Kieran Culkin has told in an interview how a director tried to force him into character with insults such as “idiot” and “idiot” during his first acting role – when he was just six years old.
When “method acting” becomes bullying
Culkin, known from “Succession” and the “Home Alone” series, spoke about his first professional acting experience in the “Smartless” podcast. At that time he was seen in a commercial that dealt with the topic of learning disabilities. The young actor was supposed to embody a character who is faced with a simple task on the blackboard at school – but cannot solve it. The other children in the class were then supposed to tease him as a “stupid” and an “idiot”.
“I distinctly remember the director saying, ‘Okay, action.’ And then he started calling me a ‘stupid, an idiot, an idiot,'” the 42-year-old said. He was too young to be able to understand the director’s “method acting” techniques. In this type of drama, actors try to immerse themselves as completely as possible in the role and internalize thoughts, feelings and memories. However, the young newcomer felt hurt by the constant insults. “I’m six. “What’s wrong with you?” Culkin recalled thinking.
Apparently not too stupid for a big career
Despite this unsuccessful start, Culkin continued his acting career and appeared in many other productions, including the Christmas classic Home Alone and the sequel Home Alone in New York. His brother Macaulay Culkin played the main character Kevin, and he himself played the younger cousin – Fuller, the “bedwetter”. He was eight years old then. 34 years later, he won a Golden Globe in early January for his role as Roman Roy in “Succession.”
In an interview with E! News” At the beginning of December, the New Yorker told us about the cult film why he had not yet allowed his own children, Kinsey (5) and Wilder (3), to watch the series. The scary scenes in particular are not yet suitable for little ones. “For the three-year-old, there’s the tarantula and the man who says, ‘I’m going to bite all your fingers off.’ “That’s scary for a three-year-old,” said the father of the family.
Culkin added that Devin Ratray, who played older brother Buzz in “Home Alone,” told him at the time that the film was all about him. “I believed him,” said the Golden Globe winner. Until the premiere he didn’t know what it was actually about. “Then when I saw the movie I thought to myself, ‘Mac was on set the whole time. Of course, the film has to be about him.’”