Kieran Culkin says he felt bad for his older brother Macaulay amid 'Home Alone' fame

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By Kim Novak

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Kieran Culkin has opened up about his feelings about his brother Macaulay Culkin's child stardom, admitting he felt bad for him.

Macaulay, 42, was just 10 years old when he shot to fame playing Kevin McCallister in 1990's Home Alone, before reprising the role in Home Alone 2: Lost In New York two years later.

Often regarded as one of the greatest child actors, Macaulay went on to star in several other hit films, including My Girl (1991) and Richie Rich (1994).

However, finding fame at such a young age isn't easy - and brother Kieran, 40, has revealed he knew from a young age that child stardom wasn't easy for Macaulay.

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Macaulay Culkin shot to fame after starring in Home Alone at the age of 10. Credit: World History Archive / Alamy

Kieran, who also pursued a career as an actor and now stars as Roman Roy in Succession, opened up about the effects fame had on his family.

He told Esquire: "Poor f**king guy. He was little and having to try to accept that level of fame as a reality. Even at that time, as a kid, I remember thinking, 'That sucks for him.'"

Kieran explained that things didn't change at home but it was hard seeing people staring from nearby tables while the family were at a restaurant together or getting followed home by a cab driver.

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Kieran (right) felt sorry for Macaulay (left) and the difficult sides of fame he experienced. Credit: Barry King / Alamy

Kieran also addressed how difficult it was for the family to have paparazzi following them everywhere, especially during his parents' divorce in 1995.

Aged 13 at the time, Kieran had written to the court requesting that the media was barred from covering his parents' custody battle, asking: "Your Honor, I ask you please to spare my family any further embarrassment by letting the press in the courtroom. It has already been hard on us and I see no point to it."

His plea was denied by the judge and reporters were allowed in to cover the proceedings, which led to Kieran having a life-long refusal to speak with reporters from the New York Post or Access Hollywood after they "did a whole piece on my family in 1997."

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Macaulay is now a father of two. Credit: Geisler-Fotopress GmbH / Alamy

Macaulay, who recently welcomed his second baby with Brenda Song, also previously told Esquire in 2020 about the difficulties of growing up in the industry.

He'd wanted to pursue an acting career because "I was good at it and I knew it", but admitted it came with some pitfalls.

"Look, I mean, it sucks," he said at the time. "But: It coulda been worse, you know? I wasn't working in a coal mine. I wasn't a child soldier. My father was not sexually abusing me.

"Certain f**ked-up things happened, but f**ked-up things happen to kids all the time and they don't come out the other end. I've got something to show for it, man."

Featured image credit: Sipa US / Alamy