More than three decades after Home Alone 2: Lost in New York hit theaters, director Chris Columbus says there's one moment in the holiday classic he deeply regrets — and it stars sitting president Donald Trump.
In a new interview with the San Francisco Chronicle, the longtime filmmaker said Trump’s famous (or infamous, depending on who you speak to) cameo has haunted him ever since.
Columbus described the blink-and-you'll-miss-it moment as an "albatross", and even admitted. “I just wish it was gone.”
The seven-second scene features Trump giving young Macaulay Culkin's character, Kevin McCallister, directions in the lobby of the Plaza Hotel — a property Trump owned at the time.
But according to Columbus, the cameo wasn’t his idea.
“The Only Way You Can Use the Plaza…”
Back in 1992, Columbus was gearing up to film the Home Alone sequel in New York City. He says they were eager to shoot at the Plaza, but there was a catch: Trump reportedly demanded to be in the movie.
“We paid the fee, but he also said, ‘The only way you can use the Plaza is if I’m in the movie.’ So we agreed to put him in the movie,” Columbus explained in a 2020 interview with Business Insider.
Though the director initially intended to remove the cameo, the test audience had other ideas.
After screening the movie in Chicago, Columbus said the crowd "cheered" and "thought it was hilarious".
"I think I know a lot about comedy, but I don’t, obviously, because I never thought that was going to be considered hilarious," Columbus added.
What started as a bargaining chip for a location became, in Columbus’ words, a long-standing "curse".
“There’s No World I Would Ever Beg a Non-Actor”
Trump, perhaps unsurprisingly, had a different version of events.
In a 2023 post on Truth Social, the former president claimed Columbus was “begging” him to appear in the movie.
“I was very busy, and didn’t want to do it,” Trump wrote. “They were very nice, but above all, persistent. I agreed, and the rest is history! That little cameo took off like a rocket, and the movie was a big success… Just another Hollywood guy from the past looking for a quick fix of Trump publicity for himself!”
Columbus didn’t respond at the time, but now says that’s far from what happened.
“He said I was lying. I’m not lying,” Columbus said. “He said I begged him to be in the movie, but there’s no world I would ever beg a non-actor to be in a movie.”
Columbus adds that the cameo simply came about because they were "desperate" for the Plaza.
Matt Damon has also shared comments backing up Columbus' claims, telling The Hollywood Reporter in 2017: "The deal was that if you wanted to shoot in one of [Trump's] buildings, you had to write him in a part."
The actor was referring to Trump's lost cameo from Scent Of A Woman.
The famed director - who was born and raised in the U.S. but has Italian ancestry - jokingly added: “If I cut it, I’ll probably be sent out of the country [...] so I’ll have to go back to Italy or something.”
A Hit, But With Baggage
Despite the director’s lingering regret, Home Alone 2 was a massive success, grossing nearly $360 million worldwide on a $28 million budget.
The first Home Alone, released in 1990, pulled in over $475 million and helped launch Columbus’ directing career. He would go on to helm other classics, such as Mrs. Doubtfire, the first two Harry Potter films, and produce 2024’s Nosferatu.