METHOD MAN

Director Called 6-Year-Old Kieran Culkin ‘Stupid’ in First Gig

“What’s wrong with you?” the actor remembers thinking even as a small child.

Kieran Culkin made his film debut at age 8 opposite his real-life brother Macaulay Culkin in the holiday classic Home Alone. Before that, his child acting career got off to an unfortunate start, he revealed in a new episode of the Smartless podcast, when he was cast as a learning disabled kid in a commercial at 6-years-old. “The concept was I’m standing in front of a chalkboard with chalk in my hand and I don’t know how to solve the easy thing in front of me,” Culkin recalled. “And the kids in the class are supposed to be calling me a dummy and stupid, all that.” But when the director, who he declined to name, called action, he started shouting at the young Culkin, “‘Dummy. Idiot. Stupid.’” The unusual approach led the actor to think to himself, “I get it. I’m 6. Stand here and look sad. I’m not f---ing method. I’m 6. What’s wrong with you?” As a child, Culkin went on to star in films like Only the Lonely and Father of the Bride. More recently, he won an Emmy and a Golden Globe Award for his portrayal of Roman Roy on HBO’s Succession and is a frontrunner for the Best Supporting Actor trophy at the upcoming Academy Awards for his role in the film A Real Pain.