Igby Goes Down

Background:

“It's easy to cash out and make a lot of bad movies. I'd rather be dirt poor on the streets and have done good films,” Kieran Culkin.

One of the Culkin clan of child actors, Kieran Culkin is best known for his Golden Globe nominated starring role of Jason in “Igby Goes Down” (2002). He also won a Broadcast Film Critics Association Award, a Las Vegas Film Critics Society Award and a Golden Satellite Award for his performance. Making his movie debut as the cousin of his older brother Macaulay in the blockbuster family comedy “Home Alone” (1990), Kieran went on to have small roles in some of his brother's films and received recognition as a child with his role as Steve Martin's son in the film “Father of the Bride” (1991), from which he nabbed a Young Artist nomination, and its sequel “Father of the Bride Part II” (1995). Kieran made an effortless switch to teen roles with his starring role as a physically challenged boy in “The Mighty” (1998), where he received his second Young Artist nomination. He followed it up with roles in such movies as “She's All That,” “Music of the Heart” and the Oscar nominated “The Cider House Rules” (all 1999). Before his acclaimed starring role in “Igby Goes Down” (2002), the New York native received praise for his portrayal of a Catholic schoolboy on the Sundance screened “The Dangerous Lives of Altar Boys” (2002), which was an art house success. Also a stage performer, Kieran has appeared in a series of plays, including “After Ashley” (2005) and “Suburbia” (2006).

More recently, Kieran appeared in the dramatic comedy “Lymelife” (2008), “Paper Moon” (2009) and as Wallace Wells in “Scott Pilgrim vs. the World” (2010). He will costar in Kenneth Lonergan’s upcoming movie “Margaret” and star in David Michaels’ “The Other Side.”

Culkin Clan

Childhood and Family:

“Until my brother Mac started making major money, our house was really wild. The outside world didn't know how chaotic our life was because, though we'd live at home like a bunch of little critters, we'd go off to school and act all sedate and normal. Trust me, there is no such thing as normal for a Culkin,” Kieran Culkin.

Kieran Kyle Culkin was born on September 30, 1982, in New York, New York. He is the fourth child of seven to Christopher 'Kit' Culkin, a former stage actor, and Patricia Brentrup. His parents were never married and they separated in 1995 when Kieran was 13 years old. Soon after, Kieran and his siblings, Shane (born in 1976), Dakota (born in 1979), Macaulay (actor, born in 1980), Quinn (born in 1984, Christian (born in 1987) and Rory (born in 1989) became objects of a custody battle between his parents.

Kieran was educated at the Professional Children's School and St Joseph's School, in New York.

The Dangerous Lives of Alter Boys

Career:

The son of a former Broadway actor, Kieran Culkin was exposed to theater and ballet at a young age. He got his first taste of acting at the age of 2 when he appeared in a production at the Symphony Space Theater in Manhattan. The younger brother of child actor Macaulay Culkin, Kieran was introduced to filmmaking when he visited his brother during the production of Macaulay’s first film, “Rocket Gibraltar” (1988). Two years later, he made his film debut in his brother's starring vehicle, the highly successful “Home Alone” (1990), where he played his cousin. The young actor again appeared with his brother in “Only the Lonely” (1991) and the sequel “Home Alone 2: Lost in New York” (1992). In between, Kieran emerged on his own as Steve Martin and Diane Keaton's son in the big screen adaptation of “Father of the Bride” (1991), from which he was handed a Young Artist nomination for Best Young Actor Co-starring in a Motion Picture.

Kieran went on to have parts in the movies “Nowhere to Run” (1993) and “It Runs in the Family” (1994) before reprising his role in the sequel “Father of the Bride Part II” (1995). When his brother’s period as the biggest child star had tapered off in the mid-1990s, the younger Culkin was ready to make his mark in the industry. However, the highly published custody battle between his parents prevented him from moving forward with his career at the time.

Kieran next received a starring role in the film “Amanda” (1996), but it was never released. After taking some time off, he returned as a teen in the film “The Mighty” (1998). Under the direction of Peter Chelsom, he offered a fine performance as a boy with a disabling birth defect and gained rave reviews for the role, including a Young Artist nomination for Best Performance in a Feature Film-Leading Young Actor. The film marked his first onscreen collaboration with costar Elden Henson. He was reunited with Henson for the comedy “She's All That” (1999) and was cast as a teen musician in “Music of the Heart” (1999), which was directed by Wes Craven and starred Meryl Streep.

Kieran next shared a Screen Actors Guild nomination for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Theatrical Motion Picture for his work in the Lasse Hallstrom directed drama “The Cider House Rules” (1999), where he portrayed the orphan Buster. His costars in the Academy Award winning movie included Tobey Maguire, Charlize Theron and Michael Caine. After making his TV film debut opposite Randy Quaid and Whoopi Goldberg in the Emmy nominated “The Magical Legend of the Leprechauns” (1999) and an unsuccessful attempt on series television in the short-lived NBC sitcom “Go Fish” (2001), Kieran attracted viewers with his leading role as a Catholic boy named Tim Sullivan in “The Dangerous Lives of Alter Boys,” which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival on January 20, 2002.

Later that same year, Kieran received critical acclaim for his portrayal of the runaway teen in “Igby Goes Down,” a dramatic comedy written and directed by Burr Steers. His performance in the movie earned a Golden Satellite for Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture, a Las Vegas Film Critics Society for Youth in Film and a Critics Choice for Best Young Actor/Actress from the Broadcast Film Critics Association. He also received a Golden Globe nomination and a MTV nomination. With the success, Kieran was finally able to escape from the shadow of his older brother.

After “Igby Goes Down,” Kieran could be seen revisiting the theater realm by appearing in London's West End production of “This is Our Youth” (2002), with Colin Hanks. He then acted in Gina Gionfriddo's off-Broadway play “After Ashley” (2005), with Anna Paquin. In 2006, he played Buff Macleod in Eric Bogosian's modern version of “Suburbia” at the Second Stage Theatre in New York. Kieran also appeared in “Lymelife” (2008), “Paper Man” (2009) and “Scott Pilgrim vs. the World” (2010), which stars Michael Cera, Alison Pill and Mark Webber. He will soon star in the movie “Margaret,” which also stars Anna Paquin and Matt Damon and as Rupert Pupkin in the adventure comedy “The Other Side.”

Awards:

• Broadcast Film Critics Association: Critics Choice, Best Young Actor/Actress, “Igby Goes Down,” 2003

• Las Vegas Film Critics Society: Sierra Award, Youth in Film, “Igby Goes Down,” 2003

• Satellite: Golden Satellite, Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture, Comedy or Musical, “Igby Goes Down,” 2003