Macaulay Culkin says he auditioned for Once Upon a Time in Hollywood: 'It was a disaster'

Given Quentin Tarantino‘s predilection for reinvigorating stars’ careers with a choice role (as he famously did with John Travolta and Don Johnson, for instance), it’s a bit surprising that he and Macaulay Culkin haven’t worked together. But according to the Home Alone actor, that’s not for lack of trying on his part.

In a new interview with Esquire, Culkin admits that he auditioned for Tarantino’s star-studded, Oscar-winning Once Upon a Time in Hollywood — and it didn’t exactly go well. “It was a disaster,” Culkin says. “I wouldn’t have hired me. I’m terrible at auditioning anyway, and this was my first audition in like eight years.”

Had he been cast, the role would have been Culkin’s first in a high-profile studio film since the satirical comedy Saved! in 2004. Since then, he’s mostly appeared in independent films and the occasional TV role, such as Hulu’s Dollface last year. (He also riffed on his iconic Home Alone role in a 2018 holiday commercial for Google.)

While Culkin didn’t disclose which OUATIH part he auditioned for, it’s easy to imagine him among the film’s vast ensemble cast in some role — an actor on Lancer, perhaps, or maybe as Steve McQueen, who was ultimately played by Damian Lewis. (Culkin doesn’t not look like him!) Speaking of McQueen, how long do you think it will be before someone edits Culkin into OUATIH à la the film’s insertion of Rick Dalton (Leonardo DiCaprio) into The Great Escape?

Related content:

• Watch Luke Perry and Timothy Olyphant in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood deleted scene
• Once Upon a Time in Hollywood actress Julia Butters packed a sandwich in her Oscars purse
• Quentin Tarantino’s Once Upon a Time In Hollywood extended cut could debut ‘maybe in a year’s time’