Kieran Culkin is an American actor who has appeared in films, television series, and stage productions since he was a child. He made his feature film debut alongside his older brother, Macaulay, as a bedwetting Pepsi aficionado in Home Alone (1990), the second-highest-grossing Christmas film of all time. While reprising his role in its 1992 sequel, Culkin portrayed the young son of Steve Martin and Diane Keaton's characters in the Father of the Bride franchise (1991–2020). His first leading role came with the coming-of age drama The Mighty (1998), where he played a boy suffering from Morquio syndrome.
After appearing in She's All That and The Cider House Rules (both 1999), which were both commercial successes, Culkin achieved his breakthrough as a sardonic teenager in the comedy-drama Igby Goes Down (2002). The role won him the Critics' Choice Movie Award for Best Young Actor/Actress and earned a nomination for the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy. Culkin took a hiatus from the screen due to personal conflicts and worked extensively in theater, making his West End debut as a replacement for Jake Gyllenhaal in Kenneth Lonergan's This Is Our Youth . He continued to perform in off-Broadway plays such as Gina Gionfriddo's After Ashley (2004), for which he won an Obie Award for Distinguished Performance, and Eric Bogosian's revival of SubUrbia (2006).
Culkin made an intermittent return to the screen through the comedy-drama film Lymelife (2008). His role as the sarcastic Wallace Wells in Edgar Wright's action comedy Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (2010) earned praise from critics. From 2012 to 2015, Culkin headlined the Broadway, Chicago, and Sydney productions of This is Our Youth as a manipulative college dropout living under the dawn of the Reagan era. On television, he won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series for his portrayal of Roman Roy in the HBO series Succession (2018–2023). Culkin's critical success continued with Jesse Eisenberg's buddy comedy film A Real Pain (2024). His performance as a free-spirited and outspoken drifter earned nominations for the BAFTA and Academy Awards for Best Supporting Actor.
Year | Title | Role | Notes | Ref(s) |
---|---|---|---|---|
1990 | Home Alone | Fuller McCallister | [1] | |
1991 | Only the Lonely | Patrick Muldoon Jr. | [2] | |
Father of the Bride | Matthew "Matty" Banks | [3] | ||
1992 | Home Alone 2: Lost in New York | Fuller McCallister | [4] | |
1993 | Nowhere to Run | Mike "Mookie" Anderson | [5] | |
1994 | My Summer Story | Ralph "Ralphie" Parker | [6] | |
1995 | Father of the Bride Part II | Matthew "Matty" Banks | [7] | |
1996 | Amanda | Biddle Farnsworth | [8] | |
1998 | The Mighty | Kevin Dillon | [9] | |
1999 | She's All That | Simon Boggs | [10] | |
Music of the Heart | Alexi Tzavaras | [11] | ||
The Cider House Rules | Buster | [12] | ||
2002 | The Dangerous Lives of Altar Boys | Tim Sullivan | [13] | |
Igby Goes Down | Jason "Igby" Slocumb, Jr. | [14] | ||
2008 | Lymelife | Jimmy Bartlett | [15] | |
2009 | Paper Man | Christopher | [16] | |
2010 | Scott Pilgrim vs. the World | Wallace Wells | [17] | |
2011 | Margaret | Paul Hirsch | [18] | |
2013 | Movie 43 | Neil | Segment: "Veronica" | [19] |
2015 | Quitters | Mr. Becker | [20] | |
2016 | Wiener-Dog | Brandon McCarthy | [21] | |
2017 | Infinity Baby | Ben | [22] | |
Approaching a Breakthrough | Norman Kaminsky | Short film | [23] | |
2020 | Father of the Bride, Part 3(ish) | Matthew "Matty" Banks | [24] | |
2021 | No Sudden Move | Charley | [25] | |
2024 | A Real Pain | Benjamin "Benji" Kaplan | [26] |
Year | Title | Role | Notes | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|
1991 | Saturday Night Live | Froggy (uncredited) | Episode: "Macaulay Culkin / Tin Machine" (S17E7) | [27] |
1996 | Frasier | Jimmy (voice) | Episode: "The Impossible Dream" (S4E3) | [28] |
1999 | The Magical Legend of the Leprechauns | Barney O'Grady | Miniseries | [29] |
2001 | Go Fish | Andy "Fish" Troutner | Main role | [30] |
2015 | Fargo | Rye Gerhardt | Guest role (season 2) | [31] |
Long Live the Royals | Peter (voice) | Main role | [32] | |
2018–2023 | Succession | Roman Roy | [33] | |
2020 | Robot Chicken | Joe Jonas / Nostradamus's Intern (voice) | Episode: "Petless M in: Cars Are Couches On The Road" (S10E13) | [34] |
2021 | Saturday Night Live | Himself (host) | Episode: "Kieran Culkin / Ed Sheeran" (S47E5) | [35] |
2022 | Gaming Wall Street | Himself (narrator) | Documentary miniseries | [36] |
The Boys Presents: Diabolical | O.D. (voice) | Episode: "I'm Your Pusher" (S1E3) | [37] | |
Saturday Night Live | Matthew "Matty" Banks | Episode: "Steve Martin & Martin Short / Brandi Carlile" (S48E8); guest role | [38] | |
2022–present | Solar Opposites | Glen Kumstein / Dodge Charger (voice) | Main role (season 3–present) | [39] |
2023 | Agent Elvis | Gabriel Wolf (voice) | Episode: "Godspeed, Drunk Monkey" (S1E10) | [40] |
Scott Pilgrim Takes Off | Wallace Wells (voice) | Main role | [41] | |
Teenage Euthanasia | Ref Mazos | Episode: "A Waist-Down Ghost Town Shut Down" (S2E9) | [42] | |
2024 | The Second Best Hospital in the Galaxy | Dr. Plowp (voice) | Main role | [43] |
Year | Title | Role | Venue | Theatre | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
2000 | The Moment When | Wilson | Playwrights Horizons | Off-Broadway | [44] |
2002–2003 | This Is Our Youth | Warren Straub (replacement) | Garrick Theatre | West End | [45] |
2004 | Autobahn | — | Manhattan Class Company | Off-Broadway | [46] |
2005 | After Ashley | Justin Hammond | Vineyard Theatre | [47] | |
2006 | subUrbia | Buff | Second Stage Theater | [48] | |
First Tree in Antarctica | Shawn | American Arlines Theatre | Broadway | [49] [50] | |
2009 | The Starry Messenger | Student | Acorn Theatre | Off-Broadway | [51] |
2012 | This Is Our Youth | Dennis Ziegler | Sydney Opera House | Sydney | [52] |
2014–2015 | Steppenwolf Theatre Company | Chicago | [53] | ||
Cort Theatre | Broadway | [54] | |||
2025 | Glengarry Glen Ross | Richard Roma | Palace Theatre | [55] |
Year(s) | Company | Promoting | Title | Region | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
2020 | Volkswagen | Vehicle: Atlas Cross Sport | "The Accountant" | United States | [56] |
2025 | NerdWallet | Application | "Genius Beluga" | United States (Super Bowl LIX) | [57] |
Year | Title | Role | Notes | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|
2016 | For Magnus Chase: Hotel Valhalla Guide to the Norse Worlds | Narrator | [58] | |
The Hammer of Thor | [59] [60] |