Macaulay Culkin’s Emotional Reaction to Kieran Culkin’s Big Oscar Win for “A Real Pain”

Back in 1990, who could ever have predicted that it would be Kieran Culkin and not his older brother Macaulay of Home Alone fame who would one day go on to land an Oscar for his film work? But the world (not to mention Hollywood) works in pretty mysterious ways and, all these years later, it was indeed Kieran Culkin sprinting towards the stage of the Dolby Theatre this week to rightly receive an Academy Award for his efforts in Jesse Eisenberg’s A Real Pain. After a sweep of most of the major awards shows, the win for Best Supporting Actor by the younger Culkin felt almost perfunctory and a given; his work in that film was that solid and that good. But getting back momentarily to one of the biggest child actors to hit the silver screen since Shirley Temple bellowed On the Good Ship Lollipop to a smitten populace, what were Macaulay’s thoughts and feelings on his little brother’s official fête by the denizens of Hollywood? Was he happy? Envious? A little of both? Or none of the above?

Our The Good Son pals over at Variety haver shed some light on former child star (and still one hell of an actor in his own right) Macaulay Culkin’s immediate reactions to his younger brother Kieran walking off, Cool Hand Luke-style, with the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor for his electric turn in the 2024 film, A Real Pain.

While partying like it was 1999 at the Vanity Fair Oscars soirée, actor Macaulay Culkin admitted that tears were shed on his and his partner’s part when Kieran Culkin was announced as the winner of an honest-to-Pete Oscar.

When quizzed on whether he had attempted to endure the entirety of the Oscars telecast – Shudder! – Culkin admitted that he only had eyes for his brother’s category: “Just the Best Supporting Actor. That’s the only thing I watched. True story, true story…I cried. And I was like, ‘I’m gonna see you later.’”

Kieran Culkin had some staunch competition in his category for Best Supporting Actor, including Yura Borisov, Guy Pearce, and Edward Norton, all amazing actors in their own rights.

When quizzed on whether they had thought Culkin was going to win, Brenda Song, Macaulay’s fiancé said, “Of course. Let’s be real. We’re allowed to say that.”

Not missing a beat, Macaulay agreed with his better-half, saying “Yeah, absolutely. He was front row, aisle, closest to the stairs. There was no way he was not going to win.”

A Real Pain was one of the very best motion pictures to spring forth from 2024, and as fans of Kieran Culkin since Igby Goes Down, we couldn’t be happier for his well-deserved success!