Macaulay Culkin’s Kids Don’t Know He Was Kevin McCallister
To the world, Macaulay Culkin may always be Kevin McCallister. To his children, however, he is simply dad.
During a stop on his A Nostalgic Night with Macaulay Culkin tour at the Long Beach Terrace Theater, celebrating the 35th anniversary of the original Home Alone film, the 45-year-old actor revealed that while he often watches the classic movie with his young sons, they have yet to realize that the mischievous Kevin on screen is him at age 10.
Culkin, who shares sons Dakota, 4, and Carson, 3, with fiancée Brenda Song, said the boys “really love” the film. He described the experience of watching it with them as “completely different” from seeing it himself or with other fans, highlighting the unique perspective of introducing his iconic role to a new generation.
While the boys get excited when they see the young Kevin character in montages on Disney+, where Home Alone is available to stream, Culkin said, “They have no idea that I’m Kevin.”
“They’re only three and four years old,” he added, noting that he wants “to keep up that illusion as long as possible.”
Culkin did reveal, however, that his eldest son has begun connecting the dots, though he’s not fully there yet. The former child star recounted a bedtime moment with his 4-year-old, who began asking about Culkin’s siblings. In response, Culkin showed him an old family photo of all seven of his brothers and sisters. “He immediately looks at me and goes, ‘That kid looks like Kevin,’” Culkin recalled. His son quickly moved on, reinforcing Culkin’s desire to maintain the “illusion.”
The actor also shared a humorous exchange with his eldest, Dakota, who has begun to think of him as Kevin. “‘Do you remember when you kicked burglars out?’ And he’s like, ‘Yep.’ ‘You slide down the stairs?’ ‘I sure do.’ I was like, ‘You liar! That was me,’” Culkin remembered, laughing at the father-son moment.
Culkin also shared a tender moment with his eldest, Dakota, in which they both mimicked a dance move Kevin performs in the film. “Yeah, I do really love watching that movie with my boys,” he said.
Culkin rose to fame playing the resourceful Kevin McCallister in the 1990 original Home Alone and its 1992 sequel, Home Alone 2: Lost in New York. Beyond reflecting on the legacy of the films during his A Nostalgic Night with Macaulay Culkin tour, he recently reprised the iconic role for a commercial with Home Instead.
Culkin and fiancée Brenda Song, 37, are known for being fiercely private about their children. Song told Bustle in a January 2025 cover story that the couple intentionally shields their sons from public attention. She recalled an incident at a soccer game when her son asked, “Why is that man taking pictures of you, mama?” Song reflected, “You could take pictures of me all day. I don’t care. But when it’s your kids, it’s different. They didn’t ask for this life.”
