Macaulay Culkin: Why He Left Hollywood and Where He Is Now

Macaulay Culkin’s name is practically synonymous with childhood stardom. But while millions still watch him outsmart burglars every holiday season in ‘Home Alone’, the actor’s real-life journey has been far more complex—and refreshingly human.

In a recent episode of Mythical Kitchen, Culkin, now 45, opened up about why he walked away from Hollywood as a teenager. After starring in box office hits like ‘Home Alone’ and ‘Richie Rich’, Culkin’s face was everywhere. But behind the scenes, he was just a kid who wanted to go to parties, date girls, and hang out with friends his own age. “What I wanted is to be with people my own age. You have to remember: a lot of the stuff I did when I was a kid… I’m not doing ensembles. It’s me,” Culkin explained. He likened his experience to being stranded alone, joking, “You’ll watch Home Alone… and I go, ‘Oh my gosh, I’m in Castaway, except he had a volleyball to talk to.’”

Culkin’s decision to step back wasn’t a dramatic exit, but a quiet search for normalcy. The actor admitted he missed out on ordinary milestones—“I can’t tell you how many Bar Mitzvahs I missed,” he laughed, highlighting the cost of early fame. “I wanted to go out and I wanted to date girls, and I wanted to hang out with people my own age. I wanted to, you know, go to a party. I wanted to do those kind of things.”

Fame, Culkin said, is irreversible. “You can’t un-ring that bell, you can’t put the toothpaste back in the bell,” he reflected, capturing the sense that once thrust into the spotlight, you’re changed forever. But his entry into acting wasn’t by design. “I didn’t really do a lot of tugging on my parent’s sleeve, saying, ‘Mummy, daddy, I want to be famous. I want to do movies.’ I kind of just started doing it and I was good at it and I kept booking it.” In fact, his start was almost accidental: his father Kit took his older siblings for headshots, and his mother suggested Macaulay tag along. “Out of the gate — My first audition it was just like, booked, booked, booked,” Culkin recalled. “It’s funny, this is a line of work — I didn’t find it. It found me.”

But the pressures of being a child star were real. Culkin’s family life was turbulent, especially as his fame grew. His parents, Kit Culkin and Patricia Brentrup, separated in 1995, and Macaulay became estranged from his father. He’s publicly accused Kit of being physically and mentally abusive and resentful of his success. “He was a bad man. He was abusive, physically and mentally — I can show you all my scars if I wanted to,” Culkin told Marc Maron in a 2018 interview.

After a nearly decade-long break, Culkin returned to acting with the 2003 biographical drama ‘Party Monster’. Since then, he’s appeared sporadically, choosing roles on his own terms. In 2025, he’s starring in the second season of Prime Video’s ‘Fallout’, proving he still enjoys the craft, but now with boundaries that protect his personal life.

Outside the studio, Culkin has built a family with actress Brenda Song. Together, they have two sons, Dakota and Carson. Public appearances show a contented Culkin—smiling with Song and their children, most recently at his Hollywood Walk of Fame ceremony in December 2023.

Yet, Culkin hasn’t lost his playful side. On Mythical Kitchen, he shared behind-the-scenes stories from ‘Home Alone’, including a lasting souvenir: a scar from Joe Pesci, who accidentally bit Culkin’s finger during rehearsal. “He bit me during rehearsal,” Culkin said, laughing. “I was like ‘Ahhh!’ A nine-year-old coworker.” Pesci apologized, but Culkin jokes he should have gotten “HR involved.”

In November, Culkin mused about revisiting his iconic role as Kevin McCallister in a potential sequel. He pitched a twist: Kevin’s own son sets traps for him, locking him out. “I wouldn’t be completely allergic to it,” Culkin teased. “They have no idea that I’m Kevin.” It’s a nod to his enduring connection to a role that defined a generation.

So where is Macaulay Culkin now? He’s right where he wants to be: living life on his terms, acting when it feels right, raising his family, and occasionally indulging fans with stories from the set. He’s not chasing the spotlight, but he’s not running from it either. Instead, he’s found a balance that eludes so many who grow up in front of the camera.

Culkin’s story isn’t just about surviving fame—it’s about reclaiming life from its demands, finding joy in ordinary moments, and embracing the freedom to choose. His candid reflections show that stepping away from Hollywood was less a retreat and more a step toward authenticity. The result? A former child star who, at 45, finally feels at home—with himself, his family, and the world watching on his own terms.
Sources: People, New York Post, Just Jared.