Macaulay Culkin: Home Alone 2 Was Better Because I Got Paid More

According to CinemaDrame News Agency, Home Alone star Macaulay Culkin, in one of his rare interviews, spoke with Hot Ones and admitted that he prefers the sequel (Home Alone 2: Lost in New York) over the original.

Explaining why, Culkin said: “I got paid more. I think I have 5 percent of the film’s gross and 15 percent of the merchandise sales. So yes, if you buy a [Talkboy] recorder, 15 percent of that goes to me. Thank you very much. And by the way, buy a Talkboy next Christmas.”

After rising to fame with the franchise, Culkin appeared in few other roles but maintained close friendships with cast members, including Catherine O’Hara, who played his mother. At Culkin’s Hollywood Walk of Fame star ceremony, O’Hara said: “The reason families can’t go a year without watching Home Alone, and why they love these films overall, is Macaulay Culkin. I know you worked hard, but you made acting seem like the most natural thing in the world.”

Last year, during a special screening Q&A, Culkin revealed that Joe Pesci once bit his finger during a rehearsal: “He was trying to scare me. He’d say, ‘I want to be scary for this kid.’”

In his latest interview, Culkin addressed rumors that Pesci mistreated him on set to enhance his performance: “I’ve heard that. But you know, I understand why he thought, ‘I want to scare this kid. I want to be scary.’ I remember him sitting there saying, ‘How you doing, kid?’ and I’d say, ‘Honestly, I’m tired. I haven’t been home in four or five months.’ He’d say, ‘I haven’t been home in three years.’ And I’d say, ‘I didn’t know this was a toughness contest.’ But yeah, I guess you won against a 10-year-old, Joe Pesci.”

The 44-year-old actor also denied improvising the famous line, “Do you give up, or are you thirsty for more?” but admitted to adding a different unscripted moment: “When I’m in the store and they ask, ‘Where are your parents? Why won’t you tell me?’ I say, ‘Because you’re a stranger.’ That one was mine. But I did stuff like that a lot.”

Culkin also confirmed a long-standing rumor that the picture of Buzz’s “girlfriend” in the film was actually a photo of one of the crew member’s sons dressed as a girl: “As far as I know, yes — you’d have to ask Chris [Columbus], but that’s what I was told.”