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Macaulay Culkin may not be as big a presence in Hollywood as he once was, but the actor will always be beloved by anyone who grew up in the ’90s. That’s not just due to the fact that he played one of the most legendary scoundrels in the world. screen, Kevin McCallister, in two “Home Alone” movies, but also because he will always be the kid with a McDonald’s in his own house, thanks to playing the lead role in 1994’s “Richie Rich.” His endearing His sass also matched John Candy’s sometimes overlooked but perpetually charming Buck Russell in “Uncle Buck.”
If those were the only three roles Culkin played, they would be enough to maintain his position as a ’90s legend. But before taking a long break from acting in 1994, the actor had a considerable career outside of those well-known films, including a disturbing departure from his most wholesome film that involved him playing a sociopathic killer in the 1993 psychological thriller “The Good Son,” an R-rated horror role that a child should never have played.
Even before his breakthrough role in 1990’s “Home Alone,” Culkin had been working for a couple of years in the industry, making his film debut as Cy Blue Black in Daniel Petrie’s 1988 drama “Rocket Gibraltar.” That same year, he also appeared on a television show that proved to have a much more lasting legacy than the star surely realized at the time.
A pre-fame Macaulay Culkin played a kidnapping victim on TV
Today, audiences associate “The Equalizer” with Denzel Washington and his seemingly indestructible hero, Robert McCall. Over the course of three films, Denzel has established a solid action franchise that will now continue with the fourth and fifth “Equalizer” films. Outside of that saga, Queen Latifah took on the “Equalizer” brand by playing a female version of the character on the rebooted CBS series, currently in its fifth season. But Robert McCall’s origins date back to the 1980s, when British actor Edward Woodward first played him on the original CBS series.
The show ran from 1985 to 1989, with Woodward playing a retired intelligence agent who offers his services to ordinary people who have been wronged in the course of their daily lives. Woodward passed away in 2009, before being able to witness Denzel resurrect his most famous character for the big screen. In fact, there are very few actors left alive from the 1986 series “Equalizer.” But Macaulay Culkin happens to be one of them.
Yes, before playing Kevin McCallister for the first time, an even younger Culkin appeared on the CBS crime drama, as did a young William Zabka of “Karate Kid” and “Cobra Kai.” While Zabka had a recurring role as McCall’s son Scott, the eight-year-old Culkin appeared in only one 1988 episode of “The Equalizer,” playing a kidnapping victim named Paul Gephardt.
Macaulay Culkin’s first credited television role was in The Equalizer
The season 3 episode of “The Equalizer,” titled “Something Green,” would have served as Culkin’s television debut had he not appeared in the 1985 television movie “The Midnight Hour.” “The Equalizer” was, however, his first credited television role, with Culkin playing the son of Swiss diplomat Raymond (Jon DeVries).
As the episode begins, Paul Gephardt is taken from the home of his mother, Mrs. Gephart (Lisa Eichorn). She immediately suspects her husband and calls on Edward Woodward’s Robert McCall to help her. He eventually discovers that Paul was kidnapped by criminals who had been using his father to funnel money into Swiss bank accounts. After Raymond robbed these shady individuals, they took his son and demanded his money, creating a difficult web for McCall to untangle in his mission to get Paul back.
Just two years after appearing in the episode, Culkin would be at the helm of “Home Alone” and his career would take off. That’s pretty remarkable considering the younger actor had only been in a handful of projects between his role in “Equalizer” and Chris Columbus’ beloved Christmas classic. After that, in addition to starring in the NBC animated series “Wish Kid” in 1991, Culkin would stay away from television until he took a break from acting in 1994, although he did lend his voice to an episode of “Frasier” that same year, becoming one of the main guest stars on the show we never got to see.
All that’s left now is for Denzel Washington to bring Macaulay Culkin back to the “Eqaulizer” franchise in one of his next movies and the circle will be complete.
