In a rare and candid interview, former child star Macaulay Culkin is pulling back the curtain on his long-estranged relationship with his father, Christopher “Kit” Culkin, revealing deep emotional scars and years of silence.
Speaking on the Sibling Revelry podcast hosted by Kate and Oliver Hudson, Culkin didn’t hold back when discussing the man he hasn’t spoken to in nearly three decades.
“He’s a man who had seven kids and now has four grandkids, and none of them want anything to do with him,” the Home Alone icon said. “If the roles were reversed and none of my kids or grandkids talked to me, I’d think, ‘I must’ve done something wrong.’ But I have more than an inkling that he doesn’t feel that way. He thinks we’re wrong and he’s right. He’s one of those narcissistic people.”
The 43-year-old actor and father of two has long been open about the troubled relationship with his father, a former stage actor and one-time manager of Macaulay’s early career. In previous interviews, he’s alleged Kit was both mentally and physically abusive — claims that take on new weight in this latest conversation.
Culkin reflected on the painful custody battle between Kit and his mother Patricia Brentrup during his youth, and how it only further cemented his decision to cut ties.
“I wanted nothing to do with my father,” he said. “The judge said I had to do visitations with him. I told my lawyer, ‘I’m not doing that.’ He warned me I could be held in contempt. And I said, ‘Well, how about this — I dare the judge to put me in jail for not wanting to visit my abusive father.’”
At the height of his fame, Macaulay was one of the most recognizable child actors in the world — a status he briefly used to push back against the court. “I actually had to double down. ‘I double dare him to arrest the most famous kid in the world.’ I never played that card — but that was the one time I did.”
Culkin also said he believes all of his siblings, including Succession star Kieran Culkin, maintain similar distance from their father. “I think my older brother had some contact with him at one point, but that turned sour pretty fast again.”
Still, through the pain, Macaulay found clarity about the kind of parent he wanted to be. “If my father taught me anything, it was how not to be,” he said. “I knew I didn’t want to be that man. That’s the gift he gave me.”
Kit Culkin has not responded publicly to his son’s recent comments.