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The Home Alone star also shared where he stands with his fellow siblings, and how being a child star impacted how they grew up.
Macaulay Culkin is reflecting on his journey to fatherhood, and how his relationship with his estranged father has informed the way he parents his two children.
The Home Alone star was a guest on the Sibling Revelry podcast with Kate Hudson and Oliver Hudson, where he opened up about his struggles with his father, former stage actor Christopher “Kit” Culkin, who Macaulay says he hasn’t spoken to in nearly 30 years.
“One of my earliest memories of him was [thinking] when I grew up, this is how I’m not gonna be with my kids,” Macaulay, who shares sons Dakota, 3, and Carson, 2, with fiancée Brenda Song, said.
He continued, “Now that I have kids of my own, it’s like, you know, it kicks up some dust. I kinda go, you know, like, ‘I can’t believe he was like that.’ He had all these lovely kids. And talented kids, too. It’s crazy.”
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The rift between him and his estranged father, Macaulay said, runs through to his siblings, as well, with the actor noting that they all have little to no contact with their dad.
“He deserves it, too. He’s a man who, he had seven kids, and now he has four grandkids. And none of them want anything to do with him,” he noted, telling Oliver and Kate that if he were in that position, he would think he’d done something wrong.
“I have more than an inkling that he does not feel that way,” Macaulay said.
Labeling his father as “narcissistic” and “crazy,” Macaulay said he believes his father resented him in a way, after seeing that his young son’s star was quickly outpacing his own.
“He had a certain amount of resentment towards me, I think is what it was. Because he wanted to be an actor, and he kind of did some stuff. He literally got as far as like Horus on Broadway, you know, and then he did some ballet, too,” Macaulay said.
“So then all of a sudden, he has this kid that didn’t look anything like him, to be honest; I look a lot like my mother,” he continued, “And I, right out of the bat, like, I instantly got the lead stuff in the ballet company. I instantly booked all these things like that.”
“And I think he resented me for that. I think he kind of hated me a little bit for that, and so I think that’s why he kind of was a little bit harsh with me.”
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Even with everything he endured, however, Macaulay noted that he wouldn’t be the father he is today without the negative experiences he said he had growing up.
“It sucks, but it makes me the man I am today. Yeah, I wouldn’t be the man. I wouldn’t be the father I am today if it wasn’t for my experiences, you know,” he shared, adding that even in the moments of physical and verbal abuse he said he endured, he knew he’d be coming out on the other end on top.
“And again, at the end of the day, I was like, ‘I’m going to win,’ and here I am,” he added. “Yeah, I’m on your show. So clearly I’m a winner.'”
As for his siblings, Macaulay depicted a supportive relationship between the brood, calling brother Kieran Culkin‘s Oscar-win for his role in A Real Pain, “amazing.”
“Between Kieran and I, we have one Oscar. It’s amazing, yeah. We we also have an Emmy, a Globe, a BAFTA, a Critics [Choice] and a SAG,” Macaulay quipped.
“Rory actually works pretty consistently. He does a lot of like, just weird indie things and that; he does a lot of weird, kooky things,” he continued. “He probably he works more than me and Kieran combined. He does a lot of projects. He’s always putting stuff out there.”
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As for his sister Quinn, Macaulay revealed that she’s a chef. While she’s not on camera in the traditional sense, like her other famous siblings, Macaulay said she shares her cooking on Instagram.
“Those ones [where] you teach the recipe, but it’s like a really quick kind of thing and then you try it,” he shared. “She like winks at the camera. She has one of those kinds of pages.”
While Macaulay considers himself largely “retired” as an actor, he does come in and out of retirement for special projects.
“I go where the wind blows when it comes to this kind of stuff. It’s not something I spend a lot of time actively pursuing. A lot of times these things kind of fall into your lap,” he explained. “Still love it, though. I mean, I enjoy the work itself, I don’t always enjoy the pursuit of it.”
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“I’ve made my mark, I’ve made my name. I have nothing to prove to nobody,” the former child star argued. “So I do it for the love, you know. I do it for the the fun of it.”
“So if something sounds fun, it comes, and ends up on my doorstep, then–” he added, noting that he considers himself a father first and an actor second.
As for his life today, Macaulay said he’s “in a really great place,” adding, “I feel really good. I’m probably in the best place of my entire life.”
When asked if he and Song would consider having more children, Macaulay replied, “Oh, we’ll see about that.”
“We always kick the can down the road, you know, so we should talk about it next year, that kind of thing, you know,” he added. “Obviously, right now, we’re actually in a spot where we actually have some really great stability. Both kids are in preschool right now. And we have a good routine. Brenda is really starting to feel like herself again.”
