Macaulay Culkin credited a beloved comedy star of the 1980s for protecting him from a person he considered a “monster.”
According to PEOPLE Magazine, the actor revealed he was grateful to his Uncle Buck co-star, John Candy, for looking out for his well-being. Candy and Culkin played family members in the 1989 comedy film.
“I think he always had that really great instinct,” Culkin said of the comedy legend in Colin Hanks’ new documentary John Candy: I Like Me. He credits Candy with noticing he was having difficulties at home: “I think he saw.”
The Home Alone star said his childhood was marked by a “difficult” relationship with his father, Kit Culkin. “It was not hard to see how difficult my father was. It was no secret. He was already a monster.”
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“All of a sudden, the fame and the money came, and he became an infamous monster. He was already not a good guy.”
Culkin concluded, “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?'”
The former child star believes Candy’s behavior was a testament to the type of man he was. He added that he wished there were more people like the comedian in the entertainment industry who was “caring when not a lot of people did.”
The actor’s family-centered behavior toward his castmates was evident on-set, said his Uncle Buck co-star Amy Madigan to Vanity Fair. “John [Candy] was so great with the kids. Macaulay Culkin was just a little boy when he was doing that, but John was a family guy. He had kids of his own, so he just knew how to interact with them.”
Macaulay Culkin’s relationship with his father
In March 2025, Macaulay Culkin joined Kate and Oliver Hudson’s Sibling Revelry podcast, where he discussed his difficult relationship with his father, Kit Culkin. He told the Hudsons, who are estranged from their father, Bill Hudson, that he knew when he had children of his own, he never wanted to be like his dad. (Culkin has two kids with fiancée Brenda Song, Dakota and Carson).
“I kinda go, I can’t believe he was like that. He had all these lovely kids. It’s crazy,” Culkin admitted, adding he hasn’t spoken to Kit in over 30 years.
“Oh, he deserves it too. He’s a man who had seven kids, and now he has four grandkids, and none of them want anything to do with him.”
To New York Magazine, the former child star claimed his father’s behavior toward him, his siblings, and his mother, Patricia Culkin, was to exercise his “power.” After Patricia filed a custody case against Kit following their separation, the actor realized he had made nearly $50 million during his early career, much of which had been hidden from him by his father.
At 15, Culkin filed paperwork to remove his parents from his trust fund to protect his finances and gain control over his money, reported FOX News.
Macaulay Culkin’s recollections of John Candy are included in the retrospective film honoring the actor. John Candy: I Like Me, which airs on Prime Video beginning October 10.
