According to Kieran Culkin, his first acting gig had a director hurling insults at him at a young age.
On the latest episode of the SmartLess podcast hosted by Jason Bateman, Sean Hayes, and Will Arnett, Culkin recalled a pretty shocking anecdote about his first professional acting experience long before he starred in HBO’s Succession. He explained the director was trying to get him to method act at just 6 years old by throwing insults his way.
“[My] first professional experience I had was a commercial when I was six,” Culkin said around the 25 minute mark in the video linked below. “I actually don’t quite know what it was for but it was for something to do with learning disabilities.”
He continued, “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. The kids in the class are supposed to be calling me ‘dummy’ and ‘stupid,’ all that. And I have a distinct memory of being there and the director going okay he’s like action and he starts going, ‘dummy, idiot, stupid.’”
“Even then I’m thinking, like, you know, I get it. I’m six, like, stand here and look sad,” Culkin added. “I’m not fucking method [acting]I’m six. What’s wrong with you?”
Despite the incident, Culkin still thrived and his childhood acting career continued with roles in films like Home Alone and Home Alone 2: Lost in New Yorkalongside his brother Macaulay, now 44.
He recently won best supporting actor awards from both the New York Film Critics Circle and the Los Angeles Film Critics Association and the Los Angeles Films Critics Association and is nominated for a Golden Globe for his work in Jesse Eisenberg’s A Real Pain.
