In a rare interview, this time with New York Magazine, the Home Alone icon says he now spends most of his time painting, writing and “whatevering”.
“I’m a man in his mid-30s who’s essentially retired,” says Macaulay, 35, who also plays part-time in comedy rock band Pizza Underground.
“I kind of go where the wind takes me a little bit.”
Though he tries to avoid attracting attention, the Home Alone star still gets recognised for the 1990 box office hit when he walks the streets of New York, saying, “even if I don’t get bugged, it’s looming, it’s there”.
The actor notes that to avoid being recognised, he likes to go out in the middle of the night, when there are less people outside.
“I’ll take walks at 2 or 4 in the morning, because there’s nobody out on the streets and it’s easy for me to go unnoticed.”
Macauley explains that he now splits his time between New York and Paris, noting that he particularly enjoys his time in France because no one is ever starstruck when they see him.
At first he thought that this was because no one knew who he was.
“It turned out that no, they recognised me, they just didn’t care. “I was like, ‘Where have you people been my entire life?'”
Even even though the former childhood star is usually able to get away from his famous past in France, Macaulay did share a funny story about a Parisian cafe that was using his name as its Wi-Fi password.
When he walked into the cafe, a woman handed him a Home Alone–era photo of himself on a card.
“A waitress just gave it to me and walked away — their Wi-Fi code was ‘Macaulay Culkin,'” the reclusive star says.
“When she came back, I said, ‘I like your Wi-Fi code’. She goes, ‘Thank you,’ and I say, ‘C’est moi.’ She turned white and brought over the owner of the place, who said, ‘I knew you’d come here someday’.”
To watch the viral online clip of Macaulay’s last acting role, click here.
