All right, older millennials, gather ’round. It’s time to take a trip down memory lane, back 20-plus years to 1992, when the most hotly anticipated holiday movie was Home Alone 2: Lost in New York. Remember how excited you were to see what hijinks Kevin McCallister was going to get into in the Big Apple? Do you recall how he was going to evade a scheming Plaza Hotel employee, played by the inimitable Tim Curry, as well as his old foes Harry and Marv? Remember getting super jealous that he got to eat a large cheese pizza in the back of the limo and yearning to live that life?
Or maybe you were the kind of die-hard Home Alone fan who, just five years later in 1997, waited eagerly to drag your parents to the movie theater to see Home Alone 3. This time, we got a little switch-up in the casting, with then-rising star Alex D. Linz taking over for megastar Macaulay Culkin and a whole slew of new bad guys appearing in place of good ol’ Harry and Marv.
Tomorrow will be the official 25th anniversary of the latter Home Alone sequel, which premiered on Dec. 12, 1997, so we’re taking the opportunity to look at the younger cast of both Home Alone 3 and Home Alone 2. You may be surprised to see where some of these actors are now.
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Macaulay Culkin
Macaulay Culkin is arguably the most famous cast member of the Home Alone movie franchise (as well as being one of the most iconic kid actors of the ’90s). After a brief period of low-key living after his quick rise to fame led to turbulent teen years, Culkin seems to be slowly easing back into the public eye. While, notably, he’s currently dating former Disney star Brenda Song (which means he’s getting photographed a lot these days), he’s appearing in a film in the near future titled Changeland and recently had a recurring role on The Jim Gaffigan Show.
Kieran Culkin
Macaulay’s younger brother, Kieran Culkin, got his first real acting break in Home Alone as Fuller, Kevin McCallister’s dweeby, Pepsi-chugging cousin. Since Home Alone, Kieran has appeared in a number of acclaimed films, both mainstream and independent. His notable credits include Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, The Cider House Rules, Weiner-Dog and Fargo.
Devin Ratray
In both Home Alone and Home Alone 2, Devin Ratray played Kevin McCallister’s older brother, Buzz. Ratray has maintained a successful acting career in the decades following his success in Home Alone. He most recently had a supporting role in Steven Soderbergh‘s crime drama miniseries Mosaic. He’s also appeared in more character roles, including in the horror film Devil, in Amazon’s The Tick and on TV shows like Agent Carter and Elementary.
Angela Goethals
Angela Goethals played Linnie, Kevin McCallister’s bratty older sister, in the first two Home Alone films. She’s stayed in the acting business since her time on Home Alone, with time out when she attended Vassar College. Her more recent acting credits include appearances on Law & Order, Royal Pains and Life.
Hillary Wolf
Hillary Wolf, who played Kevin McCallister’s rude older sister, Megan, quit acting shortly after the Home Alone films came out. Since then, Wolf has gone into judo. She represented the United States on the judo team in the 1996 Olympics as well as at the 2000 Summer Olympics.
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Alex D. Linz
You might remember Alex D. Linz as one of the many young child stars on the rise in the late ’90s and early ’00s. In Home Alone 3, he played Alex Pruitt, a young boy who has to thwart a team of international criminals. Linz maintained a decent, successful acting career up until the late ’00s, with his last acting credit being from indie film Choose Connor in 2007. He graduated from the University of California Berkley in 2011, and these days, he keeps a fairly low profile.
Kristin Minter
Kristin Minter played Heather, one of Kevin McCallister’s older cousins, in the first two Home Alone films. She’s still acting today, popping up on hit TV shows like This Is Us and Ray Donovan, as well as appearing in a number of indie films.
Scarlett Johansson
Can you believe that Scarlett Johansson appeared in Home Alone 3 back in ’97? Johansson and Macaulay Culkin might be the most famous and most notable actors in the Home Alone universe. It’s likely that we can at least name a couple other films Johansson has appeared in, but we recently saw her get up to some bawdy shenanigans in 2017’s Rough Night, and in 2018, we can catch her in Avengers: Infinity War.
Michael C. Maronna
Michael C. Maronna is likely recognizable not only from the first two Home Alone films but also from Nickelodeon’s hit show Pete & Pete. These days, he works both in front of and behind the camera on various films and TV shows. His credits include working as an electrician on Shades of Blue and Elementary in 2016, as well as appearing in Gilmore Girls in the early ’00s.
More: Female Characters From ’90s Movies That Still Speak to Us Today
You know what? This big trip down memory lane has me ready to re-binge the entire Home Alone series. Who’s gonna watch with me?
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