So, it turns out that Macaulay isn’t really that alone after all
Macaulay Culkin is a normal, well-adjusted 23-year-old guy. Really.
“Contrary to popular belief, I’ve never been to rehab,” Culkin says. “What else haven’t I done? I’ve never been to jail, never been arrested. All the child-star cliches. I’ve actually tried very hard to avoid them all.”
It’s a remarkable feat for one of the richest, most famous child stars in Hollywood history, who endured a nasty custody battle between his parents, quit acting at 14, got married at 17, divorced at 19 — and struck up a friendship with Michael Jackson along the way.
Culkin is easing back into the public eye with a supporting role as a cynical, paraplegic student at a Christian high school in “Saved,” a caustic but warmhearted comedy about faith and intolerance. (The film hasn’t yet opened in Spokane.)
He actually went to high school during his much-dissected hiatus from acting. Along with his “Saved!” co-star, Jena Malone, Culkin attended the Professional Children’s School in New York. It was a valuable experience, allowing him to keep a low profile after five years of stratospheric fame sparked by hit movies like “Home Alone.”
“I just felt like a human being,” he says. “How else are you going to act like a human being if you’ve never had a chance to be one?”
Culkin quit acting after a string of bombs, all released in 1994: “Getting Even with Dad,” “The Pagemaster” and “Richie Rich.”
“When I stopped, I wasn’t going to do it again,” he says. “It wasn’t fun anymore, and it hadn’t been in a while, and I’d been saying for a good year or so that I wanted to stop, and it just seemed like no one was listening.”
But in 2001, his retirement ended when he made his London stage debut in “Madame Melville,” about a teenager seduced by his French teacher. He then starred as the murderous, drugged-out “club kid” Michael Alig in last year’s “Party Monster.”
He also guest-starred on an episode of “Will & Grace,” which led to a development deal at NBC. A sitcom pilot was shot this spring, but the network hasn’t picked it up yet.
Malone, who made her film debut at age 10 in “Bastard out of Carolina,” like Culkin had a fractious relationship with a parent. She legally emancipated herself from her mother in 2000 and has since worked in movies as varied as “Stepmom,” “The Dangerous Lives of Altar Boys,” “Cold Mountain” and the cult phenomenon “Donnie Darko.”
Malone says she had “an instant understanding” with Culkin. “It’s always nice when you meet someone else and you’re like, ‘Wow, I’m normal,’ ” she says.
Both demur, however, when asked if they have any advice for current or future child stars.
“It really bugged me when I was younger that all these people were always giving me advice, like I’d be watching something and Gary Coleman would be giving me advice,” Culkin says.
“I’d be like, ‘What are you talking about? I’m eating Cocoa Pebbles. Besides my trouble with geometry, I’m not really having any other problems.’ ”
The birthday bunch
Singer Tom Jones is 64. Actor Ken Osmond (Eddie Haskell, “Leave It to Beaver”) is 61. Talk-show host Jenny Jones is 58. Actor Liam Neeson is 52. Actor William Forsythe is 49. Record producer L.A. Reid is 48. Musician Prince is 46. Singer-guitarist Gordon Gano (Violent Femmes) is 41. Guitarist Dave Navarro (Jane’s Addiction) is 37. Actress Larisa Oleynik (“3rd Rock From the Sun,” “Boy Meets World”) is 23.