Macaulay Culkin opened up about his relationship with his Uncle Buck co-star John Candy in Colin Hanks’ new documentary John Candy: I Like Me, thanking the late actor for helping him deal with his “monster father,” Kit Culkin.
In the docu-film, the Home Alone star revealed that his bond with the comedy legend extended beyond the screen, as Candy gave him the fatherly warmth he never received from his own dad.
“I think he always had that really great instinct. I think he saw,” he said of Candy. “I think John was looking a little side-eyed, like, 'Is everything alright over there? You doing good? Good day? Everything's alright? Everything good at home? Alright.'”
Macaulay has long been candid about his strained relationship with his estranged father and has even made scathing remarks about the former stage actor. So, who exactly is Kit and what was his relationship with his son like? Read on to find out.
Who is Kit Culkin?
Born in 1944, Kit Culkin was an actor himself. He appeared in the Broadway play Becket in 1961 and the Broadway production of Hamlet with Richard Burton in 1964.
He also had a small role as a dancer in the original 1961 West Side Story film.
In 1974, Kit met Patricia Brentrup in Sundance, Wyoming, when she stopped his truck while directing traffic at a construction site.
“It was just instant,” she told The New York Times in 1991 (via People).
The two began dating soon after and eventually moved to New York City, where they built their family. They welcomed Macaulay in 1980 and Kieran in 1982, along with five other children.
Despite being together for decades, the couple never married. Brentrup explained that they “never found the need to formalize” their cohabitation.
However, their relationship ended in 1995, with Brentrup seeking custody of their six children and the right to manage their careers. Kit did not contest custody.
When the custody dispute concluded in 1997, Kit became estranged from his family. In 2014, TMZ reported that he had suffered a massive stroke, which left him with severe motor impairment.
By 2021, Kit managed to watch Kieran perform in a play. In 2025, reports surfaced that he had suffered a second stroke and has since been living a reclusive life in Grants Pass, Oregon.
How Is Macaulay Culkin’s Relationship with His Father?
Macaulay came from a poor family, which made his early success as a child actor even more significant. Thanks to his breakout roles in the classic Christmas films Home Alone and Home Alone 2: Lost in New York, as well as the comedy Richie Rich, he became the family’s breadwinner.
As his parents managed not only his career but also those of his brothers, Kieran and Rory Culkin, Macaulay’s rising fame and finances soon created strife within the family.
Given his strained relationship with his father, Kit , Macaulay has openly admitted he has nothing good to say about him.
“One of my earliest memories of him [is thinking], ‘When I grow up, this is how I’m not gonna be with my kids,’” he shared on Kate and Oliver Hudson’s Sibling Revelry podcast. “Now that I have kids of my own, it’s like … it kicks up some dust.”
Macaulay has been in a long-term relationship with actress Brenda Song, and together they share two sons: Dakota, 3, and Carson, 2.
“I kinda go, I can’t believe he was like that. He had all these lovely kids. It’s crazy,” he continued.
The actor also revealed that he hasn’t spoken to his father in about 30 years.
“Oh, he deserves it too. He’s a man who, he had seven kids, and now he has four grandkids,” Macaulay added. “And none of them want anything to do with him.”
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