Macaulay Culkin, one of the most famous child actors of all time, keeps a low profile. There are only nine posts on LaineyGossip pertaining to him, even from back in the Mila days. He doesn’t create many opportunities for coverage, and beyond that, a lot of people go out of their way to protect him, including me. A lot of actors talk about wanting to get away from it all, but most of them don’t actually mean it. The vast majority of them don’t mean it. Macaulay Culkin meant it. He went away, and has, for the most part, stayed away, despite still being easily recognizable.
But there’s been a recent uptick in activity. There is actual Work out in the world, featuring Macaulay Culkin. Last year he guest starred on The Jim Gaffigan Show, playing himself. Then in December he appeared in a web short as a grown-up Kevin McCallister. He also popped up in a Red Letter Media video, and you get the sense that Culkin is not in any way bitter or burdened by his childhood fame. He’s willing to poke fun at it, at himself, and he does it with that undeniable charm that made him so successful in the first place. A lot of child stars can’t transition to adult careers. Culkin probably could have transitioned (see also: Saved), he just…didn’t want to.
In a new interview with Vulture he says, “I’m a man in his mid-thirties who’s essentially retired.” He’s talking to Vulture to promote Adam Green’s Aladdin, a movie made by his friend, musician/filmmaker Adam Green. You kind of get the feeling that he’s doing the interview as a favor to Green, who is also in the interview, and to generate some press for Aladdin, which is a crowd-sourced project still seeking distribution. You kind of get the feeling a lot of what Culkin does these days is favors to friends. That web short, Dryvyrs, comes up and he talks about it as something he did with a friend. Even Red Letter Media—he’s friends with Max Landis, who was a guest on that episode.
So Mack’s just hanging out, occasionally collaborating with friends. He’s splitting his time between New York and Paris, where no one bothers him. Sometimes he acts, or does art projects; occasionally he sings about pizza. I doubt there’s a Culkin Comeback around the corner, but he seems more comfortable dipping his toes in the Hollywood pool every now and again. There was a point where I didn’t think we’d ever see him again, period. Now he’s dabbling, and seems happy. It’s enough.
Attached - Macaulay shopping in New York last week.
