Macaulay Culkin is famous for many reasons, but two prominent ones are: the movie Home Alone and a very public battle over the fortune that movie provided, due to a tumultuous relationship with his father, Kit Culkin. That iconic role in Home Alone, in which John Candy also appeared, came about thanks to a scene-stealing role in another John Hughes film, the comedy Uncle Buck. In a new documentary, Culkin says that during production on the film, Candy saw and tried to help during the early days of his familial struggles.
The documentary John Candy: I Like Me, directed by Colin Hanks and produced by Ryan Reynolds, just had its premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival. In the doc (via EW), Macaulay Culkin reflects on his early role opposite Candy and says the actor tried to reach out and support the 8-year-old when he clearly saw problems between the kid and his dad. Culkin said…
I think he always had that really great instinct. I think he saw. Listen, even before the wave crested and the Home Alone stuff was happening, it was not hard to see how difficult my father was. It was no secret. He was already a monster. All of a sudden, the fame and the money came, and he became an infamous monster. He was already not a good guy. I think John was looking a little side-eyed, like, ‘Is everything alright over there? You doing good? Good day? Everything’s alright? Everything good at home? Alright.’
Macaulay Culkin plays one of the nephews of the titular Uncle Buck, played by John Candy, in the 1989 comedy. It was a role that Candy’s own daughter says was most like the man he was. The pair have some fantastic comedic exchanges in the film, including this one…
Culkin referring to his father as a “monster” even today, shows the sort of relationship he had with his father. Kit Culkin was also the manager of his acting sons, including Macaulay and recent Oscar winner Kieran Culkin. In 1995, when Macaulay Culkin was 15, he moved to have his parents removed as executors of his trust fund to gain full control of his own money. It seems the sons have had little to no contact with their father since they were teenagers.
While Culkin clearly had a rough childhood, he specifically remembers John Candy caring, because apparently, few others did, and that has stuck with him after all these years. He continued…
It doesn’t happen that often. It actually happened less as time went on. I wish I got more of that in my life. It’s important that I remember that. I remember John caring when not a lot of people did.
John Candy was a larger-than-life talent, but it sounds like he was also a truly good person, one that Macaulay Culkin remembers. John Candy: I Like Me will be available with a Prime Video subscription after it premieres on the 2025 movie schedule on October 10.