BT and Sal took a break from the sports talk this holiday season to talk to one of the most recognizable figures of the holiday film scene in Macaulay Culkin, famous ‘Home Alone’ star who became an icon in child acting when the family Christmas movie became a monster hit in the early 90s.
The film still resonates to this day, regarded as one of the most popular Christmas movies ever released, representing the cream of the crop in a genre that has a crowded library. Yet ‘Home Alone,’ and its sequel also starring Culkin, represent some of the most rewatched holiday classics, especially around this time of year.
For Culkin, as time goes by, he has been able to gain more appreciation for the film and the impact it has had on viewers that now spans multiple generations, including his own children.
“It’s really hard for me to have perspective. I only have my perspective,” Culkin said. “I have a comprehension of how it makes people feel. I know how it makes me feel as a kid who was in it. I know how it makes me feel when I show it to my kids. That’s when it manifests in a different kind of way...it gave me a new appreciation.”
As for those who were with him through those early years of child acting stardom, Culkin says he hasn’t kept up with his fellow co-stars, with one exception, even as other members of the cast have reunited to celebrate the movie’s legacy, most recently this past weekend at an event in New Jersey.
“Not really. I’m in touch with Catherine O’Hara a little bit,” Culkin said, noting the ‘Schitt’s Creek’ actress who played Culkin’s mother in the first two ‘Home Alone’ movies. “I did something with her about a month ago. It’s always great to see her...we have a very strong connection and affection for each other.
“Otherwise, not really. How many friends do you still have from when you were nine years old?”
The two reunited when Culkin was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame last year, and the two have kept in touch. Not so much with the rest of the cast, though that hasn’t taken away from Culkin’s awareness of what the movie has meant to the countless households that have the film on as they decorate their Christmas tree or gather around a fire during the holiday season.
Culkin has moved on to other projects, such as the hit show ‘Fallout,’ but he still embraces his ‘Home Alone’ roots, as he will be doing a screening of the classic film at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center on Friday night.
“I do appreciate the love and the fandom,” Culkin said. “It’s been 34 years since that movie came out, and it still resonates with people. Those people that were kids when they watched it, now they’re showing it to their kids. So I do appreciate that.”