Kieran Culkin: From his brother's shadow to Oscar favorite

On Sunday, Kieran Culkin (42) was once again at the top of the stage at an awards ceremony. He won the SAG Award for Best Supporting Actor in "A Real Pain". He had already won the Golden Globe for his role as Jesse Eisenberg's (41) manic-depressive stoner cousin. He is now the clear favorite at the Oscars on March 2, 2025.

Rain of awards since "Succession"

For Kieran Culkin, collecting awards is gradually becoming routine - even if his great success has only really taken off in recent years. He has been in the business for over 30 years. A year ago he won the Golden Globe for Best Actor for the TV series "Succession". Also in 2024 he won the even more prestigious Emmy for "Succession", after two unsuccessful nominations in the supporting actor category for the same series.

At least since the award seasons of 2024 and 2025, Kieran Culkin can finally feel like a respected actor - and no longer just the little brother of Macaulay Culkin (44).

Kieran was born in 1982 as the fourth child in the Culkin clan. Five of his seven siblings also moved into the limelight - or were pushed into it by family patriarch Christopher "Kit" Culkin (80). Since his parents separated, Kieran, like Macaulay, has had little contact with his father.

Kieran Culkin owes his film debut to Macaulay, in whose shadow he stood for a long time. His older brother had already established himself in the film business before he became a (child) star in 1990 with the title role in "Home Alone".

Kieran Culkin was also cast in "Home Alone". He played Fuller McCallister - Kevin's youngest cousin and notorious bed wetter. Kevin definitely doesn't want to sleep in the same bed as him. Kieran Culkin returned two years later as Fuller in "Home Alone 2: Lost in New York". In between, the Culkin brothers appeared together in "Mommy, Me and the Two of Us" by "Kevin" director Chris Columbus (66).

In 1994, Macaulay Culkin turned his back on the film business. Kieran, on the other hand, continued to work as an actor, albeit on a smaller scale than his big brother had done before. His biggest film was "The Mighty" in 1998. Alongside film mother Sharon Stone (66), he played a small, disabled boy named Kevin (!).

Leap into adulthood with Golden Globe nomination

Unlike many child stars, Kieran Culkin made the leap into adulthood without scandals, but also without major upward swings. The most important contribution to this was "Igby". In 2002, Culkin played the 17-year-old scion of a rich but corrupt family. Almost a foreshadowing of "Succession". Unlike Roman Roy in the series, however, Igby flees from his clan. For the offbeat coming-of-age comedy, Kieran Culkin received a nomination for the Golden Globe as best leading actor in a comedy.

Kieran Culkin subsequently specialized in independent films such as "Scott Pilgrim vs. the World" (2010) and "Wiener Dog" (2016). However, the main roles were played by others. He also acted in theater on the side, a rarity among former child stars without classical acting training.

Later breakthrough with "Succession"

In recent years, the breakthrough came that was hardly expected. In 2018, Kieran Culkin landed the role of Roman Roy in "Succession". The youngest son of media mogul Logan Roy is fighting desperately for his father's recognition. It was only during the first season of the series that he felt like an actor, Culkin revealed in a conversation with Jesse Eisenberg in 2024. Before that, he moved in an environment that he was thrown into without being asked as a child.

In his private life, Kieran Culkin has been in a committed relationship for a long time. In 2013, he married Jazz Charton (36). The American has two children with the Briton. Daughter Kinsey was born in 2019, son Wilder in 2021. It won't stop at two kids. Kieran Culkin revealed this to the world in his Emmy acceptance speech a year ago: "I want more. You said maybe if I win."

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