Macaulay Culkin considered buying ‘Home Alone’ house, making it fun house

Forget owning your childhood home — what about buying a piece of cinematic history? Or, in Macaulay Culkin‘s case, doing a little bit of both.

The former child star, who became an international sensation for his portrayal of Kevin McCallister in the Home Alone franchise, has revealed that he noticed when the iconic Winnetka, Ill., home where the film was shot went on the market back in May. In fact, he even considered buying it. But unlike a certain 8-year-old mastermind, he had no plans to set up elaborate booby traps at the expense of two screwup career criminals. 

“I had half a mind to buy it — just for giggles,” Culkin recently told a crowd at Illinois’ Rosemont Theater during a screening of the movie, reported The New York Times. He went on to say he wanted to turn his old fictional home into a “movie fun house” where people could sled down the stairs just like Kevin does in the movie. So why didn’t he?

“I got kids,” Culkin said simply, referencing the two sons he shares with actress Brenda Song. “I’m busy, man.”

The Chris Columbus–directed film was a blockbuster hit that grossed $476.7 million worldwide, becoming the second-highest-grossing film of 1990. Along with launching Culkin into stardom, it spawned five sequels, the latest being 2021’s Home Sweet Home Alone.  Just in time for the holidays, Culkin is honoring the movie’s legacy with his new multi-city tour, A Nostalgic Night With Macaulay Culkin. The event includes a screening of the film followed by a Q&A with Culkin. 

At the Rosemont show, Culkin went on to address his larger relationship with the Home Alone franchise, which at the time, he said, “was kind of a curse and a blessing.” But in recent years he’s seen his relationship to the films change, largely because of fatherhood.

“I look at the movie differently now because of that,” he said. “I watch it through a different lens — I watch it with them. And they have no idea who they’re sitting next to.”

Culkin previously revealed that his 3-year-old son, Dakota, even likes to pretend that he is the true star of the movie. “He thinks he’s Kevin,” Culkin told told E! News earlier this month. “I’m like, ‘Do you remember going down the stairs on the sled?’ He’s like, ‘Mmhmm, yep. Sure do.’ I’m like, ‘Do you remember when he had yellow hair?’ And he’s like, ‘Uh-huh, yep.'”

He even claimed that he was the one who “fought the burglars,” prompting Culkin to call him out. “‘You’re a lying liar who lies,'” he recalled joking with his son. “‘That was me!'”

The Winnetka home, listed for $5.25 million, was sold in June after spending a single week on the market. Though Culkin didn’t manage to snatch it up in time, he has undoubtedly made a huge mark on the property. Fans of the films still make pilgrimages to it to snap photos and leave mementos.

Want more movie news? Sign up for Entertainment Weekly‘s free newsletter to get the latest trailers, celebrity interviews, film reviews, and more.

Additionally, this past year marked the release of the documentary series The House From…, which provides an inside look at some of the most famous residences from film and television. In it, the Aberdshein family — who owned the house during the Home Alone shoot — revealed that Culkin cut down a real tree from their property for the movie.

“My parents were watching the movie during the premiere and there’s a scene where Kevin goes out into the backyard to cut himself a Christmas tree, so he cuts one in half,” said Lauren Aberdshein, whose parents once owned the home. “My parents are sitting there and thinking, ‘Wow, they did a really good job filming that scene. It looks very realistic.’ Well it wasn’t a fake tree.”

She explained that when her parents returned home and looked out back, they realized that the tree was missing. “So the tree you see in the movie that Kevin cuts down was our actual tree.”