Macaulay Culkin, who became a household name with Home Alone, seems to have retired from his acting career. During his appearance on the SmartLess podcast, the 45-year-old actor-musician discussed his retirement in detail.
Macaulay Culkin says ‘every gig’ is his last after Zootopia 2 feature
On the SmartLess podcast, Macaulay Culkin opened up about his retirement from acting, following his last feature in Zootopia 2. He stated, “Technically, I’m retired right now.” He added, “I retire and then, if I find something I like, I unretire, do that, and I immediately retire afterwards. Every gig is my last.” He said, “I quit for nearly a decade,” referring to his previous break following the 1994 Richie Rich.
Culkin also explained, “Just went to high school, fell in love, got drunk for the first time, things like that.” He revealed that he received “lion’s share” of money for his work, unlike many child actors. Culkin continued, “I was in a position where I could just put my thumb up my butt and play video games all day long.” He said, “You know? I could do anything I wanted, really.”
The Golden Globe Award nominee mentioned that he took a break to be with the children around him. He said, “When I was younger, I never worked with people my own age. I was always working with adults.” Culkin expressed, “I had a yearning to go to school, to have contemporaries and things like that.” He exclaimed, “I was doneskies.”
The actor further shared he “was like, ‘I hope you all made your money because there’s no more coming from me.” He explained that he made his name, mark, and fortune. “The only reason why I even do it now is because I like to do it.”
Culkin stated, “Pay, pleasure, prestige — that’s the only reason to do a gig.” He added, “I was kind of just drifting around, and tried to figure out what I wanted out of life and so forth.” Macaulay Culkin concluded, “This was a calling that found me. I didn’t find it. I wanted to explore that in a different way, on my terms.”