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Macaulay Culkin Macaulay Carson Culkin is an American actor.
He became famous for his role as Kevin McCallister in Home Alone and Home Alone 2: Lost in New
York. He is also known for his roles in Richie Rich, Uncle Buck, My Girl, The Pagemaster,
Party Monster, and the music video for Michael Jackson's "Black or White". At the height
of his fame, he was regarded as the most successful child actor since Shirley Temple. Culkin ranked
at number two on VH1's list of the "100 Greatest Kid-Stars" and E!'s list of the "50 Greatest
Child Stars". Early life
Culkin was born in Manhattan and raised in Yorkville. His father, Christopher Cornelius
"Kit" Culkin, is a former actor known for his productions on Broadway and is the brother
of actress Bonnie Bedelia. His mother is Patricia Brentrup, who never married Culkin. He was
raised Roman Catholic; he attended a Catholic school (St. Joseph's School of Yorkville)
for five years before moving on to Professional Children's School. He also studied ballet
at the School of American Ballet. Culkin was the third of seven children, five
boys and two girls: Shane (born 1976), Dakota (1978–2008), Kieran (born 1982), Quinn (born
1984), Christian (born 1987), and Rory (born 1989). During Culkin's early childhood, the
family lived in a small apartment; his mother was a telephone operator and his father worked
as a sacristan at a local Catholic church. Career
Culkin began acting at the age of four. Early roles saw him appearing in a stage production
of Bach Babies at the New York Philharmonic. He continued appearing in roles on stage,
television, and films throughout the 1980s. Notable parts in this period included an episode
of the popular action series The Equalizer, in which he played a kidnapping victim, and
in the TV movie The Midnight Hour. In 1989, he starred in Uncle Buck with John Candy.
Culkin rose to international fame with his lead role as Kevin McCallister in the blockbuster
film Home Alone (1990), where he was reunited with Uncle Buck writer and director John Hughes
and Uncle Buck co-star John Candy. He reprised the role of Kevin in the 1992 sequel Home
Alone 2: Lost in New York. Culkin also starred in a Saturday morning cartoon entitled Wish
Kid and hosted Saturday Night Live in late 1991. Despite the huge success of Uncle Buck,
Home Alone, Home Alone 2: Lost in New York and My Girl, other films Culkin acted in,
such as The Good Son, only did reasonably well (although he was nominated for MTV Movie
Award in the category for Best Villain for his performance in the film). Getting Even
with Dad, Richie Rich and The Pagemaster, all released in 1994, were only mildly successful
at the box office. He also appeared in a filmed version of The Nutcracker as the title role
in 1993, which was staged by Peter Martins from the 1954 George Balanchine New York City
Ballet version of the work. He appeared in the 1998 music video for the song "Sunday"
by the rock band Sonic Youth. After several years of inactivity, Culkin
returned to acting, in 2000, with a role in the play Madame Melville, which was staged
in London's West End. In the spring of 2003, he made a guest appearance on the NBC sitcom
Will & Grace. His role as Karen Walker's deceptively immature divorce lawyer won him favorable
reviews. Culkin headed back into motion pictures in 2003 with Party Monster, in which he played
a role very different from those he was known for, that of party promoter Michael Alig,
a drug user and murderer. He quickly followed that with a supporting part in Saved!, as
a cynical wheelchair-bound, non-Christian student in a conservative Christian high school.
Though Saved! only had modest success at the box office, Culkin received positive reviews
for his role in the film and its implications for a career as an adult actor. Culkin began
doing voice-over work, with appearances in Seth Green's Robot Chicken. In 2006, he published
an experimental, semi-autobiographical novel, Junior, which featured details about Culkin's
stardom and his shaky relationship with his father. Culkin starred in Sex and Breakfast,
a dark comedy written and directed by Miles Brandman. Alexis Dziena, Kuno Becker and Eliza
Dushku also star in this story of a couple whose therapist recommends they engage in
group sex. Shooting for the film, Culkin's first since Saved!, took place in September
2006. The film opened in Los Angeles on November 30, 2007 and was released on DVD on January
22, 2008 by First Look Pictures. Culkin's next project was a role in the thirteen-episode
NBC television series Kings as Andrew Cross. In 2009, Culkin appeared in a UK-based commercial
for Aviva Insurance (formerly Norwich Union) to help promote their company's rebranding.
Culkin stared into the camera stating, "Remember me." On August 17, 2009, Culkin made a brief
cameo appearance on WWE Raw at the Scottrade Center in St. Louis, Missouri, following a
"falls count anywhere" match between Hornswoggle and Chavo Guerrero, in which Guerrero was
defeated by the classic Home Alone gag of rigging a swinging paint can to hit him upon
opening a door. Culkin appeared in the doorway and said, "That's not funny." In February
2010, Culkin appeared in an episode of Poppy de Villeneuve's online series for The New
York Times, The Park. On March 7 of the same year, he appeared alongside actors Matthew
Broderick, Molly Ringwald, Judd Nelson, Ally Sheedy, Anthony Michael Hall, and Jon Cryer
in a tribute to the late John Hughes. In April 2011, Culkin was featured in musician Adam
Green's experimental film "The Wrong Ferarri", which was entirely shot on an iPhone. In the
same month, he also appeared in the music video for Stamp Your Name On It performed
by Green's former bandmate Jack Dishel/Only Son. In September 2012, he appeared in a video
on YouTube explaining how he turned his apartment in New York into a painting workshop.
The Pizza Underground In December 2013, a viral video of Culkin
eating a cheese pizza was uploaded to YouTube. He was parodying Andy Warhol consuming a Burger
King Whopper in Jørgen Leth's documentary '66 Scenes from America'. Culkin was promoting
the debut of New York based pizza themed Velvet Underground cover band and avant-garde art
troupe 'The Pizza Underground' he currently performs with. Their tour will begin in Brooklyn
on January 24 2014. Personal life
Relationships Culkin stated in a May 27, 2004 interview
on Larry King Live that he tends to refrain from disclosing aspects of his personal life,
though he discussed his life as a child actor, the conflict in his family life (including
his estrangement from his father), and how he retired from acting at 14. Culkin married
actress Rachel Miner in 1998, but the couple separated in 2000 and divorced in 2002.
Culkin began dating actress Mila Kunis in May 2002. By 2006, he was residing in New
York, and Kunis was in Los Angeles. On January 3, 2011, Kunis' publicist confirmed reports
that Culkin and Kunis had ended their relationship several months previously, saying: "The split
was amicable, and they remain close friends." Culkin has been dating former All My Children
actress Jordan Lane Price since November 2013. Legal issues
On September 17, 2004, Culkin was arrested in Oklahoma City for the possession of 17.3
grams (0.61 oz) of marijuana and two controlled substances, 16.5 milligrams (0.25 grains)
of Alprazolam and 32 milligrams (0.5 gr) of Clonazepam, for which he was briefly jailed,
then released on a $4,000 bail. After being arraigned in court for misdemeanor drug offenses,
he pleaded not guilty at the trial (October 15, 2004 to June 9, 2005), then later reversed
the plea to guilty. He received three one-year suspended prison terms, and was ordered to
pay $540 in fees. Relationship with Michael Jackson
Around the time of the first Home Alone movie, Culkin became close friends with pop singer
Michael Jackson, making an appearance in Jackson's "Black or White" music video. At Jackson's
trial, Culkin reported he had slept in Jackson's bedroom on countless occasions, but stated
that Jackson's bedroom was arranged over two stories, and that Jackson never sexually molested
him or touched him in improper ways. Culkin referred to the allegations as "absolutely
ridiculous". Culkin attended Jackson's burial on September 3, 2009.
Filmography Television