Kieran Culkin
It’s hard enough making that transition from a career of being a child actor to that of a grown up, but getting your start as the younger brother of the then cutest, most popular, highest-paid, and most in-demand child actor in Hollywood, Macaulay Culkin, Kieran Culkin had his work cut out for him. On the one hand, being the younger brother of a famous child star could have opened doors and opportunities. Obviously, the Culkins had talent in the gene pool. Kieran Christopher Culkin was born on September 30, 1982. This native New Yorker had six siblings from parents Patricia Brentrup and Christopher ‘Kit’ Culkin, a sometime stage actor himself. Kieran is the youngest among his brothers, consisting of Shane Arliss, Macaulay Carson, Christian Patrick, and Rory Hugh. Follwing him are two younger sisters Dakota Ulissa, and Quinn Kay. Kieran grew up as part of a show frozen yogurt franchise business seo services company family. He attended the Professional Children’s School in New York City and made his feature film debut at age eight in the same movie that made his brother a big star, Home Alone. He also made an appearance in the sequel, Home Alone 2: Lost in New York and in Father of the Bride and that movie’s sequel, Father of the Bride Part II, as Steve Martin’s son. As he grew into his teens, Kieran began taking on roles in various independent films. His work in the film The Mighty in 1998 got him a lot of used microdermabrasion machines notice. Playing opposite some of the industry’s biggest and most respected names such as Sharon Stone, Gena Rowlands, Harry Dean Stanton, Gillian Anderson, James Gandolfini only served to help Kieran shine. The film and his performance in it, was lauded by the critics. His next notable whole house tankless water heater project was Music of the Heart the following year. Starring Meryl Streep, Aidan Quinn, Cloris Leachman, and Angela Basset, among others, it was another opportunity for Kieran to act with and be in a film with top caliber performers. But Kieran is not all seriousness in his acting ventures. He’s got a few teen flicks under his belt as well—as a young Hollywood actor should; it’s practically a rite of passage. He was in the in the 1999 movie She’s All That with Holywood’s young hot set Freddie Prinze Jr, Rachel Leigh Cook, Paul Walker, Mathew Lillard, Anna Paquin, and his The Mighty co-star, Elden Henson. As his landmark year went on, he capped 1999 with Cider House Rules. Working with Michael Caine, Tobey Maguire, Charlize Theron, and on a story by John Irving and directed by Lasse Hallström, this is again, another experience and a brilliant note on Kieran’s resume. After doing some television work in 2001, he filmed The Dangerous Lives of Altar Boys in 2002, an indie film by Peter Clare costarring Emile Hirsch, Jena Malone, Jodie Foster, and Vincent D’Onofrio. His performance in this film also won him critical praise. In the same year’s Igby Goes Down, Kieran takes the title character and shares screen time with Susan Sarandon, Jeff Goldblum, Claire Danes, Bill Pullman, Ryan Phillippe, and Amanda Peet. His younger brother Rory, also had a small part in the film. Growing up in a family such as theirs, Kieran and his siblings had a tough time of it. Their parents Kit and Patricia divorced and proceeded to have a long and bitter custody battle over the children. Their mother eventually won custody; but the tug-of-war took its toll on the kids. By this time, Kit, their dad, had earned the reputation in showbiz circles as a problem stage dad who saw his kids as money-making machines to be profited from. Kieran once said that he has it a bit easier than Mac. “He took all the pressure at home and at work, on sets. My dad basically left me alone because I wasn’t making enough money to warrant his scrutiny.” He got the chance to do stage work in London’s West End, performing in This is Our Youth. In 2005, Kieran appeared in the off-Broadway dark comedy After Ashley with Anna Paquin. He moved on to the independent film Lymelife in 2008 opposite Alec Baldwin, Emma Roberts, Jill Hennesy, Timothy Hutton, and Cynthia Nixon.