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Macaulay Culkin has opened up about working alongside John Candy, sharing that he was one of the only people to check in over his tough family life.
The 45-year-old shot to fame as a child star in the late 80s, thanks to roles in Uncle Buck, Richie Rich and the first two Home Alone movies.
He took a back seat from the spotlight soon after and had a strained relationship with his estranged father, Christopher ‘Kit’ Culkin, later claiming that he was emotionally and physically abusive.
Appearing in a new documentary to celebrate John’s career before his death in 1994, Macaulay spoke about the close bond they shared, and how his late co-star stepped in to support him.
In John Candy: I Like Me, which premiered at Toronto Internation Film Festival (TIFF) on Thursday, he said via People Magazine: ‘I think he always had that really great instinct.
‘I think he saw. 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 reportedly declared this to be ‘a testament to the kind of man [John] was’.
‘It doesn’t happen that often. It actually happened less as time went on,’ he added. ‘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.’
His parents separated in the 90s, which resulted in a bitter battle over the custody of their children – including the actor and his siblings, Kieran, Rory, Dakota, Quinn, Shane and Christian.
The budding musician star shot to superstardom as a child, thanks to his early role in 1990 classic Home Alone, and the sequel, Lost in New York.
His last part as a young actor came in 1994, with comedy Richie Rich, after which he took a much-needed lengthy break from the spotlight until Party Monster in 2003.
Macaulay famously sued his parents for control of his acting fortune when he was a teenager, and has publicly stated that he no longer has a relationship with his father.
Lifting the lid on their strenuous relationship in 2018, he said on Marc Maron’s WTF podcast: ‘He was a bad man.
‘He was abusive. Physically and mentally. I can show you all my scars if I wanted to.’
‘Everything he tried to do in life, I excelled at before I was 10 years old,’ he insisted, describing his decision to remove his dad from his trust fund as ‘one of the best things that’s ever happened’.
In April, the Saved! star appeared on the Sibling Revelry podcast and revealed that he hadn’t been in touch with Kit for decades.
‘I haven’t spoken to him in, what would it be, about 30-something years?,’ he said. ‘He deserves it, too. He has seven kids, and now he has four grandkids, and none of them want anything to do with him.
‘He’s one of those narcissistic crazy people. Me and him were always butting heads. Like I said, he was a bad man.’
Kit has lived a reclusive life away from his estranged family, but previously issued a rare statement over his relationship with Macaulay, telling the Daily Mail in 2016: ‘I don’t consider him a son anymore.’
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