Macaulay Culkin Returns to Golden Globes 2026 for First Time in 35 Years

Macaulay has been extremely candid about how he now approaches his acting career—which began when he was just 4 years old—sharing that he now appreciates taking breaks whenever he can.

"Technically, I’m retired right now," he said on the SmartLess podcast in December. "I retire and then, if I find something I like, I unretire, do that, and I immediately retire afterwards.”

Macaulay joked, “Every gig is my last."

"I quit for nearly a decade,” he shared. "Just went to high school, fell in love, got drunk for the first time, things like that."

The Richie Rich star—who shares sons Dakota, 4, and Carson, 3, with Brenda—explained that after starring in the 1994 film, "I was in a position where I could just put my thumb up my butt and play video games all day long.”

The break also led him to the realization that acting was something he actually wanted to do and was passionate about, and not just a career his parents chose for him when he was a child.

"I was kind of just drifting around, and tried to figure out what I wanted out of life and so forth,” he said. "This was a calling that found me. I didn’t find it. I wanted to explore that in a different way, on my terms."

For a look at all the big winners at the 2026 Golden Globes, keep reading.

"Dream as One"—Avatar: Fire and Ash; Miley Cyrus, Andrew Wyatt, Mark Ronson, Simon Franglen

WINNER: "Golden"—K:Pop Demon Hunters; Joong Gyu Kwak, Yu Han Lee, Hee Dong Nam, Jeong Hoon Seo, Park Hong Jun, Kim Eun-jae (EJAE), Mark Sonnenblick

"I Lied to You"—Sinners; Raphael Saadiq, Ludwig Göransson "No Place Like Home"—Wicked: For Good; Stephen Schwartz

"The Girl in the Bubble"—Wicked: For Good; Stephen Scwartz "Train Dreams"—Train Dreams; Nick Cave, Bryce Dessner

WINNER: Rose Byrne—If I Had Legs, I'd Kick You Marty Supreme—Josh Safdie, Ronald Bronstein

Sentimental Value—Eskil Vogt, Joachim Trier Hamnet—Chloe Zhao, Maggie O' Farrell