- Home Alone director Chris Columbus opened up during a recent The Hollywood Reporter‘s Awards Chatter podcast episode and revealed that the way Macaulay Culkin’s iconic “aftershave” scene went down in the movie was a “complete accident”
- “He was supposed to put the aftershave on, put his hands to his face, and immediately remove his hands and then scream. That was the direction I gave him on the first take, and he kept his hands there. For whatever reason, I don’t know,” the director shared
- As Columbus explained, “it was Macaulay” who made it happen. “And again, I don’t even know if he remembers why he did that, but it certainly wasn’t — I can’t credit myself for giving him that direction,” he said
Macaulay Culkin’s iconic “aftershave” scene in Home Alone — where he leaves his hands on his face for several seconds while screaming at the mirror — was a “complete accident,” according to the film’s director.
Chris Columbus, the Academy Award-nominated filmmaker known for his work on 1990 holiday staple, explained in a Tuesday, Dec. 24 interview on The Hollywood Reporter‘s Awards Chatter podcast that, while he had much of the scene scripted for the movie, Kevin McCallister’s lengthy hand placement was Culkin’s idea.
“The aftershave thing was in the script. Part of it was an accident,” Columbus, also known for his work on the film’s 1992 sequel and the Harry Potter franchise, said. “He was supposed to put the aftershave on, put his hands to his face, and immediately remove his hands and then scream. That was the direction I gave him on the first take, and he kept his hands there. For whatever reason, I don’t know.”
“Maybe he was nervous. He just didn’t move his hands from his cheeks and it made all of us laugh,” the director, 66, added. “Now usually when the crew laughs, it means it’s not funny. But the crew laughed, and we kept it in the first preview of the film, and the audience loved it. So it was a complete accident.”
As Columbus explained, “it was Macaulay” who made it happen. “And again, I don’t even know if he remembers why he did that, but it certainly wasn’t — I can’t credit myself for giving him that direction,” he said.
Elsewhere during the podcast, Columbus spoke on Michael Jackson’s connection to Culkin, getting John Williams to score the film and casting Daniel Stern and Joe Pesci as Marv and Harry.
“Someone else unfortunately was cast with Pesci, and we did a screen test and it didn’t work out,” Columbus recalled. “And we had always wanted Stern, but Stern was too expensive. So we essentially had to let the other guy go and, you know, paste Daniel Stern.”
“The moment they did their wardrobe test together, we knew there was this instantaneous chemistry between the two of them,” he added.
After calling Culkin “a great actor” and his brother Kieran Culkin — who played Fuller McCallister — “charming and funny in those first two films,” Columbus revealed that he’d “love” to work with Macaulay again.
“Now I’m hopeful that Macaulay will decide, ‘You know, it’s time for me to get back in front of the camera. It’s time to act again.’ Because Macaulay is incredibly talented,” he said.
“By the way, I’d love to work with him,” Columbus added. “I don’t know what it would be. It’s certainly not going to be another Home Alone movie. But I would love to work with him again because he is that good of an actor and people need to see that.”
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Earlier this month, Culkin made his own revelation about the Christmas classic, and how he once considered buying the real home featured in the movie when it was listed for sale recently.
Speaking at a screening of the movie at the Rosemont Theater, according to the New York Times, Culkin said he “had half a mind to buy it — just for giggles” — turning it into a “movie fun house” where people could reenact scenes.
“I got kids. I’m busy, man,” he said, revealing his other duties kept him from making the purchase. Culkin shares two toddler sons with his fiancée Brenda Song.
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