Brothers Macaulay & Kieran Culkin on 'Ellen'

Well, they didn't. You get to do this every day? It was a surprise. They didn't know you were here, so they're thrilled. Lamentations of the Women. Thank you. I am so happy to meet you. And I know you don't do this a lot. So people, there's like a mystery around you. You're not, you don't do these things a lot. Yeah, yeah. I'm kind of like a groundhog. I only come out like once a year. Instead of seeing my shadow, I see you. Oh, well, that's, I'm so flattered that you came out to see me. Thank you. That's great. So do people, because you do really look exactly alike. You look like you're still like four years old. Yeah, how can a person look too much like himself? It's a curse and a blessing. We got the same face. Is it? I mean, do people, so people recognize, like always recognize you. Yeah, again, it's kind of a curse and a blessing. Right. You know, I can get to any restaurant I want without a reservation. But while I'm there, everyone's staring at me. Right. And all going, aw. Yeah, like that. Because you do, you seem still like very young. Do you, when you think of all those movies, when you think of Home Alone, I mean, do you remember all of it? Or is it just has been shown so much that you think you remember it? I mean, yes and no. I don't really watch them all that often. We did like a 15-year anniversary DVD commentary. And I realized I hadn't seen it in like 15 years. Whereas Chris Columbus, he'd watch it the night before, like a responsible human being. Yeah, no, it's kind of just kind of background radiation at Christmastime kind of thing. And I've had people who want to sit down and watch it with me, which is like both flattering and creepy. Yes, yes. And like, yeah, I mean, when I'm watching it, I'm seeing like I'm remembering that day on set. You know, like, oh, how I was hiding my Pepsi behind the couch or something like that. So you do remember it. I can't watch it the same way other people do. Yeah, I was going to say, so when it comes on, which it comes on, I'm sure, every Christmas, every Thanksgiving, you don't watch it. No, not really. And you don't go out of the house during that time. I definitely don't. It's my season. Look, yeah, yeah. It's Macaulay season. Yes, it's Macaulay. Yeah, I tell you, it's Macaulay season. So yeah, I try to go out less and less around that time of year. And I would imagine, and this would, if I were you, it would drive me insane, do people come up to you and want you to put your hands on your face? Yes. Oh my god, what do you say to them? Just like, no. Yeah, right. I've already been there, done that already, guys. Yeah, I'm 37 now, OK? Hey, mom. I just think, I'm sure that people want you to do that, and they don't understand that everybody would want you to do that. And I also learned that, and I don't know why I didn't remember this, but you studied ballet. You were a dancer. Yeah. I was almost a ballet dancer first for a while there. I'd go off and do Uncle Buck, and then I'd turn around and go back home to do the Nutcracker at Lincoln Center. So I did that for a number of years. I was a professional ballet dancer. Oh, there I am. Yeah, look at that. That's amazing. That's very impressive. And then, do you still dance? Do you still like to dance? I mean, I don't dance like that anymore. The outfits don't fit anymore. But yeah, I mean, I like to dance. I like to dance with my lady or whatever, like that kind of stuff. But I definitely don't do ballet anymore. You don't study dance or anything? No, no, no. My feet and my hips appreciate it. So you had six brothers and sisters, right? Yeah, I'm third of seven. Seven. Yeah, my mom didn't have a family. She had a litter. Yes. Just oodles of Kalkins. And was that, I mean, what is the memory of that, too? Because that was like, there was a lot of you in one room. Yeah, we grew up in a one-bedroom apartment in Manhattan. Yeah. So it was like, yeah, pretty much nine people, seven kids and two parents. We lived on top of each other. They were literally stacking us. They were like stacking bunk beds. It was like sardines. But yeah, it was a good time. We were a close-knit family because of that. There's just no such thing as privacy. And then you start working. And you were just huge at such a young age for so long. And then you kind of stopped when you were, what, 14? Yeah, about 13, 14. It took about a decade off. Yeah. And so you stopped because you were just tired of it? Or do you think you took it for granted because it was so easy? Yeah, I was tired of it, to be honest. I did like 14 movies in six years or something like that. It's a lot. I was away from home a lot. I was away from school. I was just, I needed something else. I needed to grow and develop as a person. I was looking forward to high school. I was actually looking forward to going to school. And did you go to high school? Yes, I did. You did. I lived the dream. Was it everything that you wanted it to be? Or was it like, oh, this isn't so great? No, no, it was great to be around people my own age for once. Because a lot of times, I'm working with adults the whole time. Right, but was it hard for you to be Macaulay Culkin in high school? Did people treat you differently? I mean, yeah. I mean, I'm always treated differently, whether I like it or not. But at the same time, that's the kind of stuff that you have to figure out, especially if you're coming into your own. Those are some really formative years. But yeah, it was the smartest thing I possibly could have done, taking eight years off or whatever. Man, I can't imagine. All right, I have so many questions for you, and hopefully you have answers. We're going to take a break, and we'll talk more with Macaulay after this. We're back with Macaulay Culkin. And so I have questions about, because I think anybody who starts so young in this business, a lot of it really can screw you up in many ways. Also, you don't ever see your money again, because you start working, and you don't really know how much you're making, because your parents have control of it. Yeah, you're just a kid. Right, so you don't know. So when you stopped working at 14, when did you realize then you don't have to work again? At what age did you see your money? I didn't see it until I turned 18. I call it the slip of paper meeting, where they pretty much put a number on a piece of paper and slide it across the table. And then, boom, there you go. So I felt like some kid worked really, really hard, and I inherited all of his money, pretty much. I had no real sense, but at the same time, it allows me to treat everything like a hobby, really. I do nothing for my dinner nowadays. So I can do all kinds of projects that I want to do, whether it's writing or painting or a new website, whatever it is. Right, so you worked all that time, and you act like that you weren't the one who worked that, but you're the one who worked that hard. There was a weird disconnect, you know, yeah, yeah. So you have this podcast that you're doing. Yes, Bunny Ears. Bunny Ears, what is Bunny Ears, and what do you explain that? Gosh, I mean, it is me and my buddy, Matt Cohen, and we kind of just talk about things and stuff and stuff. And we do, sometimes we have guests. We do a lot of themes, like it'll just be, it'll be a theme about firsts, like just firsts, like any things, or conspiracy theories, or sometimes we just shoot the breeze. We've had some really great guests. We've had Seth Green and Breckin Meyer were on together, which was great. That's great. All right, so you have so many great experiences. I have these images that I'd like you to look at, and just first thought that crosses your mind. Okay. My Girl, which is 1991. That's me. All right, what's your thought there? Oh, it was like stupid girl. You're gonna kiss a girl? Really? A little bit, yeah. I mean, we got along very well, but at the same time, it was also like, this is so embarrassing, you know, but you gotta do what you gotta do. Now you have your hobbies because of her. Yes, yes, yes. Thank you, yeah. I agree. All right, and next picture? Oh, yeah. That's, yeah, me doing SNL. She's doing, yeah, this is Simon. And you remember that? Heck yeah, I do. Wow. Yeah, I remember because I did the whole episode without cue cards. Wow. My father was quite insistent about that, so I had to memorize the whole episode. Everyone uses cue cards on Saturday Night Live. Yeah, but, you know, not the nine-year-old, I guess. Yeah, well. Sure, sure. All right, the next one. Oh, God, that is the most 90s photo I've ever seen. It's me and Doogie, and Urkel, and the Fresh Prince. Yeah. Yeah, yeah, you can tell by my reaction. I'm just like, yeah, this is so 90s. Yes. Yeah, I'm probably wearing Reebok pumps or something. All right, the next one. Oh, there we go, look at that. Wow. Look at that gold. Look at me shine. Yeah, I forgot you were in that video. Yeah, me too. Totally forgot. And then, next one. Yeah, I'm pretty. Yeah, that's Party Monster. Yeah, Party Monster. Look at that. So, you're the ones who saw it. Yeah. And then, one. I love the outfits, I love the changeovers. Those are great. All right, one more. Cool. Yeah, woo-hoo. That's what I was doing in my band, the Pizza Underground. We took Velvet Underground songs and reworded them to be about pizza. Take a bite of the wild slice. Waiting for the delivery man. Fantastic. One more? Oh, there's one more. Ooh, we got another one. There you go. They taped the pages closed. Oh, no. Darn it. That's not nice. It's not nice. I was, you know, it was exciting though. Still had one in my hands. All right, well, I'm so happy that you came on the show. I'm happy to meet you. And to learn more about Macaulay's Bunny Ears website and podcast, you can go to our website. We'll be right back. Thanks so much for being here. He left a three-week-old baby to be here. So, thank you. Congratulations. Thank you. It's actually kind of rough to do that. It's only three nights away from home, but there is an upside to it, which is I can finally complain about how tired I am. When I'm home, if I even just let the words, like, oh man, I'm tired. My wife just gives me this like, like this look that says like, I wake up every 20 minutes to breastfeed. How dare you, sir? So now I get to be on TV talking about how tired I am. And I got like six hours of sleep last night. Your fourth, eh? Luxurious, yeah, it's great. No, thank you for being here. Because we've been asking for you to be on. I'm a huge fan. And so you've been acting since five. So is Macaulay older or younger than you? He's two years older. And we kind of started at the same time, I think. Look at you two. Oh, wow. So it's a big family, right? So how many siblings do you have? There are seven of us. Seven. And at some point, all of us tried the acting bit. Now it's pretty much just me and Rory. Mac does some stuff sometimes too. Right. So, and does that make you, and this is your first child, right? Yeah. Yeah, my mom's first grandchild. And actually the grandmas are in town visiting their first grandchild. And there's sort of this like unspoken competition going on about which one is more insane. My mom like clucks like a chicken. That's kind of just how she talks. She's like, ah, wait, what? Let's go downtown. And then my wife's mother, I call her the interrupting goose because she doesn't listen to a word that I say. If I start talking, I'll be like, it goes like this. I'll be like, I'm thinking for lunch, we can go to, ah. And I think she thinks she's saying huh or what, but I'm like, if you could just let me get to the end of my sentence, you're like, ah. She's nuts. She doesn't listen to a word I say. I'll be in the middle of a story. I love that she, I love the idea of her watching this on TV right now, me roasting her. I'll be in the middle of a story and I'm just about to get to the punchline. And she'll be like, look, that's my friend, Nena. Like, uh-huh. This is her apartment. Does this have to do with my story? Because I was like, ah. Listen, if you want to stay longer, it sounds like you can. Yeah, I might stretch this out for a week until they're. Maybe you want to stay until they both leave. The crazy bird ladies get out of the house, yeah. So you are, I have to talk. I don't want to, I want to talk to you forever because I just am a huge fan and your character. And first of all, I have to ask, is it all scripted or do they let you just play with things? I mean, it's scripted and it's very, very well written. So they don't have to let us play around, but they do. They let us just like mess about a bit. But sometimes like my wife will be like, that sounds like you. Is that your line? I'm like, I don't know anymore. Like, I don't, the line is blurred between Kieran and Roman sometimes that like, I have to shut this piece of my brain off that's going to insult somebody, you know? Because Roman just like doesn't, he has no filter. No, not at all. And I wonder why Roman gets away with that because even you're, you've only been slapped once by your father, which was really like, it broke my heart because it showed how small you are. Like, you know, Roman just was crushed by that. Yeah. And I'm talking to like, everybody knows the show because everyone should, but explain what the show is. So it's about a family, very rich family. This is the father's self-made and he's run a billion dollar industry. He's a media mogul. And basically he's at an age of, he's probably going to retire and which one of his kids is maybe going to take over. Who isn't, who's going to be in line. And as you watch the show, you find that none of his kids are equipped to. No. Particularly this guy who just runs his mouth and has no idea how to do his job. Yeah, that's, that's who that character is. It is, and the show is so good. It's so fascinating. And especially after the Sunday nights episode, I don't know where it's going, but it's, it's frightening and good. I don't, I didn't see it. Yeah. Yeah, I saw it this morning and I watched it while I was working out cause I knew you were on. Okay. Cause I missed it Sunday night, but I was just, oh, and it's so good. It's so good. Oh, thank you so much. You're fantastic. I love the show and stay as long as you want so you don't have to go back to the. Yeah. The crazy bird lady. The ******* people. The season finale of Succession. Oh, it's the season finale. Sunday at nine. Of course it is. Yeah. It's all, yes. It's going to be, okay. It's nine on HBO. We'll be right back.