He has spoken out about what it was like to be famous as a child
Being a child star is a fate I wouldn’t wish on anyone.
Many probably think that having that amount of money at that age would change their life for the better, but the more child stars that come forward, the more it seems to simply throw a spanner right in the middle of their life.
One child star, who was the lead in E.T., has spoken recently about why he regretted the role and the major impact it had on his life.
Macaulay Culkin has spoken previously about the effect of becoming famous so young, saying: “I was 9-years-old and so, like, you know, you kind of have to look at it from that perspective.
AJ Pics / Alamy Stock Photo
“You have no idea what’s going on.”
Daniel Radcliffe said of the same thing: “I think if you can get a situation where you’re on film sets without necessarily [thinking] oh, this is gonna be a big deal in your life, that’s great.
“Film sets are wonderful places. I think a lot of the time it can be wonderful for kids.
“But it’s really the fame side of it that should be avoided at all costs.”
One of the only other films of the scale of Harry Potter and Home Alone to have been led by a child actor is E.T. The Extra Terrestrial .
Henry Thomas led the film as Elliot, alongside Drew Barrymore as Gertie.
The Spielberg film is a classic (Universal Pictures)
The Spielberg classic follows a young boy who comes across an alien that has fallen to earth.
Elliot befriends the young alien and helps keep it safe from a government taskforce sent to take him away.
Henry was just nine when the film came out, and has spoken about how there have been ‘times [he] regretted being the kid in E.T’ in an interview with The Mirror.
“My world went completely crazy. I was that stupid kind of famous, where you can’t go anywhere.
“It was like that for the first six months after E.T. was in cinemas. I’d go out and get mobbed.
Henry Thomas (right) has since spoken out about being a child star (Albert L. Ortega/Getty Images for ABA)
“I was a shy kid, and being approached by adults all the time just freaked me out.
“I was like a circus freak. But the only time I had to deal with it was when I left the house. So I stopped leaving the house. I became an 11-year-old hermit.”
Thomas also said, in an interview with The Guardian, that his family ‘weren’t equipped’ for it.
He said of his mother: “She was doing the best job that she knew how to do.
“My whole family weren’t really well equipped to deal with anything like that. And other than a few precautions, we didn’t change our lives that much.Play
“Consequently, we got a lot of weird visitors to our residence and things like that, phone calls.
“I still don’t think it’s a great way to grow up. It was exciting for me, I went to some strange locales and met some interesting people.
“But it was also very disruptive to my parents’ marriage. Our social life got weird.
“You get famous and suddenly every cousin that you never knew looks you up. People are strange, they do weird stuff.
“As a kid, that’s a lot to deal with. And when you’re an adult [too], but at least then you have all of the faculties, hopefully, to deal with fame.”Featured Image Credit: Universal Pictures / Rodin Eckenroth/Getty Images
Topics: Macaulay Culkin, Daniel Radcliffe, Mental Health, Film, TV and Film
Michael Slavin
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Updated 14:12 15 Dec 2024 GMTPublished 12:44 12 Dec 2024 GMT
Fans notice blink-and-you’ll-miss-it moment in Home Alone decades later which reveals why Kevin was left behind
It’s a tiny but important moment
For years people watching Home Alone have asked the same question: “Wait, how on earth do they leave a whole child behind when they leave for the airport?!”
Fans of the 1990 festive classic have been wondering why for years and now, whether it’s because of the advent of the internet revealing what people maybe have already known or just because streaming allows us to interrogate more closely, it’s been revealed why.
Two separate hidden details found in the film have revealed the reason why Kevin McAllister, played by Macaulay Culkin, is left behind.
Macaulay Culkin as Kevin in Home Alone (20th Century Studios)
Both were noticed in the subreddit for r/moviedetails, which is a hotbed for people infinitely more perceptive than me noticing secret little bits in films.
Personally, I just always thought it was the family’s complete incompetence and a lack of care about Kevin that led to it, but the two posts have pointed out two moments that contributed to him being left behind.
The first explains what happened to Kevin’s plane ticket in the film.
The post was titled: “Ever wonder what happened to Kevin’s plane ticket in Home Alone?” and the video shows how, after the fight in which Kevin and Buzz knock over drinks over passports, Kevin’s dad Peter picks up all the paper towels that have been soaked and throws them in the bin. Take a look:
Yes, in the process, Peter picks up a plane ticket labelled ‘Kevin’ and throws it in the bin.
The blink and you’ll miss it moment shows why, when looking through all the tickets for a final check as they leave for the airport, they don’t notice they don’t have Kevins.
Secondly, another post says: “In Home Alone (1990) when they counted the people for the trip they say there’s 17 people in total. An odd number between two vans means they will be split 8/9.
“Since Kevin was missing both vans had 8 people instead, making each group assume they were on the 8-people van, not suspecting a thing.”
Fans were shocked at the realisation which seems to have unlocked one of the film’s core questions decades.
The kids in Home Alone being counted (20th Century Studios)
One comment on the first post pointed out another detail that contributes, saying: “This along with the power going out which explains why their alarms didn’t go off are nice, small details I never noticed until some 20 years later.”
A comment on the second read: “This is a fun detail just because the writer (John Hughes) was extremely worried about having a bulletproof plot to answer ALL questions of but how did they forget Kevin? with reasonable explanations.
Just fun that he covered tracks I haven’t even picked up on”.
And another said: “I like that people are arguing over this. The point was that the mistake was believable. The other details don’t change this fact.”Featured Image Credit: 20th Century Studios
Topics: Home Alone, Macaulay Culkin, Film, TV and Film
Michael Slavin
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Published 15:52 19 Dec 2024 GMT
Resurfaced interview with new Superman actor four years before he was cast shows why he is ‘perfect’ for the role
Fans got their first look at David Corenswet in the role as the first Superman: Legacy trailer dropped
A resurfaced interview with David Corenswet, the new actor playing Superman, has fans saying he is ‘perfect’ for the role.
The first trailer for the new Superman film dropped today, featuring the first big screen Clark Kent since Henry Cavill hung up the cape.
Corenswet’s Superman is joined by a massive cast of characters in the trailer, with Nathan Fillion’s Green Lantern, Rachel Brosnahan’s Lois Lane, and Nicholas Hoult’s Lex Luthor all appearing.
The actor without a doubt looks the part as the Man of Steel, but fans have found an interview from four years before he even got the role which they say shows he is ‘perfect’.
Reading the interview, it’s hard to disagree.
In 2019 Corenswet was speaking about the character of Superman with EW, in which he said: “Superman is an amazing character, a classic American character.
“He’s been done right and he’s been done wrong. It’s time for another right one.
“The cool thing about Superman is the thing that everybody says is the problem with the character, which is that he’s invincible.
“That’s the most interesting thing about him. What a difficult position for a person to be in.
David Corenswet as Superman (Warner Brothers)
“There’s so much to be mined there, and deal with the drama that’s inherent in somebody who doesn’t have any problems and can’t die.”
He went on to say regarding his philosophy for the character: “It should start with Lois Lane, and then Superman can just come in as the love interest.”
The actor, who was previously best known for roles in Twisters, Pearl, and The Politician, also clearly has powers of manifestation.
In the interview he was asked about his uncanny likeness to Henry Cavill, to which he said: “I am officially not taking a position. I think that’s the way to go. But it has come to my attention.
“It actually came to my attention before the internet got a hold of me, and my sort of pie-in-the-sky ambition is definitely to play Superman.”
Four years on from the interview, in 2023, he was announced to be playing Clark Kent in Superman: Legacy, a year on from that we now have the first trailer for the film, and next year he officially hits our screens as the Man of Steel.
Clark Kent in Superman: Legacy (Warner Brothers)
Posting the interview to Reddit, one fan said: “It’s like he was bred specifically for the role. Born in Pennsylvania. 6 ft 4′. A jawline that cuts steel. And a surname I’ve heard too many people pronounce as ‘Corn-sweat’, evoking the corn grown in the farms of Smallville and classic Americana.”
Another said: “Yes! This is the aspect of Superman I’ve always loved. Imagine knowing that everything you do, if you fail, there is no one else who can do it.”
Another posted a clip of him acting in The Politician and said: “David Corenswet is perfect Superman casting.”
Superman: Legacy releases 11 July 2025.Featured Image Credit: Jemal Countess via Getty Images / Warner Brothers
Topics: Superman, Henry Cavill, DC Comics, TV and Film, Film
Michael Slavin
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Updated 17:20 24 Dec 2023 GMTPublished 17:17 24 Dec 2023 GMT
Home Alone fans spot small plot detail that explains why Kevin was left behind
Eagle eyed viewers have spotted a blink and you’ll miss it moment that helps explain how the eight-year-old’s family forgot about him
We’re all well versed with the plot of Home Alone by now and the film title is pretty self explanatory too.
Macaulay Culkin shot to fame after playing mischievous eight-year-old Kevin McCallister in the 1990 festive film, who ends up getting left behind while his family head on a trip to France without him.
We’ve all wondered how his parents Kate and Peter McCallister (Catherine O’Hara and John Heard) somehow managed to forget about their youngest son and only realised when they’re thousands of feet in the air en route to Europe.
On top of being left to fend for himself, poor Kevin had the added responsibility of defending the family home from two bumbling burglars, Harold ‘Harry’ Lyme (Joe Pesci) and Marvin ‘Marv’ Merchants (Daniel Stern).
Childline would have had a field day with this brood.
Many theories about the blonde-haired kid’s abandonment have floated about over the years, but there is one particular hypothesis that seems to add up – especially as there is hard evidence to back it up in the actual film.
Diehard Home Alone fans will remember what happened the night before the McCallister’s are off to the airport, but if you need a reminder, the full family are sitting down to eat pizza and Kevin’s order of plain cheese is no where to be seen.
That’s because his brutish brother Buzz has already scoffed the lot – even though he is well aware his younger sibling doesn’t enjoy the same toppings as his relatives; sausage, olives and onions to be specific.
Kevin is obviously pretty gutted he hasn’t got any tea and Buzz is on the wind up, telling him if he still wants to eat the cheese pizza ‘someone will have to barf it all up’. Lovely.
20th Century Fox
The eight-year-old sees red and charges at the scran stealer, sending him flying backwards into several cups of milk which spill all over the family’s passports and plane tickets.
His dad Peter sees the soggy consequences of the scuffle and bounces up to try and save their soaked travel documents – before dozens of hands join in the mopping up process.
The camera keeps its focus on the McCallister family patriarch though throughout the scene and hones in on what else he has got scrunched up in one of the napkins that he used to clear up the milk mess.
20th Century Fox
It’s a blink and you’ll miss it moment, but some eagle eyed viewers spotted that Peter accidentally tossed one of the American Airline’s pamphlets into the trash too – which has Kevin’s name written on the top.
The young protagonist is then banished to the attic for the night and he storms upstairs, wishing that he never sees any of his family members again – which obviously then sort of comes true.
The next day, while the rest of the McCallister’s are piling in the minibus and heading off to the airport, a small kid from the neighbourhood is having a whale of a time rifling through their luggage and is accidentally included in the head count.
20th Century Fox
These two major errors – the binned plane ticket and the botched roll call – help to explain how the family managed to board a plane and fly thousands of miles before realising that the little fella had been left behind.
Social media users have shared their theory online after spotting the tiny detail in the plot and people agreed it was a plausible explanation.
One said: “I have seen Home Alone probably 1 billion times, but was today years old when I realised they threw out Kevin’s plane ticket during the pizza debacle and that’s why no one figured out he was gone earlier at, like, the airport.”
Another wrote: “Watching Home Alone for the 50th time and I’ve never noticed that in the starting scene when there is a fight in the kitchen, Kevin’s ticket is put in the bin. Who knew?”
Still, at least he made the best of a bad situation by torturing a couple of clumsy burglars.Featured Image Credit: 20th Century Fox
Topics: TV and Film, Christmas, Home Alone, Macaulay Culkin
Olivia Burke
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Published 14:51 10 Apr 2024 GMT+1
Child actor from original Charlie and the Chocolate Factory film never acted again and had very different life
Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory actor Peter Ostrum went into a completely different industry after the film came out
The actor who played Charlie Bucket in the 1971 film Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory ended up going down a completely different path after the iconic flick hit screens.
Peter Ostrum put in a great performance after getting the part of little Charlie in the film, which enjoyed great success in the years following its release.
Gene Wilder’s portrayal of Willy Wonka has gone down as one of the most unforgettable and memorable performances of its time, with several scenes leaving people terrified, and others leaving audiences busting a gut.
Despite failing to be a financial success, the movie enjoyed critical success as Ostrum became a star in Hollywood off the back of it.
Ostrum, then 13 years old, played Charlie, a poor boy who lives in a small house with his parents and four grandparents, who share a bed. But his life changes forever when he finds a golden ticket to Wonka’s magical and mysterious chocolate factory.
Ostrum and Wilder were praised for their performances in the film. (Paramount)
It is based on the popular Roald Dahl book Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, with the film featuring a cast of numerous other children, such as Julie Dawn Cole as Veruca Salt, Denise Nickerson as Violet Beauregarde, Paris Themmen as Mike Teevee, and Michael Böllner as Augustus Gloop.
While the young cast went on to have massively differing careers following the film, Ostrum never acted again, instead choosing to pursue a completely different career.
He never continued to act after the flick came out. (Warner Bros.)
In 2021, Ostrum and the cast reunited for an interview commemorating the 50th anniversary of the film, and the now 66-year-old explained why he decided not to pursue the bright lights of Hollywood.
He said: “Well, I guess I did have the option of a three-picture deal, but I had no idea.
“They had no idea of what those pictures were going to be.
“And I just didn’t — maybe because I’m obsessive compulsive a little bit, I didn’t like giving up that freedom of signing on the dotted line, not knowing what I was going to be asked to do.
“And I … you know, I liked working on the film.
“But I wasn’t completely sold that I was to be an actor the rest of my life.
“But this is — I mean, it’s still fun to be contributing to a film that people, 50 years later, are watching.
Peter Ostrum went on to become a successful veterinarian. (Shirlaine Forrest/Getty Images)
“I mean, who would have known?
“Who would have thought that that would have taken place?
“So, my point is, if you can only make one film — this was the film to make.”
In the end, Ostrum went on to become a veterinarian.
After he returned from the film, his family bought a house, which made the young Ostrum think about a career as a vet.
Before he went to college, he took some time out to see what he wanted to do, before embarking on a successful career in the field.
He described acting as a ‘difficult profession’. (Steve Granitz/WireImage)
In fact, he spoke to the Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association in 2000 about his career decision, saying that acting was a ‘difficult profession’ despite people thinking it was ‘glamourous’.
The former actor became a doctor of veterinary medicine in 1984 after studying at Cornell University, later working as a vet at New York’s Countryside Veterinary Clinic before retiring.
Lately, he’s been working in Lowville, New York, dealing mainly with horses and cows.
It’s a long way from Tinseltown, but still a great career.Featured Image Credit: Paramount/Shirlaine Forrest/Getty Images