Macaulay Culkin confirmed a long-standing rumor that his “Home Alone” stunt double was a “very short,” 30-year-old man named Larry Nicholas.
Culkin stopped by “Hot Ones” on Thursday for a very rare interview with host Sean Evans. The host said he couldn’t help but ask him to fact check some rumors about the classic family film “Home Alone.”
“Is it true that your stunt double was a very short 30-year-old man?” Evans asked.
“Yeah, his name was Larry, and I saw him in the wardrobe department for the first time,” Culkin responded, explaining how the two first met. “I get changed and I walk out and there’s this guy, Larry, dressed exactly like me ’cause we’re both trying on the same outfit. And [I’m like,] ‘Oh, hey, Larry, how ya doing?’ He goes, ‘Hey, I’m doing good. I’m Larry, the stunt guy.’ And he kind of looks at me and he goes, ‘How old do you think I am?’ And I go, ‘That’s a loaded question.’ I know he’s much older than me ’cause I was 9. So it was loaded; I go, ’13?’ … He thought that was funny.”
The actor went on to share stories about he and Nicholas’ time on set, including one instance where Nicholas fell after a shelf collapsed.
“It was a vicious first take. It was vicious, and they do it again. And there’s another take just boom. They didn’t like the way everything felt, and they do it again and they do it again … And I’m going, ‘Please take it easy on Larry. He’s only 13 years old.’”
He went on to weigh in on some other “Home Alone” myths, including the idea that he improvised the line, “You guys give up? Are you thirsty for me?”
“No, no, not that one … that was in the script,” Culkin explained. But he pointed out that his “‘Cause you’re a stranger” line when a clerk questions where his parents were in a grocery store was all his idea.”
“If you let me off the leash, I like to dork around, but I did what I was told,” Culkin said in jest.
Evans’ last inquiry was whether or not it was true that Joe Pesci kept his distance from Culkin on set in an effort to make the young actor think he was scary.
“That’s what I heard,” Culkin said. “I can see why he was kind of like, ‘Oh, I want to scare the kid.’” He went on to say that he remembers Pesci’s response after he told him he was tired and had not been home in months.
“He goes, ‘I haven’t been home in three years.’ I was like, ‘Oh, I didn’t realize this was a dick measuring contest.’ But I guess you beat the 10-year-old, Joe Pesci.”
See Culkin’s full interview in the video above.
