Macaulay Culkin’s early experiences in Hollywood were intense – and he believes they’re unlikely to occur today.
The actor, younger than 10 when he starred in films like “Uncle Buck” and “Home Alone,” recently discussed a memorable experience filming as a child, insisting that some things he endured for the movie “wouldn’t happen today.”
During an appearance on the “On Film … with Kevin McCarthy” podcast, Culkin was asked about 1991’s “My Girl,” where his character, Thomas J. Sennett, died from an allergic reaction after bee stings. He said he wasn’t affected by portraying the death, but more so by working with the bees.
‘HOME ALONE’ TURNS 35: MACAULAY CULKIN’S IMPROVISED SCENE, ON-SET INJURY AND BEHIND-THE-SCENES SECRETS
“The way they accomplished that, they wouldn’t do it today,” he stated. “They applied a substance to my fingertips that smelled like the queen bee. So they were drawn to my hands, making me non-threatening … They literally unleashed thousands of bees on me. Can you imagine that?”
He added, “Those were genuinely real bees. That would never happen now, no way.”
Culkin said he was told to wave his hands in front of his face, so the bees would gather there, which would “look great on camera.”
LIKE WHAT YOU’RE READING? CLICK HERE FOR MORE ENTERTAINMENT NEWS
He mentioned that after filming the scene, he was instructed to wash his hands and then run into the nearby woods, away from the bees.
“The bee handler offered me some advice,” he remembered. “He said, ‘Humans are faster runners than bees are fliers.’ I thought, ‘But I’m only 10. How fast do you expect me to be?'”
CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR THE ENTERTAINMENT NEWSLETTER
They filmed four takes, and he claimed he didn’t get stung at all.
The actor also discussed another scene, where his character and Vada, played by Anna Chlumsky, jump into a lake.
During filming, he noticed trappers on set, later learning they were catching venomous snakes, used as bait for snapping turtles, which were then used as bait for the alligators living in the lake.
“And I thought, ‘What kind of lake are we jumping into? Why not a swimming pool?’” Culkin joked. “Like, seriously, they’re throwing bees at me, there are alligators everywhere … As I said, some of that stuff wouldn’t be allowed today.”
