Kieran Culkin says director called him ‘idiot, dummy, stupid’ when he was six

The ‘Succession’ star remembered thinking: ‘I’m not f***ing Method. I’m six’

Kieran Culkin opened up about his unpleasant first acting experience as a child.

The 42-year-old Succession star was just six years old when he began acting professionally.

During a recent appearance on the Smartless podcast, co-hosted by Jason Bateman, Sean Hayes and Will Arnett, Culkin recalled his first acting gig in a commercial that had “something to do with learning disabilities.”

“The concept was I’m standing in front of a chalkboard with chalk in my hand and I don’t know how to solve the easy thing in front of me. And the kids in the class are supposed to be calling me a dummy and stupid, all that,” the Igby Goes Down actor explained.

“I have a distinct memory of being there and the director going, ‘Okay, action.’ And he starts going, ‘Dummy. Idiot. Stupid,’” Culkin said.

The hosts reacted in shock to the anecdote while Culkin said he, too, was taken aback by the director’s approach. “I’m thinking like, ‘I get it. I’m six. Stand here and look sad. I’m not f***ing Method. I’m six. What’s wrong with you?’” He said.

Method acting is a controversial technique in which an actor totally immerses themselves in their character. Culkin’s former Succession co-star Jeremy Strong is well-known for going Method.

Kieran Culkin says a director called him an ‘idiot’ during first professional acting gig (Getty Images for BFI)

Decades before he landed his Emmy-winning role of Roman Roy on HBO’s hit four-season Machiavellian drama, Culkin made his on-screen debut in the 1990 Christmas classic Home Alone at seven years old alongside his older brother Macaulay Culkin.

In a recent interview with the Los Angeles Times, Culkin admitted that he had no idea what the movie was about when he was making it and when he saw it at the premiere.

“I had no idea what that movie was about when I saw it, and I was in it,” he said. “I was at the premiere, and I was dying laughing. It was the funniest thing I had ever seen. I had no idea what the movie was about.”

Culkin has since gone on to star in several other comedy classics, including Steve Martin’s Father of the Bride and Scott Pilgrim vs. the World.

He currently co-leads Jesse Eisenberg’s new comedy-drama, A Real Pain, about two cousins (Culkin and Eisenberg) who embark on a tour of Poland to honor their late grandmother.