Kieran Culkin – 20 years before Succession

                                        June 2002      By Philip Berk

It took a fight scene for Kieran Culkin and his Dangerous Lives of Altar Boys costar Emile Hirsch to become fast friends.

And it took a derogatory comment for him to convince the director he was right for Igby. (At their first meeting he told Burr Steers, “You look like shit!”)

Igby Goes Down did only modestly well in the U.S. but it won Culkin both a Golden Globe nomination and a SAG award nomination. 

And it proved hands down that he is the most talented of the Culkin children.

They of course have been making headlines ever since older brother Macauley (Home Alone Culkin) became the highest paid child actor ever and the object of a bitter child custody battle.

To this day the children have nothing to do with their father.

I asked Kieran if he ever sees his dad?

“I haven’t seen my father in five or six years.”

Would he like to see a reconciliation?

“Not at this point in my life. I don’t see myself ever calling him up and saying, ‘Hey dad let’s get together and go bowling.’ 

And the rest of the family feel the same?

“Yes they do.”

Sounds like the dysfunctional family in Igby Goes Down?

“Not at all. Everybody else in my family, my mother, my brothers and sisters are all very close. I basically see them every day of my life.”

With so many involved in acting, wasn’t there sibling rivalry?

“Not really.”

No turmoil?

“Of course there’s a lot of turmoil when you have six siblings. But only two of them are into acting. Some of them won’t have anything to do with the business. My younger brother Rory who’s thirteen and my older brother Mac who’s twenty two are the best known but we all doing different things. I’m the middle child . My oldest brother Shane is twenty six. There’s a thirteen year difference between him and Rory the youngest so that can be a problem. But being in the middle I am close to everyone, and I get along with all of them in different ways.”     

No professional envy?

“Just the opposite. We follow each other’s careers, and we support each other. I saw Signs and I loved it and I was really proud of Rory. We see each other’s stuff and support it. Someone asked me if I give Rory advice and I told him it should be the other way around. But truthfully we never go there. We let each other do their own thing.”

How close is he to Macauley?

“I am very close with Mac. I got my own apartment last year. It’s about four blocks from his house so I see him a lot.”

Did he ever feel he had to be as good as his brother?

“That was never a goal. He’s my brother. I love him so much like I love all my brothers and sisters. I’m close with them all. Recently we’ve taken different paths. When he was fifteen he decided he didn’t want to do it anymore. He quit. I kept working. When I did The Mighty the director Peter Chelsom started treating me like an actor and less like a kid, and that’s when I realized this was something I could do. And I’ve kept doing it.” 

Has he ever wondered why they’re all so talented?

“That’s a question I don’t want to answer.”

Well let’s say why he is so talented?

“Thank you for saying that. I guess we got into the business because my mother and father were friends with people who ran a theatre company and whenever they needed little kids for their play they knew where to go. Ours was a house with seven kids running around. Maybe my father got the idea to get these little kids into acting. I remember going with him to the park and doing head shots. He started taking control of that, getting us auditions, managing things like that. He was friendly with Billy Hopkins who’s now a casting director but at the time was running a theatre in New York. He got Mac his first role.”

So it was his father that pushed them. 

“He was an actor and he worked with us closely and trained us which at the time was hard to appreciate but I guess it was good for me.”

Do you live alone?

“Just me and my cat.”

Isn’t he lonely all by himself?

“It’s kinda rough, sometimes. When I lived with my mom there was always something going on. If I woke up in the middle of the night and went to the kitchen, somebody would be there. Something was always happening there. So it can be rough in that way, but I visit my mom’s house as much as possible. She cooks like four times a week, and I come over. When it’s pot roast she calls me. I look for any excuse to go over there. Otherwise I hang out with my brother who’s just a couple of blocks away.”

How about a girl friend. Is he looking for a soul mate?

“I have not found my soul mate.” 

What type is he looking for?

Facetiously he responds, “Somebody who says, ‘You look like shit.”

I remind him that Mac was three years younger than he is now when he got married. They are no longer married.

Was he surprised when they went their separate ways?

“I guess it was kind of expected, but when I was around them, they were just so madly, deeply in love with each other. It was great while it lasted.”

Would he try it?

“I’m not thinking of marriage any time soon.”

What was so special about playing Igby?

“The first time I read the script I thought he was one of the best characters I had ever come across. I consider myself incredibly lucky to have played the role.”

What makes him so interesting?

“He comes from a family that’s very structured. His life has been planned for him from the day he was born, what he was going to do, which schools he would attend, what he was going to be. And this has been a family tradition. His father now in his forties has cracked because of it. He was just crushed by the weight of the world. Igby always looked up to his father, so he’s trying to break away from the system and not get crushed. I found that interesting.”

How closely does it parallel his own life?

“It doesnt really. There are similarities I guess but the big difference is Igby doesn’t have a lot of support from family and friends. I do. So it’s a different situation.”

Did he ever meet Igbys in his life?

“I don’t know if I want to go there. I’ll say this much. I have met certain people like Igby, but I don’t know if there is anyone really like him. But  I didn’t really hang out with a lot of people when I was his age.”

What was he thinking when he greeted the director with an insult?

“I really wanted to do the film and was trying in any way I could to be honest in the moment.  Maybe that’s how Igby might have greeted him.”

What does Igby want from life?

“He doesn’t want to be manipulated or have his life mapped out for him. What he’s looking for is to be free and have sunny days, discover who he is on his own.”

And what does Kieran want?

“Sunny days. What does anyone want from life? Happiness. I guess that’s what I’m looking for,”

When not acting, how does he spend his time?

“I always feel bad when people ask me this question because I always have a boring answer.”

Which is?

“I hang out with my family a lot.”

Not having his father around, did he have a (substitute) father figure or mentor growing up?

“I don’t know if everyone has to have a father figure. I’ve always had my older brothers. I have a Godfather whom I’m very close to. I’ve always seen him as a father figure. He’s one of the greatest people I know, and we’ve been very close.”

And his name?

“Steve Todar.” 

A little known New York actor, I later discovered.