Macaulay Culkin Returns to Golden Globes for First Time in 35 Years

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Macaulay Culkin is home and not alone at the 2026 Golden Globes.

Macaulay Culkin, accompanied by his wife Brenda Song, was moved by the positive reaction he received at the January 11 awards show. He presented the award for Best Screenplay at the Beverly Hilton, and the event was hosted by Nikki Glaser.

Macaulay expressed his gratitude to the audience as he walked on stage to a huge round of applause. “It’s been 35 years since I last attended the Golden Globes,” he said. “Thank you for the warm welcome—it means a lot.”

“I know it’s a little strange to see me at a time that isn’t the holidays,” he chuckled, “but I want to assure you I’m around all year long!”

Oh my gosh, it totally made sense when he explained why he was presenting the Best Screenplay award! It went to Paul Thomas Anderson for One Battle After Another, and he said it’s because he’s basically grown up with screenplays. He joked that he’s been reading them since he was a little kid – how amazing is that?! I need to find a list of all the winners now!

Macaulay has openly discussed how his perspective on acting has changed since starting so young – at just four years old. He now values taking time off whenever possible.

He explained on the SmartLess podcast in December that he’s technically retired, but he’ll come out of retirement if a project interests him. He then retires again immediately after finishing it.

Macaulay joked, “Every gig is my last.”

He explained that he stopped pursuing his passion for almost ten years. He focused on typical teenage experiences – going to high school, having his first romantic relationship, and experimenting with alcohol.

The Richie Rich actor—who has two sons, 4-year-old Dakota and 3-year-old Carson, with Brenda—explained that after making the 1994 movie, he had the freedom to do absolutely nothing and just play video games all day.

The time off helped him discover that he genuinely loved acting, and it wasn’t just something he’d been pushed into as a kid by his parents.

I felt lost and was trying to decide what I wanted to do with my life. Then this opportunity came along – it wasn’t something I actively sought out. I wanted to pursue it in my own way, and on my own schedule.

For a look at all the big winners at the 2026 Golden Globes, keep reading.

Joel Edgerton—Train Dreams

Oscar Isaac—Frankenstein

Dwayne Johnson—The Smashing Machine

Michael B. Jordan—Sinners

Wagner Moura—The Secret Agent

Jeremy Allen White—Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere

Kathy Bates—Matlock 

Britt Lower—Severance

Helen Mirran—Mobland

Bella Ramsey—The Last of Us

Keri Russell—The Diplomat

Rhea Seehorn—Pluribus

Jessie Buckley—Hamnet

Jennifer Lawrence—Die My Love

Renate Reinsve—Sentimental Value

Julia Roberts—After the Hunt

Tessa Thompson—Hedda

Eva Victor—Sorry, Baby

Marty Supreme

Bugonia 

Blue Moon

No Other Choice

Nouvelle Vague

One Battle After Another

Sentimental Value

Hamnet

Frankenstein

It Was Just an Accident

The Secret Agent

Sentimental Value

Sinners

Kristen Bell—Nobody Wants This

Ayo Edebiri—The Bear

Natasha Lyonne—Poker Face

Selena Gomez—Only Murders in the Building

Jenna Ortega—Wednesday

WINNER: Jean Smart—Hacks

The Diplomat

The Pitt

Pluribus

Severance

Slow Horses

The White Lotus

Jacob Elordi—The Narrow Road to the Deep North

Paul Giamatti—Black Mirror

WINNER: Stephen Graham—Adolescence

Charlie Hunnam—Monster: The Ed Gein Story

Jude Law—Black Rabbit

Matthew Rhys—The Beast in Me

Erin Doherty—Adolescence

Carrie Coon—The White Lotus

Hannah Einbender—Hacks

Catherine O’Hara—The Studio

Parker Posey—The White Lotus

Aimee Lou Wood—The White Lotus

Adam Brody—Nobody Wants This

Steve Martin—Only Murders in the Building

Glen Powell—Chad Powers

WINNER: Seth Rogen—The Studio

Martin Short—Only Murders in the Building

Jeremy Allen White—The Bear

Benecio del Toro—One Battle After Another

Jacob Elordi—Frankenstein

Paul Mescal—Hamnet

Sean Penn—One Battle After Another

Adam Sandler—Jay Kelly

WINNER: Stellan Skarsgard—Sentimental Value

Sterling K. Brown—Paradise 

Diego Luna—Andor

Gary Oldman—Slow Horses 

Mark Ruffalo—Task

Adam Scott—Severance

WINNER: Noah Wyle—The Pitt

WINNER: Timothee Chalamet—Marty Supreme

George Clooney—Jay Kelly

Leonardo DiCaprio—One Battle After Another

Ethan Hawke—Blue Moon

Lee Byung-Hun—No Other Choice

Jesse Plemons—Bugonia

WINNER: Owen Cooper—Adolescence

Billy Crudup—The Morning Show

Walton Goggins—The White Lotus

Jason Isaacs—The White Lotus

Tramell Tillman—Severance

Ashley Waters—Adolescence

“Dream as One”—Avatar: Fire and Ash; Miley Cyrus, Andrew Wyatt, Mark Ronson, Simon Franglen

The team ‘Golden’—from K:Pop Demon Hunters, consisting of Joong Gyu Kwak, Yu Han Lee, Hee Dong Nam, Jeong Hoon Seo, Park Hong Jun, Kim Eun-jae (EJAE), and Mark Sonnenblick—was the winner.

“I Lied to You”—Sinners; Raphael Saadiq, Ludwig Göransson

“No Place Like Home”—Wicked: For Good; Stephen Schwartz 

“The Girl in the Bubble”—Wicked: For Good; Stephen Scwartz 

“Train Dreams”—Train Dreams; Nick Cave, Bryce Dessner

Adolescence

All Her Fault

The Beast in Me

Black Mirror

Dying for Sex

The Girlfriend

WINNER: Rose Byrne—If I Had Legs, I’d Kick You

Cynthia Erivo—Wicked: For Good

Kate Hudson—Song Sung Blue

Chase Infiniti—One Battle After Another

Amanda Seyfried—The Testament of Ann Lee

Emma Stone—Bugonia

Claire Danes—The Beast in Me

Rashida Jones—Black Mirror

Amanda Seyfried—Long Bright River

Sarah Snook—All Her Fault

WINNER: Michelle Williams—Dying for Sex

Robin Wright—The Girlfriend

Emily Blunt—The Smashing Machine

Elle Fanning—Sentimental Value

Ariana Grande—Wicked: For Good

Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas—Sentimental Value

Amy Madigan—Weapons

WINNER: Teyana Taylor—One Battle After Another

Avatar: Fire and Ash

F1

KPop Demon Hunters

Mission Impossible: The Final Reckoning

WINNER: Sinners

Weapons 

Wicked: For Good

Zootopia 2

Arco

WINNER: Demon Slayer: Kimestu No Yaiba Infinity Castle

Elio 

Little Amelie or The Character of the Rain

KPop Demon Hunters

Zootopia 2

Abbott Elementary

The Bear

Hacks

Nobody Wants This

Only Murders in the Building

The Studio

WINNER: Paul Thomas Anderson—One Battle After Another

Ryan Coogler—Sinners

Guillermo del Toro—Frankenstein

Jafar Panahi—It Was an Accident

Joachim Trier—Sentimental Value

Chloe Zhao—Hamnet

WINNER: One Battle After Another—Paul Thomas Anderson

Marty Supreme—Josh Safdie, Ronald Bronstein 

Sinners—Ryan Coogler

It Was Just an Accident—Jafar Panahi 

Sentimental Value—Eskil Vogt, Joachim Trier

Hamnet—Chloe Zhao, Maggie O’ Farrell

  • Armchair Expert With Dax Shepard
  • Call Her Daddy
  • WINNER: Good Hang With Amy Poehler
  • The Mel Robbins Podcast
  • SmartLess
  • Up First

  • Bill Maher, “Bill Maher: Is Anyone Else Seeing This?”
  • Brett Goldstein, “Brett Goldstein: The Second Best Night of Your Life”
  • Kevin Hart, “Kevin Hart: Acting My Age”
  • Kumail Nanjiani, “Kumail Nanjiani, Night Thoughts”
  • Ricky Gervais, “Ricky Gervais: Mortality”
  • Sarah Silverman, “Sarah Silverman: Postmortem”

Sarah Jessica Parker 

Helen Mirren 

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2026-01-12 05:48