Macaulay Culkin has revealed the late John Candy swiftly clocked onto the fact his father was a ‘monster’ – years before he became estranged from him.
Former child star Culkin, now 45, shot to fame with blockbusters Home Alone and Uncle Buck – the latter film in which he first crossed paths with Candy, who died from a heart attack aged 43 in 1994.
Culkin said Candy became a ‘paternal’ figure to him on set as his own father Kit – who he would later accuse of physical and emotional abuse – became an ‘infamous monster.’
In Colin Hanks’ new documentary, John Candy: I Like Me, which premiered at the 2025 Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) this week, Culkin reflects on Candy ‘looking out for him’ amid his fraught home life.
He said per People: ‘I think he always had that really great instinct. I think he saw. Listen, even before the wave crested and the Home Alone stuff was happening, it was not hard to see how difficult my father was. It was no secret. He was already a monster.
‘All of a sudden, the fame and the money came, and he became an infamous monster. He was already not a good guy.
Macaulay Culkin has revealed the late John Candy swiftly clocked onto the fact his father was a ‘monster’ – years before he became estranged from him – pictured 1990
Culkin said Candy became a ‘paternal’ figure to him on set as his own father Kit – who he would later accuse of abuse – became an ‘infamous monster’ – Macaulay and Kieran Culkin are pictured with father Christopher Cornelius ‘Kit’ Culkin, and mother Patricia Brentrup in 1990
‘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? Alright.”‘
Adding Candy’s care was a ‘testament to the kind of man he was’, he said Candy was ‘just looking out for him on set.’
‘It doesn’t happen that often. It actually happened less as time went on. I wish I got more of that in my life. It’s important that I remember that. I remember John caring when not a lot of people did.’
Culkin said of his time on 1989’s Uncle Buck: ‘I think that’s why that’s one of my favorite performances, because I think he put a lot of himself into it’, adding Candy was ‘always really kind and really good’ when working with child actors.
Candy first shot to fame via his work as a member of Toronto’s branch of improv comedy group The Second City in 1972.
He then joined the cast on Toronto-based comedy-variety show Second City Television which was picked up by NBC in 1981 and became a huge hit.
The show won Emmy Awards in 1981 and 1982 for its writing.
His breakout role came when he played Tom Hanks’ character’s womanizing brother in Splash, which garnered universal acclaim.
Candy appeared in a number of comedies throughout his career, including Spaceballs and Cool Runnings.
He had a minor, yet important, role as the ‘Polka King of the Midwest’ in Home Alone.
Culkin said Candy became a ‘paternal’ figure to him on the set of 1989’s Uncle Buck as his own father Kit – who he would later accuse of physical and emotional abuse – became an ‘infamous monster’ – pictured together with Jean Kelly and Gaby Hoffmann
Candy had a minor, yet important, role as Gus Polinski in 1990’s Home Alone – which saw him reunite with Culkin
The youngster became a global star at the age of 10 as Home Alone’s Kevin, the little boy left behind when his family leaves on Christmas vacation he had been acting since the age of four
Culkin said of Candy: 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? Alright.”‘(pictured 1993)
His character Gus Polinski helps reunite Kevin with his mother, making for a happy ending. Candy reunited with Culkin on the set of the holiday film.
He won legions of fans for his role as shower curtain salesman Del Griffith in 1987 classic, Planes, Trains and Automobiles.
Candy died of a heart attack in 1994 at age 43. He is survived by his widow Rosemary Margaret Hobor and two children, Jennifer, 45 and Chris, 40.
In his 2006 memoir Culkin would accuse his father of physical and emotional abuse, alleging he threatened to hit him if he used cue cards during his 1991 SNL hosting stint aged just 11.
In 2016 a now reclusive Kit said he ‘didn’t consider Macaulay as a son anymore’ while Culkin’s Oscar winner brother Kieran Culkin has not seen his father since 2014.
Kit and Patricia had managed Macaulay’s career which began when he started acting at the age of four.
Kieran and Macaulay – along with their five siblings, grew up in poverty, sharing one room in a tiny apartment in New York City.
His parents struggled to make ends meet – his dad Kit, a washed up Broadway actor, worked as a taxi driver and a sacristan for a Catholic church, while his mom quit her job to take care of their large brood before eventually landing a part-time gig as a telephone operator.
Macaulay started acting when he was only four – after a neighbor suggested that his parents try to turn him into a star – and right away, thanks to his adorable looks and charismatic personality, his star power was undeniable.
The youngster became a global star at the age of 10 as Home Alone’s Kevin, the little boy left behind when his family leaves on Christmas vacation, and he accumulated a fortune estimated at $50 million before he retired at 14.
And while Macaulay’s sudden stardom seemed like it would be a dream come true to most children, he later admitted that he struggled with his newfound fame and began to crumble under the immense pressure that came with it.
To make matters worse, he says his father, who also worked as his manager, began ‘physically and mentally abusing’ him, forcing him to stay up for hours to learn lines even when he was exhausted, and threatening physical violence if he ever messed up on set.
Culkin says his father, who also worked as his manager, began ‘physically and mentally abusing’ him, forcing him to stay up for hours to learn lines even when he was exhausted, and threatening physical violence if he ever messed up on set (pictured 1993)
Culkin shares two children with partner Brenda Song – pictured March 2025
Candy’s breakout role came when he played Tom Hanks’ character’s womanizing brother in Splash, which garnered universal acclaim
As soon as Macaulay was skyrocketed into the spotlight, his dad, Kit, quit his job to focus on managing his career full-time.
But the star later revealed that Kit would ‘deny him certain things’ – including a bed, which meant he had to sleep on the couch – and often forced him to stay up all night sometimes to study lines, despite the young actor feeling exhausted.
‘I think it was just a way of him wanting to break my spirit,’ he later told ABC News. ‘He wanted me to know to know that he was in charge and if he didn’t want us to sleep on a bed, we weren’t gonna sleep on a bed.’
He also remembered his dad threatening physical violence if he didn’t perform well during an appearance on the WTF podcast with Marc Maron.
Macaulay said: ‘My father was jealous of me. He was a bad man. He was abusive. Everything he tried to do in life, I excelled at before I was 10 years old.’
To the outside world, Macaulay seemed like a happy-go-lucky kid who was in for the ride of his life, but behind-the-scenes, he recalled feeling desperate for a break.
His dad also kept his earnings a secret from him, while unbeknownst to Macaulay, taking a big chunk of the profits for himself. His parents took around 15per cent of his earnings per film.
When Kit and Patricia split in 1995, there followed a bitter legal battle over who would get custody of the kids, including Macaulay and his fortune.
Rumors swirled he had ended up ‘divorcing’ his parents, with Culkin telling Esquire in 2020: ‘We didn’t want to go with my father. It’s always misconstrued, that I “emancipated” myself from my parents. I legally took my parents’ names off of my trust fund and found an executor, someone who would look over my finances, just in case anyone wanted to stick their f***ing pinkie in the pie.
‘But the next thing you know, the story was that I divorced my parents. I just thought I was doing it cleanly—taking my father’s name off, taking my mom’s name off, so my opinion is unbiased. And when I did that, the whole thing kinda ended a lot faster.’
He has also said: ‘Basically, I had millions and millions of dollars in the bank and my mother couldn’t pay the rent because she was spending all of her money on lawyers.
‘We were about to get evicted from our apartment. The only way I could get access to that money was to take my father’s name off it, but I didn’t want to make it messy, so I figured I’d take both their names off.’
After the bitter fight was over Kit, a highly charged character, appeared to accept defeat. While Patricia and his children stayed in New York, he retreated to the West Coast and started over again with partner Jeanette Krylowski, who he had known since the 1970s. She died in 2017.
Kit’s other children are Shane, 48, Kieran, 41, Quinn, 40, Christian, 35 and Rory, 34. A daughter Dakota, 30, tragically died in December 2008 after being struck by a vehicle in Los Angeles.
His other early roles included the filmed live performance of The Nutcracker, the comedy movie Richie Rich (seen), and of course, Home Alone 2: Lost in New York
But the actor now credits his father with helping him to become a good dad himself.
Macaulay has been keeping busy, and also made an appearance in the HBO show, The Righteous Gemstones, last year in 2022.
He also puts his main focus in raising son Dakota, four, as well as a second child – whose birth was confirmed by Kieran in March – with fiancée, Brenda Song.
The couple were first romantically linked in 2017 and a source informed People in January 2022 that the two stars were engaged.