Kieran Culkin says he felt bad for his older brother Macaulay amid his massive, post-'Home Alone' fame, even as a kid: 'That sucks for him'

• Kieran Culkin recalled feeling bad for his brother Macaulay amid his post-"Home Alone" fame.
• Culkin currently stars on HBO's "Succession," now in its fourth season, as Roman Roy.

Kieran Culkin recalled feeling bad for his older brother, Macaulay Culkin, after his sibling became famous at age 10 following his starring role in "Home Alone."

Kieran, who currently stars in HBO's "Succession" as Roman Roy, spoke with Esquire about the effects of his brother's fame not only on Macaulay himself, but the whole family.

"Poor fucking guy," Kieran said of his brother. "He was little and having to try to accept that level of fame as a reality."

"Even at that time, as a kid, I remember thinking, 'That sucks for him,'" Kieran continued.

Macaulay played Kevin, a child accidentally left behind on a family vacation who is forced to defend his home from robbers, in "Home Alone," which was released in 1990 when the actor was ten years old. Kieran, too, briefly appeared in the film as Kevin's younger cousin, Fuller.

"Home Alone" turned Macaulay into a star, and as Esquire reported, it turned the family into a paparazzi spectacle, especially during their parents' split in 1995. Kieran, then 13, wrote a plea to the court asking for it to prevent media from covering the ensuing custody fight, but it was denied. Culkin said he now refuses to speak with Access Hollywood, given prior coverage of his family, and the New York Post.

Macaulay previously recalled his experience with post-"Home Alone" fame in a 2020 interview with Esquire, saying that he enjoyed acting because "I was good at it and I knew it." Eventually, during his parents' split and the custody fight, he removed his parents from his trust fund when he was 15 years old.

"Look, I mean, it sucks," he told Esquire. "But: It coulda been worse, you know? I wasn't working in a coal mine. I wasn't a child soldier. My father was not sexually abusing me. Certain fucked-up things happened, but fucked-up things happen to kids all the time and they don't come out the other end. I've got something to show for it, man."