Macaulay Culkin began his acting journey at the age of four, and after nearly 38 years in the industry, he received a prestigious star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. His most iconic role was portraying Kevin McCallister in the 1990 film Home Alone and its sequel. An interesting fact is that the plot of this Christmas comedy film drew inspiration from a scene in another cult film, also starring Culkin.
Before his role as Kevin, Culkin played Miles Russell in the 1989 film, Uncle Buck. In one of the memorable scenes in the film, the Changeland actor interrogates his would-be sitter through the letter opening at the front door.
Macaulay Culkin’s Cult Film Inspired Home Alone’s Plot
Macaulay Culkin’s first collaboration with Home Alone‘s writer and producer, John Hughes, was the 1989 film, Uncle Buck. Hughes, who directed the film, derived inspiration from one of the scenes in his directorial venture to come up with the entire plot of Home Alone. Uncle Buck explores the story of Buck Russell who is entrusted with babysitting his brother’s children.
In a sequence in the film, when Buck needs to step out of the house at one point, he arranges for his long-time girlfriend Chanice to babysit the children. When Chanice arrives at the Russells’ doorstep, she is greeted by a vigilant Miles, Culkin’s character in the film. Miles insists that Chanice cannot enter the house without presenting her driver’s license through the mail slot. This interrogation scene sparked Hughes’ idea for a story centered around a boy fiercely defending his home.
However, the idea for the first part of Home Alone‘s plot, where the family forgets Culkin’s Kevin during their vacation originated from Hughes’ own vacation planning. The Curly Sue director was making a list of things he didn’t want to forget and his kids came to his mind. He developed that intrusive thought into eight pages of notes. John Hughes told Time:
“I was going away on vacation and making a list of everything I didn’t want to forget. I thought, ‘Well, I’d better not forget my kids.’ Then I thought, ‘What if I left my 10-year-old son at home? What would he do?’”
These two ideas finally culminated in one of the best Christmas releases ever, which grossed $476 million against a small budget of $18 million.
Also Read: Home Alone Star Macaulay Culkin Became Filthy Rich after Starring in a $76M Critical Disaster
Macaulay Culkin Was Selected After 200 Actors Auditioned For The Role
Macaulay Culkin was John Hughes’ obvious choice for the role after his performance in Uncle Buck. But director Chris Columbus insisted on auditioning other child actors as he felt that it was his directorial responsibility. Columbus auditioned 200 actors for the role which included actor and comedian John Mulaney. Finally, he met Culkin and agreed with Hughes that the American Horror Story actor was indeed the right choice.
Interestingly, Uncle Buck star John Candy, who was regular in Hughes’ films, also made an appearance in Home Alone. However, he and Culkin did not share any combination scenes in this film. Candy agreed to the role of Gus Polinski as a favor to Hughes and got paid only $414. However, he was allowed to go off-script for his scene.
Home Alone is now available for streaming on Disney+, while Uncle Buck can be enjoyed on Prime Video.
