LONDON "Home Alone" child star Macaulay Culkin returned to acting after six years in obscurity on Wednesday, taking to the London stage in his signature role as a schoolboy.
But while most in the audience agreed the diminutive, boyish Culkin, now 20, made for a convincing 15-year-old student, many thought he looked "awkward" and "ridiculous" during his seduction at the hands of his mature French teacher in "Madame Melville".
For Culkin, who shot to fame as a preteen in Hollywood Children's Movies to become the world's highest paid child actor, Wednesday's London stage debut was like a coming of age resuming his long-interrupted career on his own terms.
Culkin "retired" at the age of 14 with an estimated fortune of more than $30 million from the "Home Alone" sequel and a handful of other children's films after an acrimonious split with his former manager, his father. "I came to a point at high school when I decided I should get back into acting, only this time I have control. I didn't before," he told Reuters after the premiere. Kit Culkin, dubbed the "father from hell" by the U.S. media and Hollywood producers alike, was widely blamed for the demise of his son's career because of outlandish demands he made when securing film contracts.
Life Imitates Art Like Carl, who proclaims ironically: "I am forever a boy of 15", Culkin who married at 17 and was separated two years later was also forced to mature before his years. "I couldn't have picked anything more perfect for me than this role," he said. "Sure you can find parallels between mine and Carl's life." (Reuter)