taking the piss out of it, too,” he shared. “It’s very rare when you have something that kind of encompasses an important day, and I’m a part of that. It’s more fun to embrace it than to fight it.”
And that’s what ultimately led him to partner with Uber Eats for their latest offering of on demand Uber Carolers in select cities Dec. 7, complete with a new ad that pokes fun at the movie.
“We didn’t want to do something that was too on the nose when it came to referencing Home Alone,” he noted. “It was kind of just like a little wink and nods. I just thought it was kind of nice and simple and fun.”
Of course, he is most excited about the carolers.
“They paid me in carolers,” Macaulay laughed. “Yes, I think I have it in my contract that they have to send carolers to my house.”
To see more of Macaulay’s most iconic roles from his long and storied career, keep reading.
The Midnight HourEvery actor starts somewhere, and in this case a barely 5-year-old Macaulay Culkin made his debut as “Halloween Kid” in this 1985 TV movie that aired on ABC.Rocket GibraltarCulkin shared the screen with Hollywood legend Burt Lancaster and luminaries including Patricia Clarkson and Bill Pullman in the 1988 drama, about a dysfunctional family reunited for their patriarch’s birthday.See You in the MorningThis family drama with an A-plus pedigree (directed by Alan Pakula and starring Jeff Bridges and Farrah Fawcett, as well as Culkin’s fellow child stars Drew Barrymore and Lukas Haas) came out in April 1989.
Uncle BuckMore memorable from the summer of 1989, however, was his turn as inquisitive nephew Miles in the John Hughes-written-and-directed Uncle Buck, starring John Candy—whose daughter Jennifer Candy, sweetly, met Culkin on the set of this film and they remain friends, decades later.”I was just there, bowling,” she recalled hanging out with the cast during the Uncle Buck bowling scene when she was a guest on Culkin’s Bunny Ears podcast (recorded in his living room) in 2019. He agreed, “I very much looked forward to that, too. Like yeah, ‘Oh, there’s going to be a bowling sequence! This is great!’ Yeah, you don’t look forward to the washing-the-dishes scene.”Jacob’s LadderAs he noted himself while ranking his own films for his Bunny Ears website, Culkin couldn’t really count this 1990 horror drama about a Vietnam vet played by Tim Robbins who’s plagued by terrifying visions upon his return home among his favorites.”I was not even in the credits,” he noted of his minuscule role as Jacob’s son Gabe, who’s killed in an accident before his dad goes off to war. “And I was hit by a car.”Fun fact: Jacob’s Thriller opened in theaters just two weeks before Home Alone.Home AloneIt’s up to Kevin McCallister to defend his home from a couple of (luckily idiotic and unarmed) burglars when his family accidentally leaves the country without him for Christmas vacation in the 1990 blockbuster. Made for only $18 million, Santa left $477 million under the box office tree and Culkin became a 10-year-old superstar.
“Black or White”That’s Culkin rocking out at the beginning of Michael Jackson‘s cinematic music video for “Black or White,” the first single off of the artist’s 1991 album Dangerous.Culkin’s friendship with Jackson began when the singer, recognizing a kid who was about to have the weight of the fame world on his shoulders, reached out after Home Alone became a global phenomenon—and their bond endured until Jackson’s death at 50 in 2009.”I talked to him like he was a normal human being…He’s just a guy, who’s very kid-like himself,” Culkin, who is a close friend and godfather to Michael’s daughterParis Jackson, said on Larry King Live in 2004. The following year he testified that Jackson was never inappropriate with him when the Grammy winner was on trial for—and was acquitted of—charges of child molestation.My GirlOne day we’ll probably get over (kidding, we’ll never get over it) the demise of Thomas J. from bee stings in this coming-of-age dramedy from 1991.If only Anna Chlumsky‘s Amy from Veep could go back in time and tell those bees to get the f–king f–k away from her best friend!Home Alone 2: Lost in New YorkHe reprised the role of Kevin—and his famous scream—for the 1992 sequel that found the rambunctious grade-schooler managing to make it to the airport with his family but, after mistaking another coat-wearing traveler for his dad, ending up on a flight to the Big Apple instead of to Florida with the rest of the McCallisters.The movie was a raging success, making $365 million worldwide.
The Good SonElijah Wood‘s Mark senses there’s something off about his cousin Henry in this R-rated Omen-esque thriller from 1993, co-starring Culkin in the bad seed role—which at the time was considered a risky career move. (Minus the countless think pieces that have since diagnosed Kevin McCallister as a psychopath.)The NutcrackerSo many productions based on the classic Balanchine ballet, so little time, but in this one from 1993 Culkin was Drosselmeier’s Nephew, as well as the titular toy come to life.The PagemasterPart-live action, part-animated, Culkin played a shy boy who finds his inner hero after he’s sucked into the pages of an adventure tale when he pops into a library to take refuge from a storm in this 1994 fantasy.
Getting Even With DadBecause in movies no grownup is savvy enough to avoid being pranked by a 13-year-old, Culkin’s Timmy easily gets his criminal dad, played by Ted Danson, to take him along for what turns out to be a wild ride of father-son bonding and a little thievery in this 1994 comedy.Ri¢hie Ri¢hUnbeknownst to his fans, Culkin’s turn as the richest boy in the world (but the moral of the story is that money doesn’t matter if you don’t have friends to invite to your personal McDonald’s), which came out Dec. 21, 1994, would be his last movie for almost a decade.”It was the last movie I made for 20 years,” the former child star told Bunny Ears, exaggerating just a bit. “John Larroquette [who played villain Laurence Van Dough] hated me, but we bonded over Barq’s root beer because he was from Louisiana and that’s where Barq’s was made. Also, everyone in the cast was over 6-foot-2 in order to make me look shorter and younger than I was at the time.
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