Credit: Photos via Waner Bros. & Featureflash Photo Agency/Shutterstock. Illustration by David Loyola
Ten-year-old Macaulay Culkin’s post-aftershave scream is one of the most iconic moments in American cinema. Thirty-five years after “Home Alone,” he rocks a closely cropped beard with some gray in it.
Audiences can see both versions of him when “A Nostalgic Night with Macaulay Culkin” stops in Tampa next Thursday. Before embarking on the cross-country tour, Culkin—legally, Macaulay Macaulay Culkin Culkin—spoke with Creative Loafing Tampa Bay over the phone about what the film means to him as a star and a dad to toddlers Dakota and Carson.
What do you have going on today?
It’s a rainy day over here in Southern California, and yes, the boys, my sons, they just got back from school, so it takes a second to find a quiet spot in the house, but that’s what I’ve been doing.
Tell me about the show. You started it last year, if I’m correct, for the 35th anniversary?
This year is the 35th anniversary. Last year was just trying it on for size. And yeah, it was fun hitting the road and sharing the movie with people. It’s one thing to watch it in a living room. It’s another thing to watch it with like-minded people. People laugh harder when there’s other people laughing, and people enjoy it. So it’s really cool to kind of go out there and share it in a way that I hadn’t since, Gosh, 1990 really.
The show itself is a ton of fun. I have a really great time. It’s part Q&A, part fireside chat, a little standup. There’s some audience participation. I pull the kids on stage and ask them trivia questions and give away prizes. I try to give people their money’s worth. I’m old-fashioned that way. You show up when advertised and you give people their money’s worth. And so it is a full experience. I have such a blast doing it. So, yeah, it’ll be fun. I’m looking forward to getting it back on its feet again after getting a year off.
So, are you watching it every time?
I don’t watch it every time. There’s only so many times I can watch it. I get a big eyeful at home, because my boys like watching the movie.
Do you watch it every year with them?
Oh, yes, yes, of course, yeah. I don’t hide it from them, but they also have no idea that I’m the kid in the movie. They’re still of that age, so they don’t recognize me yet. I’m waiting. In the future, at some point, one of them’s gonna sideeye me and go, “Hey, wait a second.” Like, yeah, that was your papa.
Oh wow, so you still haven’t told them?
No, no. There’s no reason to. It’s almost like believing in Santa Claus or something like that. I want to keep that magic up for as long as possible. I’m sure some kids at recess are going to spoil the surprise at some point.
Especially my oldest [4-year-old Dakota], he thinks he’s the kid from the movie. He thinks that he’s Kevin. I’m like, “Oh, you remember that?” and he’s like, “Sure do!” You liar, that was me! That’s the thing, is that it’s taken on a brand new meaning now that I’m a father, I get to show it to my kids and all that. It’s a different experience altogether.
I know that watching a movie you made as a kid is one thing. But to watch it every year, like as a Christmas movie, that must be really surreal.
You know, it’s one of those things where my opinion of it falls with time. Before it was just kind of a phenomenon … how I made my name and all that. I wouldn’t call it a curse, per se, but it was definitely a curse and a blessing. It could have been burdensome, but then it kind of evolved into something else. That’s something that I’ve kind of really, really embraced. It’s definitely something that was a big, important part of my life. Now that I’m a father, it’s different, and now I appreciate it on that level, not just for myself, but other parents.
A lot of these people, they’re my age, they have kids too, and they show it to their kids. It’s become kind of a generational thing. I think that’s really neat. It’s a fun thing, while I’m out there doing this tour and all that stuff, to see that in people, again, sharing this with their kids.
“…it’s a power fantasy. This kid is getting one over on adults.”
When you were growing up, did you have a movie that you guys would watch every year that became what this movie acts as for other people?
“Christmas Story” was a big one in my family. That was always on. We watched “Scrooged,” that Bill Murray one. People forget about that one and it’s actually a wonderful Christmas movie. That one kind of slips through the cracks of all these lists. I revisit that. I own the soundtrack on vinyl, in fact.
I didn’t watch “Home Alone” growing up as a kid. Actually, to admit, I watched it for the first time very recently. And I felt the loneliness of this kid, Kevin. All those scenes where he’s doing the aftershave, and all those things that were funny and great, I feel like in your memories as a kid, they sort of overpower the sad parts. I watch “It’s a Wonderful Life” every year. And my girlfriend is like, “That is a movie about a guy who tries to kill himself.” And I’m like, “Yeah, yeah. But it’s happy!” On a subconscious level, do you feel like that sadness is a part of this phenomenon? Do you feel like people do connect with that sadness?
Maybe…But there’s a little bit of a “careful what you wish for” kind of quality to the story arc. I think that’s a big part of it, if we’re gonna try to find some boiled-down essence to it. But also, it’s a fantasy kind of tale. That’s why kids especially really relate to it, it’s a power fantasy. This kid is getting one over on adults. He’s left to his own devices. I think that’s a big part of the appeal. That’s a lot of the way that I’ve interpreted it, and I know that’s how my kids live. I can’t tell you how many times people have said, “I made the mistake of showing my kid that movie. They’re setting up traps. They’re locking me out…” Things like that.
They’re questioning whether their toothbrush is ADA certified.
Yes, exactly, they are approved by the American Dental Association.
I wanted to ask you if your satire news site Bunny Ears might make a comeback, or if that’s something that you’ve considered doing more with recently.
Not really. One of the reasons why it went by the wayside was… well, one, it was COVID. And then, two, even though we worked remotely, I was starting to have kids and stuff, and they do take the majority of my time. It’s the most important thing that I’ve ever done in my life, and I’m dedicating a lot of my time to that.
It was a really fun project. I knew that it had a shelf life to it, but at the same time, it was a lot of fun. I’m still friends with a lot of the people that contributed to it. I still have memories of sitting around writing Oscar jokes, live-tweeting the Oscars, things like that. It was fun having a crew of funny people actively being funny, you know, with a certain amount of one-upmanship.
That makes a lot of sense. Well, if you ever want to start another media project, and you feel like maybe investing in a newspaper, maybe one that’s based, like in Tampa, and it’s like, pretty small…
Alright, well, I know where to call!
This article appears in Nov. 20 – 26, 2025.
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