Credit: 20th Century Studios/Kobal/Shutterstock; Kimberly White/Getty
Then: Macaulay Culkin became a household name with the 1990 release of Home Alone. The child star, who had previously made TV cameos and appeared in 1989's Uncle Buck, nabbed the starring role in the movie. He played Kevin McCallister, a young boy who is accidentally left home alone by his family and faces the ensuing shenanigans of his solo time.
Now: Culkin had a busy few years after the comedy hit theaters, continuing his big-screen career in 1991's My Girl, the 1992 follow-up Home Alone 2: Lost in New York, and 1994's Richie Rich. After a bit of a hiatus in the late '90s and early '00s, Culkin returned to acting with appearances in 2004's Saved!, NBC's Kings, and Adult Swim's Robot Chicken. While Culkin turned his focus to music from 2013-2018, fronting the pizza-themed Velvet Underground tribute band The Pizza Underground, he also played fan-favorite Mickey in season 10 of American Horror Story. Now, he has an upcoming Lightbox-produced docuseries titled Macaulay Culkin's Midlife Crisis.
Related: Macaulay Culkin will confront his midlife crisis in a new docuseries
Advertisement
Advertisement
Credit: 20th Century Studios/Kobal/Shutterstock; George Pimentel/FilmMagic
Then: Already a huge star, Joe Pesci made a hilarious turn in Home Alone as the burglar Harry Lime. His character worked with Marv (Daniel Stern) and faced off against Kevin as they attempted to rob the McCallister house. Just months before the comedy's release, Pesci starred as another criminal: mobster Tommy DeVito in Goodfellas.
Now: After appearing in 1992's My Cousin Vinny, Pesci returned to the role of Harry for 1992's Home Alone 2: Lost in New York. He went on to fill his resume with parts in 1995's Casino, 1997's Gone Fishin', and 1998's Lethal Weapon 4, before largely retiring from Hollywood in 1999. He popped back up briefly in 2010's Love Ranch alongside Helen Mirren and Bryan Cranston, but it was his Goodfellas director Martin Scorsese who was able to get Pesci to come out of retirement for 2019's The Irishman for Netflix.
Related: How Joe Pesci was talked out of retirement for his first movie role in 9 years
Credit: Moviestore/Shutterstock; Araya Diaz/Getty
Then: Daniel Stern joined the flick as Harry's cohort, Marv Merchants. One half of the Wet Bandits burglary team, Stern picked up the gig after a decade in the industry. His previous film credits included 1982's Diner, 1986's Hannah and Her Sisters, and 1988's D.O.A..
Now: Stern reunited with his costars in the 1992 sequel in the midst of another major role. The actor served as the narrator for The Wonder Years, voicing the adult counterpart to Fred Savage's Kevin Arnold. In recent years, he's made appearances in 2009's Whip It and 2013 episodes of Workaholics and Getting On, and picked up a regular role on WGN's Manhattan before joining the Hulu series Shrill from 2019-2021.
Advertisement
Credit: Moviestore/Shutterstock; Michael Boardman/Getty
Then: John Heard appeared in Home Alone as Peter McCallister, the father to Culkin's Kevin. He played the forgetful paternal figure after hitting the big screen in 1980's Heart Beat, 1981's Cutter's Way, 1985's Heaven Help Us, and 1988's Big.
Now: In addition to his role in Home Alone 2, Heard made '90s appearances in Awakenings, The Pelican Brief, Snake Eyes, and Before and After. Heard expanded his resume with cameos in CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, Modern Family, Person of Interest, Elementary, and MacGyver before passing away in 2017.
Related: 10 John Heard roles and where to watch them
Credit: Moviestore/Shutterstock; Tommaso Boddi/Getty
Then: The wife to Heard's character, Catherine O'Hara played Home Alone's Kate McCallister. The mother of the family tries to get home to Kevin once the McCallisters realize he's alone, but has little luck. Before taking on the part, O'Hara was best known for her roles in 1986's Heartburn, 1988's Beetlejuice, and 1990's Dick Tracy.
Now: Much of O'Hara's career was ahead of her when the beloved comedy arrived in theaters. She went on to appear in 1993's The Nightmare Before Christmas, 1994's Wyatt Earp, 1996's Waiting for Guffman, 2000's Best in Show, and 2002's Orange County. After doing voice work in Nickelodeon's Glenn Martin DDS and 2012's Frankenweenie, O'Hara landed on Schitt's Creek from 2015-2020, and went on to win the Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series in 2020 for her role as Moira Rose.
Related: Catherine O'Hara, Eugene Levy look back on first joint Emmy win after Schitt's Creek's big night
Credit: 20th Century Studios; Jamie McCarthy/Getty
Then: Culkin's brother Kieran Culkin picked up a small role in Home Alone. The child actor played Fuller McCallister, the dorky younger cousin to Kevin (played by his real-life brother). The part earned Kieran his first feature film credit.
Now: Much like his brother, Kieran was busy throughout the '90s before taking a bit of time off in the mid-'00s. He made a name for himself outside of his older sibling's shadow with roles in 1991's Father of the Bride, 1999's She's All That and The Cider House Rules, and 2002's The Dangerous Lives of Altar Boys and Igby Goes Down, and 2010's Scott Pilgrim vs. the World. After starring in various stage productions of This is Our Youth in 2014, and a turn on FX's Fargo in 2015, Culkin's career hit a royal flush when he was cast as Roman Roy in HBO's Succession in 2018, a role that earned him a Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series Emmy nomination in 2020.
Related: The ultimate Succession interview — Jeremy Strong, Sarah Snook, and Kieran Culkin talk to each other about stuff
Advertisement
Advertisement
Credit: 20th Century Fox Film /Courtesy Everett Collection; Warner Bros./ Courtesy Everett Collection
Then: An industry veteran, Roberts Blossom played the McCallister family's neighbor Old Man Marley in Home Alone. A surprising ally to Kevin, the character followed decades of roles for Blossom. His pre-1990 credits include 1972's Slaughterhouse-Five, 1974's The Great Gatsby, 1977's Close Encounters of the Third Kind, and 1979's Escape from Alcatraz.
Now: Blossom continued to act for a few years after Home Alone, appearing in 1991's Doc Hollywood and Death Falls, and hitting the small screen with roles in Northern Exposure and Chicago Hope in the '90s. The star died at the age of 87 in 2011 after suffering a stroke.
Credit: 20th Century Studios; John Parra/Getty
Then: Devin Ratray made one of his most famous appearances as Buzz McCallister in Home Alone. The actor played the bullying older brother to Culkin's Kevin, coming into the gig after roles in 1989's Little Monsters and the CBS series Heartland.
Now: Ratray slowly but surely built up his filmography in the decades since, reuniting with the cast in Home Alone 2: Lost in New York before starring in 1993's Dennis the Menace. In 2004, he acted alongside Julia Stiles in The Prince and Me, and returned to the big screen with 2013's Nebraska and R.I.P.D., 2019's Hustlers, and 2022's Kimi. Ratray in recent years had a role in Steven Soderbergh's HBO miniseries Mosaic, and has racked up appearances in shows The Good Fight, Chicago Med, Russian Doll, The Tick, and At Home with Amy Sedaris. He reprised his role as Buzz in the 2021 Home Alone reboot Home Sweet Home Alone.
Related: Home Alone star Devin Ratray says a McCallister family reunion is in the works
Credit: YouTube
Then: Michael C. Maronna earned his first acting credit as Home Alone's Jeff McCallister. The child star, who played Kevin's older brother, picked up his second for 1992's Home Alone 2.
Now: The same year he starred in the Home Alone sequel, Maronna arrived at Nickelodeon in The Adventures of Pete & Pete. He spent the following years booking small roles in Law & Order, Gilmore Girls, and 2002's 40 Days and 40 Nights, before turning to behind-the-scenes opportunities. Maronna did electric work for dozens of major projects including 2008's Sex and the City movie, 2014's The Normal Heart, and the upcoming Reese Witherspoon-starred rom-com Your Place or Mine, and most recently on shows Luke Cage, Iron Fist, The Plot Against America, and Dickinson.
Advertisement
Credit: Andy Lyons/Getty Images
Then: Hillary Wolf starred in Home Alone as McCallister daughter Megan. She picked up the gig as Kevin's older sister after making cameos in American Playhouse, Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color, and I'll Take Manhattan in the '80s.
Now: After Home Alone, Wolf starred in Big Girls Don't Cry... They Get Even before making her final big-screen appearance in Home Alone 2. She kept busy, however, pursuing an illustrious career in martial arts. The former child star went to the 1996 and 2000 Olympics for judo.
Advertisement
Credit: Ryan Miller/Getty Images
Then: Angela Goethals made her turn in Home Alone as Kevin's older sister Linnie McCallister. She played one of the family's many children after booking roles in 1988's Rocket Gibraltar and Heartbreak Hotel.
Now: Goethals followed up the comedy with a mid-'90s turn in ABC's Phenom and a role in 1996's Jerry Maguire. She went on to appear in Six Feet Under, Without a Trace, 24, and Grey's Anatomy in the mid-'00s. Following cameos in Law & Order and Royal Pains in 2010, she's been mostly seen at the theater, although fans were able to catch her performance in Long Day's Journey Into Night online via BroadwayHD in 2017. In 2020, Goethals appeared on Stars in the House to reprise her role as Miranda Bigelow in the 1987 Tony-nominated play Coastal Disturbances alongside her costar Annette Bening in reading benefitting The Actors Fund.
Advertisement
Credit: 20th Century Studios; Walter McBride/Getty Images
Then: Gerry Bamman played Uncle Frank to Culkin's Kevin. The actor took on the role of the wily older relative after racking up TV gigs, including American Playhouse in 1984, Crime Story in 1987, and The Equalizer in 1987.
Now: Bamman revisited the role of Uncle Frank for Home Alone 2, continuing his film career in 1992's The Bodyguard and Lorenzo's Oil, 1998's Great Expectations, 1999's Superstar, and 2003's Runaway Jury. Bamman picked up some TV work, including a 2014 episode of The Good Wife and a 2015 turn on The Following, and in recent years sticking to theater work, and appeared in the Off-Broadway play Imaging Madoff about disgraced financier Bernie Madoff in 2019.
Advertisement
Credit: Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic
Then: Already a huge force in the comedy world, John Candy nabbed a small role as Gus Polinski in Home Alone. He played a fellow traveler to the McCallister family, picking up the gig after spending years in the '70s on The David Steinberg Show and SCTV, and arriving on the big screen in the '80s in The Blues Brothers, National Lampoon's Vacation, Spaceballs, Planes, Trains & Automobiles, and Uncle Buck.
Now: Candy continued to act after Home Alone, appearing in 1991's Only the Lonely and JFK, 1992's Once Upon a Crime..., and 1993's Cool Runnings. The beloved star made one of his final appearances in 1994's Wagons East before he died that same year at the age of 43.
Related: Ghostbusters cast reunite to talk about John Candy almost starring, and more
Advertisement