Today, he is recognized as an Emmy and SAG Award-winning actor.
Though most of his recognition comes from his role as Roman Roy in HBO’s Succession, Culkin also earned praise for his performance in the 2002 film Igby Goes Down.
At 42, Culkin recently took a look back at his long career in Hollywood during an appearance on the Smartless podcast, hosted by actors Jason Bateman, Sean Hayes, and Will Arnett.
During the podcast, Culkin shared a memory from when he was six, working on a commercial.
“The concept was I’m standing in front of a chalkboard with chalk in my hand and I don’t know how to solve the easy thing in front of me,” he detailed to Bateman, Hayes, and Arnett.
“And the kids in the class are supposed to be calling me a dummy and stupid, all that.”
The actor from Scott Pilgrim added, as reported by PEOPLE: “I have a distinct memory of being there and the director going, ‘Okay, action.’ And he starts going, ‘Dummy. Idiot. Stupid.’”
Culkin expressed his frustration, noting that at six, he was far from being a ‘method’ actor and found the director’s approach questionable: “I’m thinking like, ‘I get it. I’m 6. Stand here and look sad. I’m 6. What’s wrong with you?”
Now a parent, Culkin has a five-year-old daughter Kinsey and a three-year-old son Wilder with his wife Jazz Charton.
Though Home Alone is a beloved Christmas movie anticipated in many homes during the festive season, it won’t be shown at Culkin’s house.
This isn’t due to any ill feelings toward the film, but rather concern that Wilder may be too young for it.
“For the three-year-old, there’s the tarantula [and] there’s the guy at the end who said, ‘I’m gonna bite off all your fingers.’ That’s scary for a three-year-old,” he mentioned at the Gotham 34th Annual Film Awards in New York.
Besides the ‘scary’ elements, there’s a poignant scene between Kevin and his mother, played by Catherine O’Hara.
The Schitt’s Creek star mentioned the challenge of filming the scene.
In her speech during Macauley Culkin’s Walk of Fame ceremony last year, O’Hara reflected on Kevin’s line: “I don’t want to see you again for the rest of my life, and I don’t want to see anybody else, either.”
Her character responds: “I hope you don’t mean that – you’d feel pretty sad if you woke up tomorrow morning and you didn’t have a family.”
Kevin insists he wouldn’t feel sad, prompting his mom to ask him to say it again.
“I can’t tell you how much that killed me,” O’Hara said, recalling the filming of the scene. “I could not wrap my head around saying something so horrific to this beautiful child.”