Macaulay Culkin on Losing Catherine O'Hara: 'I Owed Her a Favour'

Macaulay Culkin says the death of Catherine O’Hara left him with a debt he can never repay. In a new profile for Gentleman’s Journal, the actor spoke with unusual candor about the loss of his Home Alone co-star, who died January 30 at 71 from a pulmonary embolism, with rectal cancer listed as the underlying cause.

“When Catherine passed away in January, that hit me pretty good,” Culkin said. “I felt that we had unfinished business. I feel like I owed her a favour — and I don’t like having an outstanding debt.”

In the immediate aftermath of O’Hara’s death, Culkin posted on Instagram: “Mama. I thought we had time. I wanted more. I wanted to sit in a chair next to you. I heard you but I had so much more to say. I love you. I’ll see you later.”

The depth of feeling in those words traces back to a bond that extended well past their on-screen relationship. At Culkin’s Hollywood Walk of Fame ceremony in December 2023, O’Hara took the stage and told the crowd: “I know you worked really hard, I know you did, but you made acting look like the most natural thing in the world to do. Thank you for including me, your fake mom who left you home alone not once but twice, to share in this happy occasion. I’m so proud of you.” Culkin was visibly moved to tears.

O’Hara’s absence now registers across the entire industry. At the BAFTA TV Awards this past weekend, Seth Rogen dedicated the Best International Series award for The Studio to his late co-star, saying it would be “remiss” not to mention her. “She meant so much to all of us,” he told the London audience. “I assume she meant the same to you here.” O’Hara also received a posthumous outstanding female actor win at the Actor Awards for her role in The Studio as former studio head Patty Leigh.

Home Alone director Chris Columbus said at the time of her death: “Catherine carries the weight of 50 percent of that film. The movie simply would not work without her extraordinary performance.”

Culkin, reflecting on the deaths of other Home Alone cast members, framed his grief through the lens of his childhood career: “I’m not the tip of the sphere. I’m the caboose. I’m going to be one of the last people standing when it comes to that kind of stuff.”