Macaulay Culkin Says He Still Has a Scar Years After Joe Pesci Bit Him

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The Wet Bandits didn’t just leave the McCallister home in handcuffs.

Surprisingly, Macaulay Culkin shared that he still bears a physical reminder of filming Home Alone. He recently revealed a scar on his finger caused by Joe Pesci—who played the burglar Harry—actually biting it during a rehearsal.

Macaulay Culkin shared that Joe Pesci actually bit him while they were rehearsing scenes for ‘Home Alone.’ He explained this at an event celebrating the movie’s 35th anniversary on November 22nd. Culkin pointed out that he didn’t share many scenes with Pesci and Dan Stern, so he didn’t get to know them well during filming – he was often acting as if they were there when they weren’t.

Even with their busy schedules, the three actors still managed to practice their lines. They focused on the scene where Joe’s character lifts Kevin (played by Macaulay) and pretends to bite his fingers—and Macaulay actually seemed to get a little carried away with the intensity.

Macaulay recalled the man threatening to ‘bite my fingers off, one by one,’ and then actually bit his finger. ‘I yelped!’ Macaulay said. He remembered the man’s shocked expression, realizing he’d bitten a nine-year-old – a fellow child actor on set.

The actor known for Richie Rich, who has two young sons, Dakota, 4, and Carson, 3, with his fiancée Brenda Song, joked that he should have reported the incident to HR. However, he also mentioned that Joe, 82, did apologize for what happened.

He said his initial reaction was simply, ‘Just don’t do that again.’ It actually left a lasting impression – he still has a small dent there 35 years later, which he jokingly calls a souvenir. He says it’s a funny story to tell now, but at the time, he just wondered who this strange person was.

Even though Macaulay and the former Goodfellas star eventually moved on from this, Macaulay joked that he wouldn’t mind teaching his children a few of Kevin’s pranks to playfully retaliate against Joe.

He chuckled, saying, “If you show kids this movie, be prepared for them to start playing pranks on you! I constantly get reports about it, and now even my own kids are trying to trick me.”

Keep reading to see more non-biting Home Alone secrets… 

The idea for the film came from John Hughes’ own worries as a father. His son, James Hughes, shared in a 2015 interview with Chicago Magazine that his father first wrote down the concept on August 8, 1989, shortly before a family trip to Europe. James explained that two weeks later, after they returned, his father started to explore the question: what if one of the children was mistakenly left behind?

The writer behind classic films like The Breakfast Club and Pretty in Pink wrote the first version of the story remarkably quickly – in just nine days. He finished with a frantic, eight-hour push to complete the final 44 pages. Interestingly, before he was done, he worried in his notes that he wasn’t writing fast enough!

Macaulay Culkin doesn’t enjoy watching his famous movie, Home Alone, during the holidays like many others. He told Ellen DeGeneres in 2018 that he actually changes the channel when it comes on TV.

He admitted to making exceptions sometimes, like when a new girlfriend puts on Home Alone and asks if he wants to watch it. He explained on The Tonight Show that he’s given in and watched it, often quietly reciting the lines to himself. He chuckled, saying it’s a little odd, but he’ll do whatever makes her happy.

Maybe that’s why he returned for the popular 2018 Google ad, which imagines what Kevin would be like as an adult with modern technology?

He even joked, “Hey @Disney, call me!” when Disney announced plans to remake the beloved ’90s film. That remake ended up being Home Sweet Home Alone.

The movie National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation could have looked very different if Chevy Chase had been more pleasant to work with. Director Chris Columbus told Chicago Magazine that Chase was incredibly rude to him during their first meeting. “To be honest, he treated me terribly,” Columbus said.

Columbus didn’t have much success with his second attempt at a project, and he ended up calling producer Hughes to withdraw. He later remembered receiving two scripts at his in-laws’ home in River Forest, about two weeks after leaving the previous project. One was for Home Alone, and it included a note from John Hughes asking if Columbus wanted to direct it. Columbus felt Hughes was genuinely supporting him when no one else in Hollywood was, and he considered Hughes a lifesaver.

The movie almost didn’t get made at all. A disagreement over the budget between Warner Bros. and the filmmakers led to the project being put on hold. Luckily, Joe Roth, then chairman of 20th Century Fox, learned about the problem during lunch with Hughes’ agent. It turned out they were arguing over just $700,000.

Roth recalled being told that Home Alone had a $14.7 million price tag, but Warner Bros. was only willing to contribute $14 million. When he asked why, he was given an explanation and decided to move forward with the project if the budget could be adjusted. He felt it was an easy decision, as the film wasn’t expensive to make, he needed a movie for Thanksgiving, and he admired the people working on it. It proved to be a smart move – the film ultimately earned over $476 million at the box office.

Macaulay Culkin was the frontrunner for the main role. John Hughes, who had directed him in Uncle Buck with John Candy the year before, was confident Culkin was the right choice. However, director Chris Columbus felt he needed to audition other young actors. As Columbus recalled, Culkin was understanding, saying, ‘OK, take your time, do what you need to do.’

Honestly, after seeing hundreds of kids audition, the moment Macaulay Culkin walked in, it was just…instant. You could feel it. I just knew, and it’s so cool to think even John Hughes knew it was going to happen, but he let me feel like I discovered him myself. It was amazing!

Marv (Daniel Stern) and Harry (Joe Pesci) were friends even before they became the notorious Wet Bandits.

People think we first met on Home Alone, but we actually worked together years earlier on a movie called I’m Dancing as Fast as I Can, though our scenes ended up being cut. We played patients in a mental institution. Joe’s character always carried a rolled-up set of blueprints. During one take, with a Ping-Pong table in the room, he pretended to snort a line of Ping-Pong balls using the tube. I was immediately cracking up and we became friends right then and there, Stern told Chicago magazine.

Stern was incredibly eager to land the role. He felt a strong connection to the script, saying it reminded him of the physical comedy he loved as a child. He was confident he could deliver a fantastic performance and was determined to get the part. He even asked for a second audition – something he’d never done before – because he knew he could do even better. Chris later revealed he had already decided to cast Stern, but wanted to see him perform again.

Despite their tough on-screen personas, Joe Pesci and Marv Stern weren’t actually mean people. Stern revealed in a 2015 Reddit chat on Christmas Eve that he’s a softie when it comes to kids and really enjoyed working with Macaulay Culkin.

While filming Home Alone 2: Lost in New York, his son Henry (who is now a California state senator!) and daughters Sophie and Ella came to the set much more often than during the first movie. They all enjoyed spending time with the cast, especially taking young Mac to Central Park to play tag and catch. He believes his character in the sequel was noticeably kinder than Joe Pesci’s.

It all clicks now, knowing the stories about Joe Pesci intentionally keeping his distance from Macaulay Culkin during filming. Apparently, that was done on purpose to make Culkin genuinely scared of him for the role, and honestly, it worked brilliantly! You could feel that fear on screen.

The show featured genuinely dangerous stunts, like the famously unsettling moment when a tarantula was placed on the actor’s face. Surprisingly, Stern said that scene was one of his most enjoyable to film, despite how unpleasant it sounds.

He described the experience as both fun and challenging, explaining that it pushed him to confront his fear of having something creepy and dangerous on his face. He added that it was particularly unsettling because he had to scream with his mouth open, worried the creature might crawl inside his throat.

It’s no surprise he described his shout as coming from a deeply buried part of himself, one he hoped never to access again.

The stunt performers really took the biggest risks during filming. Director Chris Columbus told Chicago magazine he genuinely feared for their safety multiple times while shooting Home Alone and Home Alone 2. Because they didn’t use computer-generated effects, the stunts were genuinely dangerous to watch. The crew only breathed a sigh of relief – and laughed – once the stunt performers were okay and reviewed the footage.

Stern noted the stunt performers were the real heroes of the show. He explained that when people compliment a particular scene, he always points out, ‘That was Leon Delaney.’

As a lifestyle expert, I’m always fascinated by the details that go into creating truly immersive experiences, and the sound design in this project was incredible! The team got really creative – they actually used a frozen roast beef to get the perfect thud for someone falling, and believe it or not, the sound of flesh burning was created by using a soldering iron on chicken skin. It just goes to show how much artistry goes into even the smallest details we experience.

Despite the threats aimed at him, it was actually Macaulay Culkin who got hurt during the making of the first Home Alone movie. In a 2004 interview with Rule Forty Two, Culkin explained that during a rehearsal, Joe Pesci bit his finger, breaking the skin, while acting out a scene where his character threatened to bite off all of Culkin’s fingers one by one.

Chris Farley nearly landed the part in the film, which would have been his first movie role. Ken Hudson Campbell, who played the church Santa, remembered seeing Farley at the audition. Campbell said Farley seemed exhausted, having just arrived after a night out. Farley’s audition didn’t go well—he quickly went in and left. Campbell felt his own audition went much better, and he later received the news that he’d been cast.

Several other well-known actors were almost cast in the film. Robert De Niro and Jon Lovitz both declined the part of Harry, and Kelsey Grammer turned down the role of Uncle Frank. It’s hard to imagine what might have been!

Oh my gosh, you will NOT believe this! The actual family who owned the house in Winnetka – that gorgeous house just outside Chicago! – they lived there while they were filming! The production team rented them an apartment, saying it would only be for four or five weeks, but the location manager told my source, Cynthia, that because of the contract, they could literally tear down walls even if the family was home! So, Cynthia said they were basically told it was better if they just stayed there the whole time! Can you imagine?! Living in the Home Alone house while they filmed?! It’s just… everything!

The family of three spent five and a half months living in their master bedroom suite. They used a hot plate for cooking, but mostly ate from the crew’s food truck, which their six-year-old daughter especially enjoyed. Luckily, most of the scenes requiring a destroyed house interior were filmed at a nearby, temporarily closed high school.

People living in the North Shore neighborhood are accustomed to sightseers driving by to admire the beautiful, $1.585 million Georgian-style house.

As a local who’s lived here for years, I can tell you most of us absolutely love it! Ann Smith told the Chicago Tribune back in 2019 that having the movie filmed here was a huge event, and it still feels that way. I often walk by the house they used, and there’s always someone there taking pictures – it’s just a really special place.

Okay, so you will NOT believe this! I was digging through old stuff online, totally obsessed with Friends like I always am, and I stumbled upon the craziest thing. Someone – a total hero, honestly – noticed that Monica and Chandler’s house when they move to the suburbs? It’s… it’s the Home Alone house! Seriously! They proved it by putting clips together, and it’s undeniable. The producers tried to sneak that one past us, but we fans are too smart for that! It’s the McCallister’s place from Home Alone, just… in New York, apparently. Mind. Blown.

As a lifestyle expert, I’m always fascinated by how filmmakers bring their visions to life! And let me tell you, creating the winter wonderland you saw in the film wasn’t exactly natural! Chicago’s weather didn’t fully cooperate, so the team had to get creative. They used snow machines and even brought in semi-trucks packed with shaved ice to get that perfect snowy look. It just goes to show you, a little movie magic can go a long way!

When they filmed Kate McCallister (Catherine O’Hara) returning home, the weather was perfect. Location manager Jacolyn Bucksbaum remembered it being a beautiful, real snowfall – the biggest snowstorm they’d seen in years, and it happened on Valentine’s Day, which was a lucky break for the movie.

The scene of the family rushing to catch their flight to Paris was filmed at Chicago’s O’Hare Airport. According to Columbus, filming was a challenge. “We had to work quickly,” he said, “and only filmed the family running through the terminal a couple of times. It was very stressful!”

Improvisation was definitely welcomed during filming. That’s why John Candy was such a popular actor in movies and TV shows from the 1980s and 90s.

O’Hara recalled filming his small role as Polka King Gus Polinski – a favor to director John Hughes – as an exhausting, 21-hour improvisation session. He described a spontaneous creative process where he, Hughes, and John Candy would build on each other’s ideas, letting conversations go wherever they led. According to O’Hara, much of the footage didn’t make the final cut, as Hughes jokingly pointed out that they were enjoying themselves too much instead of focusing on the character’s search for his child.

Macaulay Culkin was also known for thinking on his feet during filming. He often came up with lines himself, like when he recalled a scene where he responded to a stranger asking about his parents with, “Because you’re a stranger.” He shared this story on the August 2025 episode of Hot Ones, explaining he contributed many similar improvised moments to the movie.

You know, everyone always asks me about that famous line I supposedly came up with – the one about Marv and Harry asking if they’d give up or wanted more! Honestly, it wasn’t entirely my idea. It was actually already written in the script! I just brought it to life, but the clever wording? That wasn’t me improvising – it was a brilliant piece of writing to begin with.

He made up a lot of the scene where Kevin pretends to be having a big party to scare away the burglars.

I remember when Marv and Harry showed up, and I acted like a party was going on,” Culkin told TopMob News in December 2024. “I had a Michael Jordan figure on the train set, music playing, and I was moving the mannequins with strings. Originally, the plan was for me to play the piano and do more, but it was too complicated. They ended up just telling me to be silly and letting me pull the strings, which I was happy to do!

Interestingly, Buzz’s dog girlfriend in Home Alone wasn’t played by a girl at all! Actor Devin Ratray shared with Yahoo! that the role was filled by the art director’s son in disguise. The producers felt it would be insensitive to cast a young actress as simply ‘funny-looking’.

The short scenes from the fake movie within the film, a parody of classic noir called Angels with Filthy Souls, were all written by Hughes, including the famous line, “Keep the change, ya filthy animal.” He even cast local actor Ralph Foody to convincingly play a 1940s movie star. According to Columbus, people still mistake the scenes for a real, old film, a testament to Foody’s performance.

The first draft of the script had a clever moment where Marv and Harry, while watching the movie Angels in prison, realized they’d been tricked all along.

Even after more than 30 years, the movie continues to be popular with people around the world. As actor Kieran Culkin (known as the ‘Home Alone’ guy) told Chicago magazine, he’s still recognized everywhere he goes. He recounted a particularly memorable experience from a 2003 trip to visit troops in Iraq. While traveling to a jewelry store in Baghdad with soldiers, he was suddenly surrounded by around sixteen Iraqi children shouting his character’s name, ‘Marv!’ Despite being in the middle of a war zone, they recognized him from Home Alone. He says the movie’s impact is truly widespread and enduring.

The cast of the movie still keeps in touch. For example, Macaulay Culkin and Catherine O’Hara, who played mother and son in the film, hadn’t seen each other for years when they unexpectedly ran into each other at an art show hosted by Martin Mull in 2013.

It had been so long since I’d last seen my mother, I didn’t even know how long, so when I saw her in the driveway, I just shouted, ‘Mama!’ She replied with ‘Son!’ and that’s how it always is when we reunite – just ‘Mama’ and ‘Son’ back and forth. She’s a wonderful woman.

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2025-11-25 21:21