Home Alone is a go-to family Christmas film, on the traditional rotation of holiday viewing every year for households across the world – and understandably so. There’s something special in its surrealism-meets-relatability that brings viewers of all ages together to enjoy a mix of “grown-up” jokes and silly slapstick. However, not all of the movie’s cast have had the same lasting effect.
With the movie’s 25th anniversary this winter, Screen Rant is taking a look at the cast of Home Alone and what they’ve been doing since the much-loved movie hit theatres in 1990.
12. John Heard (Peter McCallister)
Protective dad Peter McCallister was a typical American father – with a lot of love for his kids and a slight obliviousness to everything else.
Though he may still be best known for his role as Kevin’s dad in Home Alone, John Heard has seen success in various roles over the past 25 years. He has been credited in at least one movie almost every year since 1987, including a leading role in the spoof monster movie Sharknado in 2013.
He’s also had recurring roles on shows such as Entourage, NCIS and Jack & Bobby – as well as cameos on shows such as Modern Family. He may have kept quiet over the years, but he’s also certainly kept himself busy! He is currently working on seven (!) projects for release next year.
11. Catherine O’Hara (Kate McCallister)
Kate McCallister is the driving force behind the storyline parallel to Kevin’s in Home Alone – she is the one who is determined to get back home from France at any cost to get to her son. As well as this, she delivers the delightfully quotable one-word-line that leaves viewers shrieking alongside her as she realizes what she’s left behind – “Kevin!”
Before Home Alone, Catherine O’Hara had already established herself in her career with roles in the likes of Beetlejuice – and shortly after she starred as Sally in The Nightmare Before Christmas.
O’Hara, too, has kept incredibly busy – if a little out of the spotlight – over the past 25 years, with roles in Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events and voice roles in a whole host of animated movies. She currently plays failed Soap Star Moira Rose on Eugene Levy’s TV series Schitt’s Creek – and you can also see her in a cameo role in the latest season of Modern Family.
And, of course, she reprised her Tim Burton love when she returned for Frankenweenie in 2012.
10. Kieran Culkin (Fuller McCallister)
“If he has something to drink, he’ll wet the bed” – many viewers were shocked in 2010 when Fuller McCallister, the little soda guzzling kid that Kevin had to share the hide-a-bed with, popped up in Scott Pilgrim vs. The World. A collective “Don’t I know him from somewhere?” rippled through IMDb before we realized that Scott Pilgrim’s best friend and roommate, Wallace Wells, was in fact the Home Alone star - and Macaulay’s younger brother in real life.
What’s more, he rocked it – he made an excellent Wallace, and it was a promising year for Culkin. However, fate turned out not to be on his side, and he’s struggled with roles since. Apart from a two-episode stint in Fargo, the 33-year-old hasn’t done much of note since Scott Pilgrim.
9. Larry Hankin (Officer Balzak)
During Kate McCallister’s panic she does what any mother would do – she calls the police. However, Officer Balzak seems unprepared for such an event, reeling off handbook style questions before palming the call off to a colleague.
You might not know his name, but chances are you have seen Larry Hankin more times than you know. As well as playing Officer Balzak in Home Alone, you might recognize him as Mr. Heckles, the noisy downstairs neighbour from Friends. He’s also starred in Pretty Woman, Billy Madison, Escape from Alcatraz, My Name is Earl, Malcolm in the Middle… to name just a small few roles from incredibly long resume. A prolific supporting actor and bit player, he is known for his excellent dead pan delivery. He also starred in the pilot of Seinfeld – and whilst he originally was the first choice to play Cosmo Kramer, Michael Richards was ultimately cast.
These days, not much has changed for Hankin – he’s still doing TV cameos, with Breaking Bad being his most popular appearance of recent years. At the age of 75, he’s showing no signs of slowing down any time soon.
8. Daniel Stern (Marv)
Bumbling crook, Marv, is the taller of the two burglars, blessed with a large sense of humor, zero wit, and a skull that is impressively thick enough to survive being hit in the head with both a paint can and an iron.
Daniel Stern had already achieved success before the release of Home Alone, and starred in films such as Breaking Away, It’s My Turn and City Slickers. He continued his acting career for some years after playing half of the hapless duo, “The Wet Bandits”, starring in Bushwhacked and narrating TV show The Wonder Years.
In recent years, Stern has guest starred on a number of TV series, including Monk, Workaholics, and Getting On, but his most recent role is as scientist Glen Babbitt in WGN’s Manhattan.
7. Gerry Bamman (Frank McCallister)
Frank McCallister is one of the members of Kevin’s family who spurs him into wishing they would disappear – clearly not a fan of children; he is mean and bitter to Kevin.
As well as looking remarkably similar to Jeff Dunham’s puppet, Walter, Gerry Bamman is still best known for his role of Uncle Frank in Home Alone. Whilst he still does show up in the occasional TV series, playing odd bit parts here and there, his fame has dwindled since the 90s, when he starred in Hollywood blockbusters Lorenzo’s Oil and The Bodyguard. Much like Heard and O’Hara, the 74-year-old seems quite happy to stay out of limelight and in the cameo business – and probably more often than not is asked to scold people with a bitter “look what you did, you little jerk.”
Most recently, he starred as Charles in Fox’s The Following alongside Kevin Bacon and Jessica Stroup.
6. Devin Ratray (Buzz McCallister)
Kevin’s bullying big brother, Buzz, is still the role that Devin Ratray is best known for. However, he hasn’t fallen off the radar completely. He stuck around in the industry after Home Alone 2 and, as well as regularly appearing as an improv star on MTV’s Damage Control, he also landed a role on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.
More recently his career has started to pick up slightly, with a handful of movie roles in 2013 (including Nebraska and Blue Ruin). However, he can most commonly be seen performing with his band, Little Bill and the Beckleys, playing guitar and singing.
5. Angela Goethals (Linnie McCallister)
Since her days of learning French and calling Kevin “les incompetent” at the tender age of 13, Angela Goethals has been quite prolific on TV, Film and Stage. While she’s never made it big, her recurring role in 24 and frequent lead roles on (and off) Broadway have kept her reasonably busy over the years.
She also starred as documentary maker and journalist, Taylor Gentry, in the remarkably underrated 2006 movie, Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon – in which she documents the life of serial killer Leslie Vernon, in a world where slasher movies are real.
More recently, she’s been focussing on theater, raising her family, and bizarrely, consulting for a dermatology agency promoting skin care products.
4. Michael C. Maronna – Jeff McCallister
Whilst Michael C. Maronna’s acting career petered out pretty early on, after minor successes with Home Alone and The Adventures of Pete & Pete, he didn’t leave the movie life. He just took a different path.
He may no longer star in movies – but these days he works behind the scenes, in the electrical department on the sets of big productions such as Nurse Jackie, Elementary, Men in Black 3, and many more.
He’s currently living in Brooklyn and working with Local 52 IATSE on films and TV in the New York area.
3. Joe Pesci (Harry)
Much like Daniel Stern, Joe Pesci was by no means a newcomer to Hollywood when Home Alone was released in 1990; in fact in 1980, he picked up a BAFTA Award for Best Newcomer in Raging Bull. A decade later, he even won an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor in one of his many projects with Robert De Niro and Martin Scorsese, Goodfellas – and giving an impressively short Oscar speech (just five words, total!).
Since the turn of the century, however, he’s taken more of a back seat with his acting. While there were rumours in 2011 of a biopic about New York mafia boss John Gotti, Pesci has done little more than popping up for a TV cameo here and there, as well as lending his voice to various animated movies including Savva: Heart of the Warrior, although he did turn up in a movie once, as a Nevada brothel owner in Taylor Hackford’s 2010 film, Love Ranch.
2. Senta Moses – Tracy McCallister
Unlike many of the actors on this list, Senta Moses – now Senta Moses Mikan - is not most well-known for her role in Home Alone. Whilst it was certainly a catalyst in her career, she shot to fame after starring as Phoebe in the TV series Beakman’s World back in 1996. Since then, she’s had both recurring and lead roles in a number of series’, including General Hospital, Greek, Faking It and, currently, Bella and the Bulldogs as Mrs. Silverstein.
She has, of course, in keeping with true Home Alone cast tradition, had her fair share of cameos, too – including Castle, Bones and NCIS, to name a few!
1. Macaulay Culkin (Kevin McCallister)
Macaulay Culkin has grown infamous for his fall from grace as he matured from child star to troubled adult. Kevin McCallister was a cheeky-but-lovable character, with smarts and intuition, and it took a lot for Culkin to carry that role – and essentially, the movie – at just ten years old. However, it’s said he managed it with professionalism, and was carried in to fame before he even hit his teens.
While the ’90s saw him take on films such as Home Alone (plus its sequel, Lost In New York), The Good Son, My Girl and Richie Rich, the children’s roles eventually dried up and he dropped from household name to a memory. He later showed up in the news due to a drug problem, supposedly connected to the end of his eight year relationship with actress Mila Kunis.
Apart from being the subject of an online death hoax earlier this year, these days Culkin can be found performing with his band, The Pizza Underground – a pizza-themed Velvet Underground tribute act.
Honorable Mention: John Candy (Gus Polinski)
Any list about Home Alone would be incomplete without a nod to the irreplaceable John Candy. Notably the most famous of the cast, he was prolific in comedy television and film before he sadly passed away from a heart attack in 1994, just four short years after the film’s release.
Known for films such as Uncle Buck and Planes, Trains and Automobiles, John Candy’s portrayal of Gus Polinski, Polka King of the Midwest, was one of the funniest things in Home Alone. His warmth and kindness was what helped Kate McCallister get home to her son when he offered to give her a lift to Chicago with his band – despite the fact that she was a total stranger.
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Did we miss anyone? Let us know in the comments!