Movie TalkRory Culkin Grows Up in ‘Scream 4′
Making the transition from child star to adult actor is never easy, but it probably helps when you have two older brothers who did it before you.
Such is the case for Rory Culkin, the youngest sibling of the Culkin acting clan. After following in the footsteps of his brothers Macaulay and Kieran by appearing in big Hollywood movies as a kid, he's now making the leap to grown-up roles. And this weekend, Rory is definitely in the spotlight with a role in the much-anticipated "Scream 4."
Rory first movie appearance was in a photo that was supposed to be his brother Macaulay's character as a baby in 1993's "The Good Son." He actually played the younger Macaualy a year later in "Richie Rich," and later was cast as Kieran's earlier self in "Igby Goes Down."
But at age 10 Rory stepped out of his brothers' shadows in the Oscar-nominated drama "You Can Count on Me." He received strong critical reviews for his mature portrayal of Laura Linney's son. He followed it in 2002 with the biggest financial hit of his career, M. Night Shaymalan's "Signs." As the asthmatic son of Mel Gibson, once again Culkin impressed critics with his screen presence.
Rory never stopped working, although after "Signs" he did focus mostly on independent movies. He shared an Independent Spirit Award with his young costars of the 2004 drama "Mean Creek." He also appeared in "The Chumscrubber" with Glenn Close, "Down in the Valley" with Edward Norton, and "The Night Listener" with Robin Williams. And in 2009 he played the younger sibling of his real-life brother Kieran in "Lymelife."
In "Scream 4," Rory has an on-screen romance with his longtime friend in real life, Hayden Panettiere. Hayden told Zap2It that they even had sleepovers together as kids. "Scream 4" is also the third movie Rory has made in a row with Emma Roberts, after "Lymelife" and last year's "Twelve."
See photos from the 'Scream 4' premiere >>
Rory told E! Online that he saw the original "Scream" when he was quite young (he was only seven when it hit theaters), but he didn't get to watch the whole thing. He said, "My sister would cover my eyes every time something scary would happen, so I didn't really see it until I was a little older." It apparently made an impression, though, because he later dressed up as Ghostface for Halloween. And it seems it gave him a taste for scaring people, because he said at a press conference for the movie that he put on the mask and hid in his sister's room, "until she saw in the reflection, me behind her, and she freaked out and started slapping me."
"Scream 4" is in theaters now. Watch clips from the movie below.
