Biography of Kieran Culkin
Kieran Culkin is a Hollywood actor who spent years living in the shadow of his older brother Macaulay, the lead in the Christmas comedy "Home Alone". Kieran also made his debut in that film, playing Kevin's cousin Fuller McCallister, though his character wasn't exactly unforgettable.As his brother's career cooled off, Kieran—who hadn't faced the same intense pressure from their father that Macaulay did—began scoring bigger roles: "Igby Goes Down", "Scott Pilgrim vs. the World", "Fargo". His breakout performance in HBO's "Succession" (2018-2023) finally earned him the recognition he deserved, including a Screen Actors Guild Award, a Golden Globe, and an Emmy.
Childhood, Adolescence, Family
Kieran Kyle Culkin was born in fall 1982 to Christopher Cornelius Culkin and Patricia Brentrup in New York City. His father, an ex-Broadway actor, worked as a church sexton on the Lower East Side, while his mother had gone from traffic controller to telephone operator. Only his paternal aunt, Bonnie Bedelia, was an actress.
The Culkins lived modestly, with the entire family attending Catholic church and staying devoted to its traditions. Looking back on life in their cramped Manhattan apartment, Kieran recalled:
Like his older brother Mac, Kieran was a natural performer. He was only two years old when his mother took him to a children's theater studio, and soon he was playing a role, albeit a tiny one, on the stage of Manhattan's Symphony Space Theatre.It was just a hallway with no doors, except for the bathroom, which, admittedly, had no lock. Our parents raised seven kids in that one apartment for so many years! They just kept bringing babies into this tiny space. Mom must have been out of her mind, but she said she was happy back then! To keep the brood busy, she often took us to the American Museum of Natural History, which has everything a child could marvel at – from life-size dinosaur skeletons to a giant model of a blue whale. She'd drop a quarter in the donation box, and we'd disappear for hours.
Film Career
Kieran's film career started when he met screenwriter and director John Hughes, who cast him in the comedy "Home Alone". His older brother Macaulay played the main character, Kevin McCallister, who is accidentally left behind by his family during Christmas, while Kieran played a minor character – his annoying cousin Fuller with silly glasses, constantly drinking Coke.
Meanwhile, Mac was psychologically burned out from the repetitive roles and his father's relentless pressure, who basically forced him to keep acting just for the money. Their mother backed her son's need for a break and left her husband, claiming he had destroyed Macaulay's career. By then, the actor was worth around twenty million dollars, and his parents started battling for custody of their minor son – mainly for control of his money.
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.The request was denied, and the media relentlessly hounded the family, invading their privacy.
Despite the setbacks, Kieran kept acting in films. He worked with Jean-Claude Van Damme on the set of the action film "Nowhere to Run", and in 1996, he played his first leading role in Bobby Roth's drama "Amanda". His character, Biddle Farnsworth, along with his horse named Amanda, gets transported back to medieval times, where he's swept up in a whirlwind of incredible adventures.
For this role, Culkin was nominated for a Golden Globe for the second time and won the Critics' Choice Television Award in 2022. In 2023, the fourth and final season of "Succession" was released.I don't think Roman is falling behind in this power struggle. His brother and sister are always talking about some kind of game – I think Roman enjoys this game too. And he tries to win. I think he loves his family, though he'd never say it out loud, of course. I believe he has this deep attachment, and when his father gets sick, it really gets to Roman. You could say that's his weakness, the reason he falls behind. But I think that's where his strength lies.
Kieran Culkin's Personal Life
In the mid-2000s, Kieran dated Canadian actress Anna Paquin for about a year.
They dated for two years and successfully kept the details of their romance private. The couple eventually split amicably. They later reunited on the set of "Movie 43," playing a couple having a heated argument at a grocery store checkout.
Kieran Culkin Now
The actor continues to develop his film career. 2024 finally brought him the Golden Globe and Emmy wins he'd been chasing for his role as Roman Roy in "Succession."
Interesting Facts
- From an early age, Kieran Culkin felt sorry for his older brother, even though you'd think he'd be jealous. He thought that kind of fame at such a young age was damaging. "Even when I was a kid, I remember thinking, 'This really sucks for him.' He was so little, and he had to accept that level of fame as his reality," the actor said.
- After wrapping the second season of "Succession," Culkin took his wife out to lunch and laid out all the major projects he had lined up for the year: "I've just booked this movie and I'm going to go straight from it to the next season, to this play I'm in, to this." Four jobs back-to-back. I thought, 'This is our next year and a half.' I raised my glass, and she said, 'Are you sure? You probably don't want to jinx it. I think we shouldn't celebrate these things until they actually happen.' I said, 'It'll be fun. Everything's falling into place.' A week later: lockdown, no work." Since then, Kieran listens to his wife and only celebrates the good stuff after it's actually happened.
- Kieran Culkin has a very specific sense of humor. Those who know him well say the actor has this unique mix of boldness and vulnerability, sincerity and sarcasm.
- Culkin jokingly calls his extensive filmography a "career version" and says it all started with "jerk Fuller" – claiming every role since then is just Fuller McCallister.
