In another case of “It must be wild to be Macaulay Culkin,” the actor revealed that his own kids don’t know that he plays Kevin McCallister in the Home Alone film series. And you thought your dad had it rough when Santa Claus got all the credit for Christmas.
The revelation comes as Culkin is in the midst of his career-spanning “A Nostalgic Night with Macaulay Culkin” tour celebrating the 35th anniversary of Home Alone. Appearing on the podcast On Film…With Kevin McCarthy, Culkin shared that his children, 4-year-old Dakota and 3-year-old Carson (whom he shares with fiancée Brenda Song), are entirely clueless that daddy dearest is cinema’s most endearing rapscallion.
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“They have no idea it’s me,” Culkin said. “They watch Home Alone, and they go, ‘That’s Kevin.’”
Oh, but it gets worse still. And even more adorable, too.
“Two days ago, my oldest wanted to see pictures of me and my siblings,” Culkin recounted. “And I pulled out an old family photo, and he looks directly at me. And he goes, ‘That kid looks like Kevin. Who’s that?.’ And I said, ‘That’s me.’ And kind of just waiting for the other shoe to drop. He’s like, ‘Oh, anyway.’ And I was like, ‘OK, cool.’ Got to keep up the illusion for as long as possible.”
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That follows another story that Culkin told E! News in December 2024, where Dakota believes that he’s the one actually starring in Home Alone. (That’s a very robust understanding of film’s metatextual capabilities/tendencies for such a young kiddo.)
“He thinks he’s Kevin,” Culkin said at the time. “I’m like, ‘Do you remember going down that down the stairs on the sled?’ He’s like, ‘Mhm, yep. Sure do.’ I’m like, ‘Do you remember when he had yellow hair?’ And he’s like, ‘Uh-huh, yep.’”
There’s a few key takeaways here. One, kids are some wonderful combination of dumb, delightful, and utterly magical. Two, if Culkin is serious about his theoretical sequel (where one of his sons would take on the role of Kevin to his Marv/Harry), having your kid this immersed seems like an advantage for filming/production. And third, Culkin and his family need a reality show or vlog right now.
Check out the episode below. (The comments about his kids begin at the 24:20 mark.) Then, peep the remainder of Culkin’s tour dates.
Home Alone Tour Dates:
11/30 – Grand Prairie, TX @ Texas Trust CU Theatre
12/03 – Jacksonville, FL @ Florida Theatre Jacksonville
12/04 – Tampa, FL @ Carol Morsani Hall at David A. Straz, Jr. Center for the Performing Arts
12/06 – Rochester, NY @ West Herr Auditorium Theatre
12/07 – Atlantic City, NJ @ Ovation Hall at Ocean Casino Resort
12/09 – Denver, CO @ Paramount Theatre
12/10 – Waukee, IA @ Vibrant Music Hall
12/12 – Brooklyn, NY @ Kings Theatre