EXCLUSIVE: Macaulay Culkin's Hollywood Horror — Child Star Opens Up About How He Faced Deadly Dangers on Movie Sets
Macaulay Culkin claimed he was regularly placed in dangerous situations on-set.
Jan. 14 2026, Published 6:30 a.m. ET
Being left home alone was the least of child actor Macaulay Culkin's problems as a kid. The now 45-year-old survivor claimed he was regularly placed in dangerous situations on-set, including fleeing rampaging insects and ravenous reptiles, while filming 1991's My Girl, RadarOnline.com can reveal.
"They actually released, like, thousands of bees on me," he now said in disbelief.
Traumatic Scene Haunted Him Years
In a podcast, Macaulay Culkin recounted being swarmed by bees while filming 1991's 'My Girl.'
Making the experience even more terrifying for the then 10-year-old was that the character he played in the flick, Thomas J. Sennett, actually dies from an allergic reaction after suffering numerous stings.
The former child recalled the trauma on a recent podcast, revealing that after the swarm scene wrapped, he was instructed to wash his hands and sprint into the woods to escape the winged threats.
"The bee handler gave me a piece of advice," Macaulay told On Film host Kevin McCarthy. "He said, 'Human beings run faster than bees fly.' I was like, 'But I'm 10. How fast do you think I am?'"
And the horrors didn't end there.
Dangerous Stunts Scarred Child Star
During the same shoot, Culkin said he was sent into a lake filled with snakes, turtles, and alligators.
Culkin also was forced to jump into a lake where trappers were actively catching venomous snakes, snapping turtles and alligators during the same shoot!
As the Party Monster alum put it, "That would not fly nowadays."
But it was his breakthrough role in 1990's Home Alone that left him with a physical scar, he admitted.
Overeager castmate Joe Pesci sank his teeth into the boy's finger while portraying a bungling burglar – and he says he still sports a "divot" in his digit to prove it.
Left With Scars
Joe Pesci accidentally bit Culkin's finger while filming 1990's 'Home Alone,' leaving a scar the actor still has.
"You should have seen his face because he knew he bit a 9-year-old ... Back then, it was just like, 'Who is this creep?'" Culkin said.
His career also left emotional and financial scars.
At 15, the Getting Even With Dad star famously went to court to remove his manager parents from his trust fund after he claimed they kept him in the dark about the roughly $50 million he had earned.
Family Issues
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Macaulay accused his father, Christopher 'Kit' Culkin, of physical and mental abuse, allegations he later denied.
He'd later allege that his failed actor dad, Christopher "Kit" Culkin, now 80, was physically and mentally abusive – which Kit denied.
"He was a bad man," said Macaulay, who denied his crappy Hollywood experiences led him to battle and beat a $6,000-a-month heroin problem.
"Everything [my father] tried to do in life, I excelled at before I was 10 years old."
