Biography
Date of Birth
26 December 1980, New York City, New York, USA
Birth Name
Macaulay Carson Culkin
Nickname
Mac
Height
5' 7" (1.7 m)
Mini Biography
Macaulay Culkin, one of the most famous American child stars, was born on August 26, 1980 in New York City, New York, USA, as the third of seven children of his father Kit Culkin (a former stage and child actor and also Macaulay's former manager) and mother Patricia Brentrup. He is the brother of Shane Culkin, Dakota Culkin, Kieran Culkin, Quinn Culkin, Christian Culkin, and Rory Culkin, most of whom have also acted. Macaulay's mother, who is from North Dakota, is of German and Norwegian descent. Macaulay's father, from Manhattan, has Irish, German, English, Swiss-German, and French ancestry.
"Mack", as he's known to his close friends and family, first came into showbiz at the age of 4, appearing in a string of Off-Broadway shows such as the New York City Ballet's The Nutcracker and, by 8 years-old, the films Rocket Gibraltar (1988) and See You in the Morning (1989), which included him in the rare company of kids who have received rave reviews from The New Yorker and The New York Times.
By the age of 9, the young actor had nearly upstaged star John Candy in Uncle Buck (1989) (his deadpan interrogation of Candy was Buck's funniest scene). Then, in 1990, writer John Hughes turned his finished Home Alone (1990) script over to director Chris Columbus with a suggestion to consider Culkin for the lead. Though Macaulay was the first kid Columbus saw, he was skeptical about having him in the lead and saw over 200 other possible actors and he admitted that no one came as close to being as good as Culkin. By the callback interview, Mack had memorized two scenes, and Columbus was sure he found his "Kevin McCallister". The movie grossed more than $285 million in the US alone, becoming one of the highest grossing movies of all time and making Macaulay Culkin one of the biggest movie stars of the time.
His next big project was My Girl (1991) in which he played "Thomas J. Sennett", a boy who seems to be allergic to everything. Despite some controversy over the ending, the film was released anyway and proved to be another hit film for Mack (and featured his very first kiss). In 1992 came Home Alone 2: Lost in New York (1992), which grossed more than $172 million in the US alone. In 1993 came The Good Son (1993), which was the first role to depart from his cute kid comedies. He played a murderous little demon named Henry. He got the role when his powerhouse negotiator/manager/father Kit Culkin said that he would pull Mack out of Home Alone 2: Lost in New York (1992) unless he was given the psychotic boy lead in The Good Son (1993). He was also given a salary of $5 million for the film.
In 1994, at the age of 14, came a string of duds, The Pagemaster (1994), Getting Even with Dad (1994) and Richie Rich (1994). He was paid $8 million for the last two, the highest salary ever paid for a child star. Many people believed Mack had lost his touch, though, because he was no longer that cute tiny kid they saw in Home Alone (1990). In 1995 his parents, who were never married, separated and started a greedy legal battle over the custody of their kids and Mack's fortune. In 1996, the young actor had reportedly said he wouldn't accept any roles until his parents settled their custody dispute. That case would not be resolved until April 1997 when Kit Culkin relinquished control to Brentrup.
In 1998, Macaulay married actress Rachel Miner, but separated in 2000 because Rachel wanted to start a family and Mack wanted to get back into acting. There has been a gap of eight years since 1994's Richie Rich (1994), and although he made a 'comeback' on stage in 2001, appearing in a London production of "Madame Melville", and also portrayed Michael Alig in Party Monster (2003); with an estimated fortune of $17 million he clearly never has to work again - if the roles don't appeal to him.
Trivia
Brother of Shane Culkin (b. 1976), Dakota Culkin (1978-2008), Kieran Culkin (b. 1982), Quinn Culkin (b. 1984), Christian Culkin (b. 1987) and Rory Culkin (b. 1989).
Father hands sole custody of Macaulay and his siblings over to their mother. Parents never married and mother filed for custody. [April 1997]
Reports claim the Culkin family could soon be homeless. Control of Macaulay's finances have been removed from the family and placed in the hands of his accountant. [February 1997]
Studied at the School of American Ballet. The school is the official training academy of the New York City Ballet. Its founders (in 1934) were Lincoln Kirstein and George Balanchine.
Stage debut at age of four in "Bach Babies".
Nephew of Bonnie Bedelia.
He and his wife buy $1.7 million 5200-foot loft on lower Broadway in Manhattan. [November 1999]
Burned out at age 14, he quit acting in 1995 and only recently made a 'comeback' on stage in 2001, appearing in a London production of "Madame Melville," playing a 15-year-old who is seduced by his French teacher. It later moved Off-Broadway for a 4-month stint.
Macaulay was named after Thomas Babington Macaulay, and his middle name Carson for Kit Carson of the old west.
Was in a relationship with Mila Kunis from 2002 until late 2010.
Dropped out of his senior year at the Professional Children's School (a high school), the school where he met his ex-wife, Rachel Miner.
[17 September 2004] Arrested for marijuana possession in Oklahoma.
Bought Marilyn Manson his first pack of cigarettes for Manson's role as Christina during the filming of Party Monster (2003). He said he found it so ironic considering that Manson is considered "the Antichrist" by many, and it's Macaulay Culkin who's corrupting him.
Ranked #2 in VH1's list of the "100 Greatest Kid Stars".
Best known for his role as Kevin McCallister in Home Alone (1990) and Home Alone 2: Lost in New York (1992).
Attended WWF's (now WWE) WrestleMania VII (1991) on March 24, 1991.
Became the first child actor to ever receive a million dollars for one film - and in a supporting role too! The film was My Girl (1991).
The role of Kevin McCallister in Home Alone (1990) was written for Macaulay by John Hughes (who had written and directed another film which featured Macaulay, Uncle Buck (1989)). Despite this, some other boys were auditioned by Chris Columbus just to make sure that Macaulay was right.
His brother Kieran Culkin played his cousin in Home Alone (1990) and Home Alone 2: Lost in New York (1992).
Wrote a book titled "Junior".
His brother Rory Culkin, now an established actor in his own right, has played both Macaulay's little brother (in The Good Son (1993) and the younger version of Macaulay's character (in Richie Rich (1994)).
His performance as Kevin McCallister in Home Alone (1990) is ranked #99 on Premiere Magazine's 100 Greatest Movie Characters of All Time.
Was ranked #2 in E's most cutest child stars all grown-up. (2005).
Besides being godfather to Michael Jackson's first child Prince Michael Jackson, Macaulay is also godfather to Jackson's daughter Paris Jackson.
Had a small part in the Oliver Stone movie Born on the Fourth of July (1989), but his scenes were cut.
Is a fan of professional wrestling.
Was considered for the role of "Mark Sway" in The Client (1994) but lost out to Brad Renfro.
His 29-year-old sister, Dakota Culkin, passed away after accidentally being struck by a car on December 10th 2008 in Los Angeles, California.
Is a big fan of the popular RPG game, World of Warcraft.
He has a half-sister, Jennifer Adamson, from another relationship of his father. Jennifer died in 2000 at age 29 from a drug overdose.
Son of Kit Culkin and Patricia Brentrup. His parents were together for 21 years from 1974-1995, but never married.
Ranked number 2 on the VH1 list 100 Greatest Kid Stars (2012).
His father is of one quarter Irish, as well as of German, English, Swiss-German, and French, descent. His mother is of half German and half Norwegian ancestry.
Filming a new movie with Jena Malone and Eva Amurri. [2002]
When casting the role of Kevin McCallister for Home Alone (1990), Chris Columbus had already seen him in Uncle Buck (1989) but he wanted to audition some other kids first while writer and producer John Hughes had his heart set on Culkin. So Columbus met Culkin in New York and was very charmed by him and thought he was fantastic. Columbus auditioned five other kids and none of them shaped up to Culkin. Columbus went with Culkin because he was not as picture perfect and he had an instant relatability to the kids in the audience. Columbus knew the cameras would love him and he was immensely funny.
After securing Culkin, Joe Pesci and Daniel Stern for Home Alone (1990), Chris Columbus felt confident enough to cast actors who were his heroes growing up like Catherine O'Hara after seeing her work on SCTV (1976) as well as John Heard and then Tim Curry and Rob Schneider on Home Alone 2: Lost in New York (1992) because they were all open to the films.
On the set of Home Alone (1990), Culkin would jokingly direct the film for Chris Columbus.
Born on the same date as Chris Pine.
Has been living in Paris, France, since 2013.
Has a scar on his finger that occurred during the filming of "Home Alone" when Joe Pesci bit his finger.
Got married to Rachel Miner shortly before his eighteenth birthday. In the United States, marriage before the age of eighteen is legal only with parental permission.
Has a son: Dakota Song Culkin (b. April 5, 2021) with girlfriend, Brenda Song.
Childhood friend of Laura Bell Bundy; her mother was the Culkin family baby sitter.
Was a close friend of Uncle Buck (1989) and Home Alone (1990) co-star John Candy. Prior to Candy's death in March of 1994, the two were reportedly in talks of doing a third movie together.
He was in 3 movies with john candy uncle back home alone though they no screen time together and only the lonely where culkin had only a cameo.
Trademarks:
Innocent, angelic face
Rosy lips, blue eyes and pale skin
Quotes
[at age 10]: I don't even get an allowance.
It drives me crazy when your parents try to read your mind. It's even worse when they try to read your mail.
[Just how rich is he?]: I could sit around with my thumb up my butt watching TV and my kids would still go to college!
[on his new sitcom deal with NBC]: With Friends (1994) biting the dust, the time could now be right for my show.
[Responding to questions about his estranged father, May 27, 2004.]: My father was overbearing. Very controlling. He was always the way he is, even before my success. He was not always a good person. He'd play mind games to make sure I knew my place. I don't see him, which is unfortunate. But I don't have any desire to see him. I vaguely know where he is, and I don't want to know. As long as he's not standing outside my doorstep, I'm fine.
[on his friendship with Michael Jackson]: Michael and I had an understanding about my father. He knew what that was all about. He'd lived it. It's not like I can just bump into people on the street and say, Oh! You too! It doesn't happen that often. Michael's still a kid. I'm still a kid. We're both going to be about 8 years old forever in some place because we never had a chance to be 8 when we actually were. That's kind of the beautiful and the cursed part of our lives.
I just remember the exact point when I was growing a little more tired, during The Good Son (1993). I had already done one or two things that year, and I just said to Kit, "Listen, I'm really getting tired and I'm not at school as much as I'd like to be. I really need some time off". He said, "Yeah, sure" and the next thing I knew I was on the next set doing the next thing and it just kind of clicked in my brain: "Okay. There's basically nothing I can do to make this stop".
Contrary to popular belief, I've never been to rehab. I've never been to jail, never been arrested. All the child-star clichés. I've tried very hard to avoid them all.
[on Party Monster (2003)'s script]: When I was first sent the script, I threw it in the garbage like I did with every other script I was sent at the time. I was basically retired.
People still recognize me all the time on the street. The first thing they say when they stop me is, "Where have you been?" The second comment they make is always, "Oh, you've grown up." I'm not one of those actors who needs the media spotlight all the time to feel gratified. I'm happy to do one project a year and take the rest of the year off as long as that project is special.
I had all the fame anyone could want, and I ran away from it.
Most of the offers I get from Hollywood are for teen comedies. My manager thinks I'm crazy for turning down all that money, but I'm very picky. I'd made enough money by the time I was 12 to never have to work again, so it's not about a big check with me. It's about finding unique, one-of-a-kind films that I would want to see myself. I think Party Monster (2003) is one of those.
[March 2006]: Acting found me. I thought maybe I should try to find it again. We'll see.
