Having starred in films from the mere age of nine, a young Macaulay Culkin was no stranger to the spotlight. Hence, the Home Alone star vanishing from the silver screen at 14 left behind a trail of whispers and wonder. Putting all speculations to rest, the actor has finally shared the reason behind leaving acting at the peak of his career.
Macaulay Culkin shares why he took a hiatus from acting as a teenager
On a recent episode of Mythical Kitchen, a 45-year-old Macaulay Culkin opened up about his decision to leave acting in 1994, expressing that he simply yearned for a slice of normalcy. “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”, he said.
“You’ll watch Home Alone… and I go, ‘Oh my gosh, I’m in Castaway, except he had a volleyball to talk to,'” Culkin added, referring to the 2000 film starring Tom Hanks as a man forced to live on a deserted island following a plane crash.
The interview witnessed Culkin, who stepped away from Hollywood following his starring role in Richie Rich, talk about his desire to lead a normal teenage life.
“I wanted to go out and I wanted to date girls, and I wanted to hang out with people my own age”, the actor said. Further adding on his teenage dreams, Culkin said, “I wanted to, you know, go to a party. I wanted to do those kind of things. I can’t tell you how many Bar Mitzvahs I missed”.
Reflecting on his rise to fame, the My Girl actor said, “For me, it kind of just happened”. Culkin further revealed that his acting journey began almost by chance. His dad took him, along with his older brother and sister, for headshots. And that’s how Macaulay Culkin ended up landing his first role.
Now 45, Culkin has returned to acting, prioritizing personal fulfillment over fame. He’s happily married to Brenda Song and has two sons, Dakota and Carson.
