Kieran Culkin | |
---|---|
Born | Kieran Kyle Culkin September 30, 1982 New York City, U.S. |
Occupation | Actor |
Years active | 1990–present |
Spouse |
Jazz Charton (m. 2013) |
Children | 2 |
Father | Kit Culkin |
Relatives |
|
Kieran Kyle Culkin (born September 30, 1982) is an American actor. Culkin starred as Roman Roy in the HBO television series Succession from 2018 to 2023, for which he won a Golden Globe Award and a Primetime Emmy Award.
He began his career as a child actor in Home Alone (1990), Father of the Bride (1991), Home Alone 2: Lost in New York (1992), The Mighty (1998), and The Cider House Rules (1999). He achieved a career breakthrough after starring in the film Igby Goes Down (2002), for which he was nominated for a Golden Globe. He appeared in the films Margaret (2011), Wiener-Dog (2016), and No Sudden Move (2021), and played Wallace Wells in Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (2010) and Scott Pilgrim Takes Off (2023).
On stage, he made his Broadway debut in the 24 Hour Plays in 2006. He returned to Broadway in the 2014 revival of Kenneth Lonergan's play This Is Our Youth.
Kieran Kyle Culkin was born on September 30, 1982, in New York City to Christopher Cornelius "Kit" Culkin, a former Broadway stage actor, and Patricia Brentrup, a native of North Dakota who met Kit in 1974 while working as a road traffic controller in Sundance, Wyoming.[1][2] The couple relocated to Kit's native New York City, and had seven children: Shane (b. 1976), Dakota (1978–2008),[3] Macaulay (b. 1980), Kieran (b. 1982), Quinn (b. 1984), Christian (b. 1987), and Rory (b. 1989).[1] He also had a paternal half-sister, Jennifer (b. 1970), who died in 2000.[4] Culkin's paternal aunt is actress Bonnie Bedelia.[5]
He spent his early life in the Yorkville neighborhood of Manhattan, where he resided with his parents and siblings.[1] In his early childhood, the family struggled financially; his mother worked as a telephone operator, while his father served as a sacristan at a local Catholic church.[1] In September 1995, Culkin's parents separated, and he has been estranged from his father since.[6]
Culkin's first film role was a small part alongside his brother Macaulay in Home Alone (1990), as cousin Fuller McCallister. He continued acting as a child and teenager, mainly working in comedies, including Home Alone 2: Lost in New York (1992), Father of the Bride (1991), and its sequel, Father of the Bride Part II (1995).
As a teenager, he alternated between lead roles in independent films and small parts in mainstream films. He appeared in the Academy Award-nominated film Music of the Heart (1999), played the title role in the film Igby Goes Down (2002),[7] for which he was nominated for a Golden Globe Award, and played the lead role in The Mighty (1998) as Kevin Dillon.
From 2018 to 2023, he was one of the ensemble main cast members in the HBO series Succession, portraying immature and entitled COO Roman Roy. In 2018, 2020, and 2021, he was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor – Series, Miniseries or Television Film for performance on the show. Culkin's performance on the fourth season of the series received multiple accolades, which include the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Television Series Drama as well as the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series, where he was nominated alongside his Succession castmates Jeremy Strong and Brian Cox.
Culkin acted in Jesse Eisenberg's film A Real Pain which premiered at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival.[8] The comedy-drama revolves around a two cousins reuniting after their grandmother's death and end up going on a Holocaust tour in Poland. Owen Gleiberman of Variety praised Culkin's performance writing, "He’s doing a sensational piece of acting as a compulsive wiseacre addicted to the ways of one-upmanship".[9] It was announced that Culkin will return to Broadway in the 2025 revival of the David Mamet play Glengarry Glen Ross acting opposite Bob Odenkirk and Bill Burr.[10]
Culkin married Jazz Charton on June 8, 2013.[11] They have two children, a daughter born September 2019 and a son born August 2021.[12][13]
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1990 | Home Alone | Fuller McCallister | |
1991 | Only the Lonely | Patrick Muldoon Jr. | |
Father of the Bride | Matthew "Matty" Banks | ||
1992 | Home Alone 2: Lost in New York | Fuller McCallister | |
1993 | Nowhere to Run | Mike "Mookie" Anderson | |
1994 | My Summer Story | Ralph "Ralphie" Parker | |
1995 | Father of the Bride Part II | Matthew "Matty" Banks | |
1996 | Amanda | Biddle Farnsworth | |
1998 | The Mighty | Kevin Dillon | |
1999 | She's All That | Simon Boggs | |
Music of the Heart | Alexi Tzavaras | ||
The Cider House Rules | Buster | ||
2002 | The Dangerous Lives of Altar Boys | Tim Sullivan | |
Igby Goes Down | Jason "Igby" Slocumb, Jr. | ||
2008 | Lymelife | Jimmy Bartlett | |
2009 | Paper Man | Christopher | |
2010 | Scott Pilgrim vs. the World | Wallace Wells | |
2011 | Margaret | Paul Hirsch | |
2013 | Movie 43 | Neil | Segment: "Veronica" |
2015 | Quitters | Mr. Becker | |
2016 | Wiener-Dog | Brandon McCarthy | |
2017 | Infinity Baby | Ben | |
2020 | Father of the Bride, Part 3(ish) | Matthew "Matty" Banks | Short film |
2021 | No Sudden Move | Charley | |
2024 | A Real Pain | Benji Kaplan |
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1991 | Saturday Night Live | Froggy | Episode: "Macaulay Culkin/Tin Machine" |
1996 | Frasier | Jimmy (voice) | Episode: "The Impossible Dream" |
1999 | The Magical Legend of the Leprechauns | Barney O'Grady | 2 episodes |
2001 | Go Fish | Andy "Fish" Troutner | Main role |
2015 | Fargo | Rye Gerhardt | 2 episodes |
Long Live the Royals | Peter (voice) | 4 episodes | |
2018–2023 | Succession | Roman Roy | Main role |
2020 | Robot Chicken | Joe Jonas/Nostradamus's Intern (voice) | Episode: "Petless M in: Cars Are Couches On The Road" |
2021 | Saturday Night Live | Himself (host) | Episode: "Kieran Culkin/Ed Sheeran" |
2022 | Gaming Wall Street | Himself (narrator) | Documentary miniseries |
The Boys Presents: Diabolical | O.D. (voice) | Episode: "I'm Your Pusher" | |
2022–present | Solar Opposites | Glen the Human "Dodge Charger" (voice) | Main seasons 3–present; Solar Opposites: SilverCops |
2023 | Agent Elvis | Gabriel Wolf (voice) | Episode: "Godspeed, Drunk Monkey" |
Scott Pilgrim Takes Off | Wallace Wells (voice) | Main role[14] | |
2024 | The Second Best Hospital in the Galaxy | Dr. Plowp (voice) | Main role |
Year | Title | Role | Venue | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|
2000 | The Moment When | Wilson | Playwrights Horizons, New York | |
2003 | This Is Our Youth | Warren Straub | Garrick Theatre, London | |
2004 | After Ashley | Justin Hammond | Vineyard Theatre, New York | |
2007 | subUrbia | Buff | Second Stage Theatre, New York | |
2009 | The Starry Messenger | Student | Acorn Theatre, New York | |
2012 | This Is Our Youth | Dennis Ziegler | Sydney Opera House, Sydney | |
2014 | Steppenwolf Theatre, Chicago | |||
Cort Theatre, New York | [15] | |||
2025 | Glengarry Glen Ross | Richard Roma | Broadway | [10] |