Macaulay Culkin is the childhood face of Christmas thanks to Home Alone movies

'I made my family disappear', is one of many oft-quoted lines from child star Macauley Culkin.

The hugely successful actor was making films from the age of four until he turned 14 years. A decade of acting and he produced a body of work that many adults who have been acting for forty years would be proud of having created.

The boy was a workaholic. Or rather, his parents were in need of supporting the several children they had at home.

Macaulay Culkin was born in New York City to Christopher Cornelius 'Kit' Culkin, a former stage actor, and Patricia Brentrup, a native of North Dakota who met Kit in 1974 while working as a road traffic controller in Sundance, Wyoming.

The couple soon relocated to Kit's native New York City, and gave birth to a total of seven children: Culkin's siblings include Shane, Dakota (1979–2008), Kieran (also an actor who stars in Succession), Quinn, Christian, and Rory. He also had a paternal half-sister, Jennifer (born 1970), who died in 2000.

During Culkin's early childhood the family lived together in a small apartment in the Yorkville neighborhood of Manhattan, and struggled financially. His mother worked as a telephone operator and his father was a sacristan at a local Catholic church. Culkin was raised Roman Catholic and attended St. Joseph's School of Yorkville for five years before transferring to the Professional Children's School.

Culkin made his film debut as Cy Blue Black in the drama Rocket Gibraltar (1988). He played the role of Billy Livingstone in the romantic comedy film See You in the Morning (1989), starring Jeff Bridges, Alice Krige, Farrah Fawcett and Drew Barrymore. He starred as Miles Russell alongside actor John Candy in the comedy film Uncle Buck (1989).

It was this last film with John Candy that led on to Home Alone and his huge fame.

Culkin rose to fame with his lead role of Kevin McCallister in the blockbuster comedy film Home Alone (1990). The film reunited him with Uncle Buck writer and director John Hughes and Uncle Buck co-star John Candy, who played the role of Polka band member Gus Polinski. For his performance, Culkin was nominated for a Golden Globe Award and won an American Comedy Award and a Young Artist Award.

'You guys give up or are you thirsty for more?' was delivered by a young Macauley with such panache that it's hard to believe he was just 10 years old and already a minor veteran of the screen.

“I don’t really watch them all that often,” Culkin said of the films that made him a child star. Home Alone, in particular, is one he tends to avoid, he said, recalling that when the cast reunited for a 15-year anniversary DVD commentary, he realised it was the first time he had seen the movie in years.

“It’s background radiation at Christmas time,” lamented Culkin. “I’ve had people who want to sit down and watch it with me, which is both flattering and creepy.”

If anything, Culkin continued, when he watches the film, he can’t help but be distracted by memories of what was going on behind the scenes. “I’m remembering that day on set, like, how I was hiding my Pepsi behind the couch. I can’t watch it the same way other people can.”

Another child prodigy of the Christmas screen is Mara Wilson. She was the adorable child who shone in Miracle on 34th Street. She was also in Mrs Doubtfire and Matilda, as well as a host of other film and TV work.

Wilson's mother was diagnosed with breast cancer on March 10, 1995, and died on April 26, 1996. The film Matilda was dedicated to her memory. Wilson later recalled that this affected her passion for acting. She decided to retire from acting in 2000 and her main focus as an adult is on writing.

“I grew out of that cute stage and didn’t develop into the classic Hollywood beauty as I got older,” said Wilson, who is now 35. “I didn’t like being reduced to adjectives – you’re thin or short or tall or blonde – and was no longer comfortable going to auditions so I gave up film acting. I still do some fun TV or web projects for friends and I love voice-over work because no one is judging how I look or how many times a week I workout.”

These actors have left us with an archive of their childhood. And they seem to have grown into well-adjusted adults which is a miracle of its own.