Chris Columbus Says Witnessing Child Fame After “Home Alone” Affected “Harry Potter” Casting

As many of us look forward to hearing more about the upcoming Harry Potter TV series, particularly in the wake of the recent open casting call, an experienced few can look back and reflect on the making of the original cast. Chris Columbus, who directed both Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone and Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, is one such individual.

In an interview with Demi Lovato for her recent documentary, Child Star, the filmmaker discussed how his experience shooting Home Alone influenced his approach to casting the Potter franchise. In particular, Columbus said he came away with a new sense of responsibility for the young actors in his care.

“We didn’t know that much about [Macaulay Culkin’s] family at the beginning,” he told the Guardian in 2013, reflecting on the star of his breakthrough holiday hit. “As we were shooting, we learned a little more. The stories are hair-raising. I was casting a kid who truly had a troubled family life.”

Culkin, who became the breadwinner for his family at ten years old, has since spoken of the abuse he suffered at the hands of his father. The star made headlines soon after for taking his parents to court to block them from controlling his earnings. “I learned how to read court papers at 14,” Culkin commented later.

Chris Columbus learned something as well. “Suddenly, I realized that parents had to be a big part of it,” he said in the documentary. “I can’t have [an actor] go home to a really shaky environment for the sake of a film. It’s not worth it. It was as important to cast the parents as it was to cast the kids.”

The lesson was particularly valuable in approaching the Harry Potter franchise, which the filmmaker knew early would be massively popular. He recalled the excitement surrounding the first movie even prior to its filming.

You go on the street, you go into a pub, you go anywhere, and people are saying, ‘Who are you gonna cast? Who’s gonna be Harry Potter, who’s gonna be Harry Potter?’ And that, you take that information and you bring it back to the actor and the actor’s parents: ‘This is gonna get pretty intense.’ 

Columbus noted that the trio committed to multiple films at the beginning and that he felt a responsibility to ensure the young actors knew exactly what they were signing up for. “That’s the rest of your life as a child star,” he said. “That’s gonna be your legacy, and you have to learn how to live with that.”