It appears that Macaulay Culkin has a lasting reminder from his time on the set of Home Alone, as he claims to have a scar from an incident involving his co-star, Joe Pesci.
It’s been over thirty years since young Kevin McCallister (played by Macaulay Culkin) ingeniously protected his Chicago home with various traps to thwart the Wet Bandits, portrayed by Joe Pesci and Daniel Stern, after accidentally being left behind when his family went on a holiday trip to Paris.
Kevin certainly subjected the burglars to numerous ordeals.
From icy slips to being hit by paint cans and even suffering electrocution, Kevin showed no mercy to his foes.
While many of these stunts were cleverly crafted through cinematic tricks and stunt performers, some resulted in genuine injuries. Pesci disclosed in 2022 that he sustained ‘serious burns’ during a stunt he performed himself.
However, Pesci wasn’t the only one to experience an on-set injury.
The New York Times reported that during a recent Q&A session, Culkin shared that he, too, was injured during a rehearsal with Pesci.
Culkin is currently touring across the United States with his event, A Nostalgic Night With Macaulay Culkin, where he screens Home Alone and engages in a Q&A with fans of the film.
During a session at the Rosemont Theatre, Culkin recounted working with his co-stars Pesci and Catherine O’Hara, who played his on-screen mother.
He expressed admiration for his colleagues, including the scriptwriter John Hughes, John Candy, who was the polka musician aiding Kevin’s mother, and O’Hara, who he affectionately still calls ‘Mom’. Culkin said: “She opens her arms – she goes, ‘son’.”
He also mentioned that during a rehearsal with Pesci, things got a bit intense when Pesci was supposed to menacingly threaten Kevin.
According to Culkin, “He was trying to scare me. He was like, ‘I want to be menacing to this kid’.”
The scene required Pesci’s character Harry to threaten to bite Kevin’s fingers, but Pesci accidentally bit Culkin’s hand, leading Culkin to note: “I have a scar”.
Despite the mishap, Culkin recalled not reacting much at the moment, but he vividly remembers Pesci’s alarmed expression, realizing he had bitten a child.
Culkin added: “I saw his face – and I’ve never ever seen Joe Pesci actually scared. Because he’s like, ‘I just bit a kid!'”