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There was a time when Macaulay Culkin was one of the biggest stars in Hollywood, thanks to his turn in multiple "Home Alone" movies in the 1990s. But as he told Ellen DeGeneres on Monday, there were some real ups and downs to that level of fame.
For one thing, fans on the street always want him to recreate his famous hands-on-face "scream" look from the film, particularly at Christmastime (which is when the original film took place).
"I definitely don't (go out)," he said. "It's my 'season.' It's Macaulay season. I try to go out less and less around that time of year."
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color share link Flashback! See Macaulay Culkin talk 'Home Alone' in 1991 Play Video - 1:10 Flashback! See Macaulay Culkin talk 'Home Alone' in 1991 Play Video - 1:10
The actor is now 37 (yes, we're shocked as well) and said part of the problem is that he still resembles that young boy. (Though we're reasonably certain his younger self didn't wear red nail polish.)
"How can a person look too much like himself?" he asked. "It's a curse and a blessing ... I can get into any restaurant I want without a reservation, but while I'm there everyone's staring at me."
The first "Home Alone" came out in 1990. Culkin starred in the 1992 sequel, but the franchise has continued without him. He also doesn't really watch the films.
"We did a 15-year anniversary DVD commentary (for the original); I realized I hadn't seen it in like 15 years," he told DeGeneres.
Courtesy Everett Collection
And remember the moment when young Kevin (Culkin) is supposedly reading Playboy magazine? "They taped the pages closed, sadly," he noted. "It's not nice. It was exciting, though!"
If we don't see much of Culkin these days, it's because he took a break from Hollywood to have a somewhat normal adolescence.
"I was tired of it, to be honest," he said. "I did like 14 movies in six years or something like that... I was away from home a lot. I was away from school. I needed something else."
He added, "It was the smartest thing I could possibly have done."
Now, thanks to all that hard work and sacrifice, he can pick and choose what he wants to do next. When Culkin turned 18, he recalled finally coming into all of his earnings.
"I felt like some kid worked really, really hard and I inherited all his money," he said. "It allows me to treat everything like a hobby."
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Kevin! Macaulay Culkin tells Ellen DeGeneres he won't do the 'Home Alone' face
Erin Jensen | USA Today
Diehard Home Alone fans might want to banish Macaulay Culkin to the third floor for this news. No matter how many cheese pizzas you buy just for him, he's not going to oblige you with the famous hands-on-face pose.
But, it's not because he's trying to be a little jerk. As he told Ellen DeGeneres on her daytime talk show airing Monday, he's moved beyond the role.
Though Culkin says he fields the requests from "everybody," he declines, adding he explains "I've already been there, done that already, guys. I'm 37 now."
Culkin said he doesn't often indulge in watching the 1990 film, in which his character creatively defends his home against burglars after being accidentally left behind while his family sets out on vacation.
"We did a 15-year anniversary DVD commentary," Culkin said. "I realized I hadn't seen it in like 15 years."
He referred to the holiday classic as "background radiation at Christmas time," a period in which he rarely leaves the house.
“It’s my season,” he said. “It’s Macaulay season. So, yeah, I try to go out less and less around that time of year.”
Culkin described his recognizable face as "a curse and a blessing."
"I can get into any restaurant I want without a reservation," he admitted, "but while I'm there everyone's staring at me."
Even Culkin's former flame, Mila Kunis, recalled she "couldn't walk down the street with him" in 2016 to Howard Stern.
More: John Heard, star of 'Home Alone' and 'Big,' dies
Culkin took a break from the spotlight after being the face of several '90s flicks, including My Girl, and Home Alone 2: Lost in New York and Ri¢hie Ri¢h and didn't resurface until 2003 with a guest appearance on Will & Grace.
He told DeGeneres hitting pause was "the smartest thing I possibly could have done," explaining, "I was tired of it, to be honest. I was away from home a lot. I was away from school. I needed something else. I needed to grow and develop as a person."
Culkin shared today he enjoys ample free time, courtesy of his hot, early career.
"I felt like some kid worked really, really hard, and I inherited all of his money, pretty much," he said. "It allows me to treat everything like a hobby, really."
Sounds a little Ri¢hie Ri¢h to us.
Macaulay Culkin rarely does interviews.
But the 37-year-old actor appears on The Ellen DeGeneres Show for the first time ever on Monday.
Taped in advance, The My Girl star stopped by the variety-talk series and discussed his childhood and his most iconic roles.
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Give it a shot: Macaulay Culkin appears on The Ellen DeGeneres Show for the first time ever on Monday
Dressed in a pink shirt and grey slacks, Culkin laughed his way through his first meeting with Ellen.
He added a pair of black and white converse, giving his grown-up look a dressed-down and punkish sensibility.
The one-time child star still looks just like he did as a a kid, and he and the host openly discussed his relationship with his younger self.
A sit down: Taped in advance, the 37-year-old actor star stopped by the variety-talk series and discussed his childhood and his most iconic roles
Unchanged: The one-time child star still looks just like he did as a a kid, and he and the host openly discussed his relationship with his younger self
'You do really look exactly alike, you look like you're still four years old,' started off the host.
The actor responded, 'Yeah, how can a person look too much like himself? It's a curse and a blessing, still got the same face.'
Adding, 'I can get into any restaurant I want without a reservation, but while I'm there everyone is staring at me.'
Looking back: The two then talked about his relationship with his iconic Home Alone movies
The two then talked about his relationship with his iconic Home Alone movies.
Culkin revealed that he has rarely seen the film since its release, and joked that he doesn't go outside during the holiday season.
He also told Ellen that people often ask him to do his trademark face from the first film, which he refuses when queried.
It's spring: Dressed in a pink shirt and grey slacks, Culkin laughed his way through his first meeting with Ellen
Groundhog: Culkin revealed that he has rarely seen the film since its release, and joked that he doesn't go outside during the holiday season
Then, Culkin, who was born and raised in Manhattan, discussed what it was like growing up with six brothers and sisters in a one bedroom apartment.
'We lived on top of each other. They were stacking us like stacking bunk beds. It was like sardines,' he explained.
Then adding warmly, 'It was a good time. We were a close-knit family because of that.'
Tin can alley: Then, Culkin, who was born and raised in Manhattan, discussed what it was like growing up with six brothers and sisters in a one bedroom apartment
Rebel: He added a pair of black and white converse, giving his grown-up look a dressed-down and punkish sensibility
The former child star also opened up about his decision to step away from the spotlight and to attend high school.
As well as how he felt disconnected from his money when he first gained access to it at 18.
In another fun segment, Ellen showed Macaulay photos from past films and he reflected about the experiences.
Gross: In another fun segment, Ellen showed Macaulay photos from past films and he reflected about the experiences
This may shock you, but Macaulay Culkin doesn’t watch Home Alone during the holidays. The actor, who became a household name thanks to the 1990 hit, recently sat down for an interview with Ellen DeGeneres to promote his new parody lifestyle blog and podcast Bunny Ears; in it, he revealed that he tends to ignore his past work.
“I don’t really watch them all that often,” Culkin said of the films that made him a child star. Home Alone, in particular, is one he tends to avoid, he said, recalling that when the cast reunited for a 15-year anniversary DVD commentary, he realized it was the first time he had seen the movie in years.
“It’s background radiation at Christmastime,” lamented Culkin. “I’ve had people who want to sit down and watch it with me, which is both flattering and creepy.”
If anything, Culkin continued, when he watches the film, he can’t help but be distracted by memories of what was going on behind the scenes. “I’m remembering that day on set, like, how I was hiding my Pepsi behind the couch. I can’t watch it the same way other people can.”
Still, the film remains a holiday classic—and the season torments poor Culkin to this day. Nearly 30 years later, strangers still come up and ask him to do the classic Home Alone face. Save your breath, folks; he won’t be doing that again anytime soon.
“No. Been there, done that already. I’m 37 now, O.K.? O.K., mom?” Culkin joked.
Culkin also shared that it was slightly disorienting to turn 18 and finally get hold of the money he earned as an actor.
“I felt like some kid worked really, really hard and I inherited all of his money,” he said. “It allows me to treat everything like a hobby. I do nothing for my dinner nowadays. I can do all kinds of projects that I want to do.“
Indeed, after a streak of hit movies, Culkin stopped acting in 1994, opting out of child stardom in order to live a somewhat normal life. His exit from the industry came at a difficult time in his personal life; in 1995, his parents separated, resulting in a fierce custody battle over Macaulay and his six siblings. Culkin has reportedly been estranged from his father ever since.
He has, however, acted in a handful of projects since then, most notably the 2003 club-kids drama Party Monster and the 2004 dramedy Saved!, though none of those projects have earned the same acclaim as his early work. Culkin has made headlines for more sordid things, however, like his 2004 arrest for drug possession, and shocking 2012 photos that appeared to show him looking dangerously gaunt, inspiring rumors that he was addicted to drugs. “No, I was not pounding six grand of heroin every month or whatever,” he said in a later interview with The Guardian, dispelling concerns.
In the intervening years, Culkin has since developed a more lighthearted public persona. He joined a Velvet Underground parody band called the Pizza Underground. He started a T-shirt meme war with Ryan Gosling. And in 2015, he starred in a viral short as a disturbed, grown-up version of his Home Alone character—which apparently didn’t quite convey the message that he’d like to be done with Kevin McCallister once and for all.
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