Ah, Home Alone. This is a classic childhood fave — because who doesn’t want to watch a neglected eight year old cunningly take down two full grown men who are trying to burglarize his family’s home during the holiday season? Not only did it quell our fears that yes, we could certainly take on a robber if he broke into our house at night, but also the film made us appreciate our somewhat scatterbrained parents — the ones who maybe missed one of our soccer games every now and again but never ever left on vacation without remembering to check the backseat to make sure we were buckled in. And if our parents did accidentally leave us somewhere, it was within minutes that they realized their error… not while they had already woven through a packed airport and boarded a flipping plane.
The dysfunctional McCallister family made us feel like our families really weren’t that bad and even though Home Alone is technically a Christmas movie — we found ourselves watching it at all times of the year when we (or our parents) found ourselves needing a little reality check. Can you believe it has already been 27 years since the film debuted in November 1990? While it’s been fairly easy to keep up with Macauley Culkin, his career and his ~personal life~ throughout the years — it’s pretty amazing to see how far these stars have come. From going on to become two-time Olympians, getting guest spots on some of our favorite TV shows and dating some A-list celebs, the 16 biggest actors and actresses in the movie have come a long way.
Senta Moses Mikan: Then
Character in Home Alone: Tracy McCallister
In the first Home Alone flick, Senta played Kevin’s older cousin, Tracy. She reprised her role in Home Alone 2: Lost in New York, where she had a slightly larger role.
Senta Moses Mikan: Now
Most of us probably recognize Senta from at least one of our favorite TV shows growing up. She played Delia Fischer on My So-Called Life, was on six episodes of Sister, Sister between ’97 and ’98, had a recurring role on General Hospital and Faking It on MTV. Most recently she was seen on Bella and the Bulldogs on Nickelodeon. She married Joe Mikan in 2015 and yep — looks exactly the same.
Kieran Culkin: Then
Character in Home Alone: Fuller McCallister
Macauley and his younger bro, Kieran have starred in quite a few films together throughout the years. While they are brothers IRL, the two boys play cousins in Home Alone and Home Alone 2.
Kieran Culkin: Now
Kieran has kept a much lower profile than his older brother, but he’s still working in the entertainment biz. He recently starred in a film called Infinity Baby that premiered at SXSW. He married Jazz Charton in 2013, but prior to Jazz the famous guy dated Emma Stone for over a year back around 2010 after they filmed Paper Man together.
Diana Rein: Then
Character in Home Alone: Sondra McCallister
At the time, Diana went by her maiden name, Diana Campeanu while playing Kevin’s female cousin. She doesn’t have many lines.
Diana Rein: Now
Having made the small jump from acting to singing (typical), Diana is now in a one-woman rock/blues band. A few days ago she debuted a new song titled, “The Real Thing.”
Kristin Minter: Then
Character in Home Alone: Heather McCallister
Kristin plays Kevin’s oldest cousin who is actually responsible for leaving Kev behind in Home Alone because she counts the neighborhood boy when doing a head count. She is not seen in Home Alone 2.
Kristin Minter: Now
Now 51 years old, Kristin has six films in the works right now. Her newest film, 7th Secret stars Stacey Dash.
Michael C. Maronna: Then
Character in Home Alone: Jeff McCallister
Mike was in both Home Alone and Home Alone 2 playing Kevin’s older brother. He’s slightly more protective over Macauley’s character than the other family members seem to be.
Michael C. Maronna: Now
Michael is best known these days for playing Big Pete in the Nickelodeon Kids Show The Adventures of Pete & Pete (which was a TV show he starred on as he filmed the Home Alone films). He appeared in the films 40 Days and 40 Nights and Slackers more recently, but it looks like now he mostly works as an electrician for big-time Hollywood films like Sex and the City and Be Kind Rewind.
Larry Hankin: Then
Character in Home Alone: Officer Balzak
In the movie, Officer Balzak eats a chocolate donut and asks Kate McCallister some bizarre and irrelevant questions when she reports that she left her son ~home alone~.
Larry Hankin: Now
Approaching his 77th birthday this August, Larry has cameod in quite a few of our favorite TV shows such as Friends in the ’90s and Breaking Bad in 2010 and 2012.
John Candy: Then
Character in Home Alone: Gus Polinski
Also known as the “Polka King of the Midwest,” Gus offers Kate a ride back home while stranded in Chicago and gives her some parenting advice during the road trip.
John Candy: Now
Sadly, John died a few years after filming Home Alone, in 1994 due to weight-related health issues. He was still working on two unfinished projects when he tragically passed away, including Wagons East (pictured).
Hillary Wolf: Then
Character in Home Alone: Megan McCallister
Hillary played a typical older sister: one who can be a bit of a bully to their younger sibling but ultimately shows compassion and concern for them when push comes to shove. While she’s technically in Home Alone 2, she hardly interacts with Kevin in the sequel.
Hillary Wolf: Now
After trying her hand at acting, Hillary eventually became a 2X Olympian in Judo fighting. Now that those days are behind her, she’s a mom of two and runs her very own blog called notsozenmom.com.
Gerry Bamman: Then
Character in Home Alone: Uncle Frank
We’ve all got that annoying and grumpy Uncle and Gerry took on that role in Home Alone. Fun fact: in the OG script, it was actually Uncle Frank who conceived the plan to rob the McCallisters while the family was on their holiday vacay.
Gerry Bamman: Now
Gerry hasn’t done much in Tinseltown since 2004, but his most notable role to date is as the Duke of Venice in The Merchant of Venice off-Broadway.
Devin Ratray: Then
Character in Home Alone: Buzz McCallister
Playing the meanest of Kevin’s family members was Devin as Buzz. He reprised his role in Home Alone 2 and was also in Dennis the Menace, another film by John Hughes.
Devin Ratray: Now
More recently, Devin was on an episode of Louie in 2015, Supernatural in 2009, and in the Oscar-nominated film Nebraska in 2013.
Angela Goethals: Then
Character in Home Alone: Linnie McCallister
Playing Linnie in Home Alone and its sequel, her character is completely erased by the time Home Alone 4 rolled around.
Angela Goethals: Now
Angela has taken on several television, movie and theater roles since she played Linnie back in the early ’90s. She recieved acclaim for her role in a mockumentary called Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon in 2006.
Catherine O’Hara: Then
Character in Home Alone: Kate McCallister
Playing the role of basically the only person who gave an eff that Kevin was left at home, Catherine took the role of Macauley Culkin’s mom in Home Alone and Home Alone 2. Having five kids, it makes sense that her life’s a bit chaotic — but going on a trip without her youngest is simply absurd.
Catherine O’Hara: Now
Catherine has gone on to take quite a few notable film and TV parts. For example, she was in the Netflix adaptation of A Series of Unfortunate Events earlier this year.
John Heard: Then
Character in Home Alone: Peter McCallister
Quite possibly one of the worst dads in movie history, some fan theories speculate that Peter may have been attached to the mafia.
John Heard: Now
After creating an impressive body of work during his 71 years of life, John sadly passed away very recently on July 21, 2017. He is survived by two children, Leo and Annika — though his third child, Max, tragically died in December 2016.
Daniel Stern: Then
Character in Home Alone: Marv Merchants
Playing one of the incompetent bandits in the first two Home Alone flicks, the part of Marv was ultimately taken by French Stewart in a later film.
Daniel Stern: Now
Daniel has continued to work consistently since the release of the Home Alone films, having taken up guest spots on TV shows such as Love, House of Lies and a voice-role on Family Guy. Upon hearing about the death of his good friend and co-star, John Heard, Daniel published an open letter to the actor saying, “I never remember that John is even in [Home Alone]. I’ve only ever really watched it once and he and the family were all so great in it but we never had any scenes in it together and we only crossed paths on set once or twice… to really appreciate John’s talents watch ‘Cutter’s Way’ watch ‘Heart Beat’ watch ‘On the Yard.’ Too bad his theater performances are gone with the wind… he lived [life] hard, fast and fearlessly.”
Joe Pesci: Then
Character in Home Alone: Harry Lime
As Marv’s evil accomplice, he’s first seen disguised as a cop in movie #1. By the fourth movie, his character has disappeared completely, though Marv is still part of the plot.
Joe Pesci: Now
While Joe officially retired from acting in 1999 to pursue a music career, he’s been seen in The Good Shepherd, Love Ranch and A Warrior’s Tale since then.
Macauley Culkin: Then
Character in Home Alone: Kevin McCallister
The star of the film, there’s no way you don’t remember who Macauley played! Not gonna lie, Kevin McCallister probably shaped most of our childhoods.
Macauley Culkin: Now
There is honestly no better time to be checking in on our boy, Macauley Culkin, than right now. While he has a sordid past involving drug abuse and a brief stint in jail, it looks like he’s finally out of the woods. (Seriously, the world is freaking out about how FINE Macauley looks at the moment!) The 36 year old actor/musician dated Mila Kunis for just about eight years after a four year marriage to Rachel Miner from 1998 – 2002. He was 18 when they got married. Currently, Macauley has been dating Jordan Lane Price since 2013.
Career-wise, the Home Alone franchise has been Macauley’s most notable role to date although his part in Saved is a nostalgic classic. For those of you who haven’t seen the film yet (and seriously, get on that if you haven’t!), Macauley plays Mandy Moore‘s wheelchair-bound little bro. He was in a comedy rock band formerly called The Pizza Underground, but he announced their break up in 2016. Despite the split, it seems like things are really looking up for this child star!