Macaulay Culkin may take acting breaks, but that doesn't mean he's content with staying home alone forever. The star of "Home Alone" set the record straight on the speculation surrounding his acting career, which began when he was just four years old. "Technically, I'm retired right now," Macaulay said on the December 29 episode of the "SmartLess" podcast. "I retire, and then if I find something I like, I 'unretire,' do that, and immediately retire again. Every gig is my last."
The 45-year-old actor, whose latest role is in the new season of "The Fallout," stepped away from the spotlight after the release of "Richie Rich" in 1994 when he was 14. At the time, he told hosts Jason Bateman, Will Arnett, and Sean Hayes that he had earned the "lion's share" of his income. "I quit for nearly a decade," he explained. "I went to high school, fell in love, got drunk for the first time—things like that."
"I was in a position where I could do anything I wanted," Macaulay continued. "I could put my thumb up my butt and play video games all day long. I wanted to spend time around people my own age."
"When I was younger, I never worked with people my own age," the "My Girl" star explained. "I was always working with adults. I had a yearning to go to school, to have contemporaries and things like that."
"I was done," he added of his mentality at that point in his life. "I was like, 'I hope you all made your money because there's no more coming from me.' I made my name. I made my mark. I made my fortune. The only reason why I even do it now is because I like to do it. Pay, pleasure, prestige—that's the only reason to do a gig."
While he eventually returned to acting, Macaulay said that he wanted to make sure it was something he actually wanted to do—not just something his parents chose for him when he was a child. "I was kind of just drifting around and tried to figure out what I wanted out of life," he shared. "This was a calling that found me. I didn’t find it. I wanted to explore that in a different way, on my terms."
