Biography And Filmography:

Following in the foot-steps of his older brother Macaulay Culkin, the cute young actor known for his role in the "Home Alone" movies, Kieran Culkin has carved out his own path in Hollywood and has gone on to cement his celebrity status, and establish himself as a major acting talent on film, stage and television.. 

Born Sept. 30, 1982 in New York City, New York, to Christopher and Patricia Brentrup, he was the fourth child of seven and raised in a small New York City apartment building. While still a young boy, he attended the Professional Children’s School, but gained most of his experience while on the movie set. Interested to ballet, dance and theater while still a young teen, his first real acting job came at the age of three when he appeared in a production at the Symphony Space Theater on Manhattan’s Upper West Side. 

He then got his first glimpse of movie making when the he visited the set of his older brother Macaulay’s first movie, “Rocket Gibraltar” (1988). While Macaulay's movie career started to sky-rocket, Kieran frequently appeared in various small roles in his brother’s films. He made his first movie appearance at age eight in the John Hughes smash hit, “Home Alone” (1990), playing one of Macaulay’s young cousins. He also worked with his brother in “Only the Lonely” (1991), about a Chicago cop who must balance loyalty to his overbearing mother and a relationship with a shy funeral home worker. Kieran was then cast in a small role in “Home Alone 2: Lost in New York” (1992).

The actor was then hired and cast in his own movies, starting with a supporting role as Matty Banks in the romantic comedy “Father of the Bride” (1991), playing Steve Martin’s son. He was then cast in the movie “Nowhere to Run” (1993), starring Jean-Claude Van Damme and Rosanna Arquette, about an escaped convict who single handedly takes on ruthless developers determined to evict a widow with two young children. Next for the young star was a starring role in the comedy "It Runs In The Family" (1994), about a young boy, Ralphie, who is searching for the perfect tool to use to beat the school bully, while dealing with a somewhat dysfunctional family at the same time. He then appeared in the film "Father Of The Bride II" (2005), the sequel to "Father of the Bride", where George Banks (Steve Martin) must accept the reality of what his daughter's ascension from daughter to wife, and now, to mother means when placed into perspective against his own stage of life.

By 1995,  Macaulay supremacy as the biggest child star in history had started to wind down. But before Kieran could fully exploit his movie career he had to get past the nasty, public custody dispute, and battle over Macaulay’s money and battle with his parents. The publicity and legal battle drove a wedge between the children and their father that still haunts the family today. 

His career began to blossom once he became a teenager when he took the role of Kevin Dillon in "The Mighty" (1998) starring Gena Rowlands, a story about a strong friendship between a young boy with Morquio's syndrome, and an older boy who is always bullied because of his size. The film explores the building of trust and friendship. Next was a supporting role in the comedy "She's All That" (1999), starring with Freddie Prinze Jr. and Rachael Leigh Cook, where a high school jock makes a bet that he can turn an unattractive girl into the school's prom queen. He then took a small role in the musical drama "Music Of The Heart" (1999) with Meryl Streep, the story of a schoolteacher's struggle to teach violin to inner-city Harlem kids.

But he was about to get the big-break movie role that would place him at the top of his game, and make him a Hollywood celebrity. That break came in the role of Buster, in the Academy Award winning drama "Cider House Rules" (1999), starring with Tobey Maguire, Charlize Theron and Michael Caine, a story about how far we must travel to find the place where we belong, when a compassionate young man who is raised in an orphanage and trained to be a doctor decides to leave and explore the world. He was nominated for a Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Theatrical Motion Picture. Kieran had arrived in Hollywood and audiences and critics adored him.

He then took on the starring role alongside Emile Hirsch in the comedy "The Dangerous Lives Of Alter Boys" (2002), where a group of fifteen-year-old alter boys are caught drawing an obscene comic book, so they plan a heist that will outdo their previous prank and make them local legends. But the role that would make him a true celebrity was the starring role of Jason 'Igby' Slocumb, Jr., in the award winning dramatic comedy "Igby Goes Down" (2002), with Claire Danes, Jeff Goldblum, Amanda Peet, Ryan Phillippe, Susan Sarandon, and the newest member of the family to enter show-business, Rory. "Igby Goes Down" is a personal story about a young teen misfit boy (Culkin), who copes with his mother's cancer and his father's insanity by pursuing relationships with older women. 

He then took several years off from movie making in hopes of growing past the child-actor status that has led so many young celebrities to problems. He wanted to re-emerge at an age that allowed him to consider more adult roles, and let him transition into the adult world of movie making. His plan worked. He roared back to film making with the dramatic "Lymelife" (2009), starring with Alec Baldwin and Kieran's younger brother Rory. A story set in the late 1970's and seen through the innocent eyes of a fifteen year old boy, Scott, "Lymelife" is a unique look at the dangers of the American Dream. A funny, sad, violent and sometimes tragic look at first love, family dynamics and divorce weaves an complex story of American life during a time of drastic economic and emotional change.

He then took a supporting role alongside Anna Paquin, Matt Damon and Matthew Broderick in "Margaret" (2009), about a young woman (Paquin) who witnesses a bus accident and is caught up in the aftermath, where the question of whether or not it was intentional affects many people's lives. Another supporting role followed as Rupert Pupkin in the adventure comedy "The Other Side" (2009), where an over-achieving science scholar tries to solve a bizarre mystery involving the residents of a remote island, and ultimately discovers something she could have never predicted. 

He wrapped his year in the dramatic thriller "The Stanford Prison Experiment" (2009), a drama based on an experiment conducted in the summer of 1971 at Stanford University, where undergraduate students assumed the roles of prison guards and inmates. Within a single day, the psychological profiles of the students had changed, and the interaction between prisoners and guards grew violent. When the prisoners staged a revolt, the study was immediately shut down, creating a legacy that grows more popular as years pass.

Watch Kieran Culkin In "The Dangerous Lives Of Alter Boys" Movie Trailer

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