The world knows his elder brother Macaulay Culkin as Kevin McCallister from the Home Alone films. However, Kieran Culkin has made a niche for himself in the entertainment industry as well. A diverse body of movies and TV shows, a successful acting career and his ability to seamlessly transition between genres justify Kieran Culkin’s net worth and success.
Kieran Culkin starred in Jesse Eisenberg’s directorial A Real Pain, which premiered on 20 January 2024 at the Sundance Film Festival. It made headlines when Searchlight Pictures lapped up its global rights for USD 10 million. The movie features Culkin as Benji Kaplan with Eisenberg playing his cousin David Kaplan and follows them as they travel to Poland and enter a Holocaust tour, after their grandmother’s death. Culkin’s outstanding performance in the film received positive reviews.
Among the TV shows Culkin has been part of is Succession (2018-2023), which has bagged prominent accolades and catapulted him to greater heights as a performer. He won Best Actor In a Drama Series at the 2024 Golden Globes and the Critics Choice Awards.
Such success has also raised interest in Kieran Culkin’s net worth, his rise as a child actor and other details about his lifestyle.
What is Kieran Culkin’s net worth?
Kieran Culkin began his career at a very young age when he starred as Kevin’s cousin Fuller in Home Alone (1990). This hints that the American actor has spent a long time in the industry, creating an impressive portfolio of movies and shows through his performance, thereby garnering fame.
According to celebrity wealth tracker Celebrity Net Worth, Culkin has a fortune of USD 5 million. This figure is likely to increase with the success of Succession and A Real Pain.
Kieran Culkin as a child actor
Besides the brothers, the Home Alone movie by Chris Columbus starred Joe Pesci, Daniel Stern, John Heard and Catherine O’Hara. According to reports, it grossed nearly USD 476 million between November 1990 and January 1991.
Parade states the older brother received USD 100,000 from the first film, which increased to USD 4.5 million from the later instalments. From this, one could assume that when Kieran Culkin reprised his role in Home Alone 2: Lost in New York (1992), he could have also seen a similar paycheque that added to his net worth.
After some exceptional films, Kieran Culkin found himself exploring the craft through different roles. He appeared in other movies and shows, including Only the Lonely (1991), Father of the Bride (1991) and 1995), My Summer Story (1994), Amanda (1996) and She’s All That (1999).
Other Kieran Culkin movies and TV shows
Transcending the typical child actor roles, Culkin presented his breakthrough performance in The Mighty (1998) as Kevin Dillon. The movie, also starring Sharon Stone and Elden Henson, grossed only USD 2.6 million but earned Culkin big-screen recognition.
This led him to get greater roles such as Wallace Wells in Scott Pilgrim vs. The World (2010). According to Box Office Mojo, the film collected USD 51.6 million worldwide between August (when it was released) and October of the same year.
Then there were Cider House Rules (1999), Igby Goes Down (2002) and Fargo (2014-2024). Igby Goes Down is particularly important in his career as Culkin was named Best Young Actor/Actress at the 2003 Critics Choice Awards. He also bagged a Golden Globe and Satellite Awards nomination for Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture – Comedy or Musical.
These movies and TV shows are testimony to Kieran Culkin’s net worth, which only increased over the years.
On 6 November 2021, Culkin hosted Saturday Night Live. He spoke about his role in Succession, his wife and children and how he was a part of three sketches when Macaulay hosted the show 30 years back.
How much did Kieran Culkin make from Succession?
Kieran Culkin has received incredible appreciation for essaying Roman Roy in this HBO series. The series, spanning four seasons, revolves around the affluent Roy family who runs the biggest media and entertainment house in the country. However, when the race to power dominates everything else, morals and values hold no place. The Roy family and their allies fight each other to reach the top.
Over the years, the TV show has won 19 Primetime Emmy Awards, eight Critics Choice Awards and nine Golden Globes. In 2024, besides Culkin, Sarah Snook (who plays Shiv Roy) won the Golden Globe for Best Female Actress in a Drama Series, while Matthew Macfadyen bagged the award for Outstanding Supporting Actor.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Culkin pocketed USD 100,000 per episode for the first two seasons, which amounts to roughly USD 2 million. The cast ensemble separately negotiated their salaries, and Culkin’s earnings reached around USD 350,000 per episode of the third season of Succession. This takes his total earnings to around USD 3.5 million.
Such figures and awards pave the way for a soaring career and have boosted Kieran Culkin’s net worth.
With the fourth season marking the end of the TV show, the actor will be taking a break from work. “I’m really looking forward to it when I get home because the last couple weeks I haven’t really been much of a parent, which makes me feel like shit and makes me feel like I’m not me,” he told The Hollywood Reporter.
Kieran Culkin starred in a Volkswagen ad commercial
In 2020, Volkswagen roped in Culkin and Billions star Paul Giamatti for a three-part story arch. The latter plays Culkin’s celebrity accountant and wonders why his boss should buy a gold jet ski while browsing through other outlandish options like a waterfall or a tiger. However, when Culkin says he recently bought a Volkswagen Atlas Cross Sport, the other gleams with joy.
Although Culkin’s earnings from this commercial are not known, featuring on such a noted brand’s campaign with Giamatti would have significantly added to his net worth.
Kieran Culkin’s personal life
Kieran Culkin was born to Kit Culkin and Patricia Brentrup on 30 September 1982 in a New York City apartment. Kit and Patricia were longtime partners but did not get married. Besides Kieran and Macaulay, they share five children — Shane, Dakota (who died in 2008), Quinn, Christian and Rory. Kit worked as a Broadway stage actor before his sons’ careers took off, and he started managing them.
In 2013, Kieran married Jazz Charton, and the couple has two kids — Kinsey and Wilder. Following the premiere of A Real Pain, Culkin said he would isolate himself from the world and focus on his family. “I’m going to turn the world off for about a week and just be a dad,” quoted The Hollywood Reporter.
Previously, he dated Emma Stone between 2010 and 2011.
Kieran Culkin lived in a one-bedroom flat with his wife and kids
According to a 2022 report by Hello! despite the success of Succession, the actor lived in a one-bedroom apartment with his family. They even spent the COVID-19 pandemic together in the same home where Culkin has been living since he was 19.
The publication adds that they later bought a larger three-bedroom home. It has a sophisticated ambience with white walls and grey carpets and overlooks another building.
(Hero and feature image credit: Succession/ Photo by Macall Polay/ IMDb)
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
-How much is Macaulay Culkin’s net worth right now?
According to Celebrity Net Worth, Macaulay Culkin has a net worth of an estimated USD 18 million, as of 23 January 2024.
-Which Culkin is the most successful?
In terms of net worth, Macaulay Culkin with USD 18 million surpasses Kieran Culkin who has a fortune of around USD 5 million, according to Celebrity Net Worth.
-Who is Kieran Culkin’s wife?
In 2013, Kieran Culkin married Jazz Charton.
-Was Home Alone a successful movie?
Released in 1990, Home Alone was a massive hit film. It grossed about USD 476 million.