HOME ALONE CURSE Macaulay's comeback

THE ACTOR NEVER HAD A CAREFREE CHILDHOOD

From child superstar to a teenage marriage, years spent as a recluse and now a wannabe dad… Macaulay Culkin has had more lives than the average cat.

It’s 30 years this Christmas since the cheeky young whipper-snapper snared hearts all over the world for his role as Kevin McCallister – the cute and resourceful nine-year-old accidentally left behind by his family in the blockbuster comedy Home Alone.

The movie made almost half a billion dollars when it hit the big screen in 1990 – and three decades later kids and adults alike are still laughing uproariously at Kevin’s burglar-busting antics.

Macaulay, with his cherubic face and comedic timing, was immediately launched into mega-stardom. But at the time, neither the movie nor the wunderkind himself were picked to be anything special – so much so that entertainment writers had to be cajoled into interviewing the young actor.

“I was very reluctant,” recalls British journalist Kevin O’Sullivan. “But eventually, I went along and met him and his real-life mum. He was a nice little kid. At one point, he deliberately slid down his chair and under the table, and his mum shouted at him to sit up. He just wanted to get out of there, but he delivered the goods.”

Macaulay was never anybody again. Instead, he became a money-making machine, starring in 15 movies over a handful of years, including My Girl, Richie Rich, and a Home Alone sequel.