A Twist of Fate: How Macaulay Culkin's Accidental 'Aftershave' Moment Shaped 'Home Alone'
Chris Columbus, director of the beloved 1990 holiday hit Home Alone, recently shared new details about the film's famous "aftershave" moment. According to Columbus, the original direction called for Macaulay Culkin (then 10 years old) to put his hands on his cheeks and quickly remove them before screaming. Instead, Culkin left his hands on his face. "I can't even say it was my idea — it was all Macaulay," the director noted, describing how the spontaneous decision made everyone on set laugh. Fortunately, test audiences loved it too, turning that unscripted moment into the film's most iconic scene.
During a podcast interview, Columbus reminisced about the film's casting, revealing how Daniel Stern and Joe Pesci ended up playing the hapless burglars Marv and Harry. "Someone else unfortunately was cast with Pesci, and we did a screen test. It just didn't work out," Columbus recalled. "And we had always wanted Stern, but Stern was too expensive." Ultimately, the duo's wardrobe test confirmed their instant chemistry.
Columbus praised Culkin's acting chops and shared his hope for a future collaboration, saying, "I'd love to work with him again. He is that good of an actor, and people need to see that." Culkin himself recently confessed he once considered buying the real house used in the movie, thinking it could become a "movie fun house" for fans to reenact scenes — but family obligations convinced him otherwise.
