Adorable child star turned indie darling Macaulay Culkin and his seven siblings were groomed for stardom by their father. As little Macaulay’s manager, father Kit Culkin became one of the most notorious “stage dads” in the biz. Kit hand-picked Macaulay’s movie roles (without any input from Macaulay), signing his little boy up for an increasingly stressful amount of work. Kit refused to allow Macaulay to defend his friend Michael Jackson when Jackson faced serious child molestation charges, though Macaulay himself had spent many nights at the Neverland ranch unharmed. As Macaulay rose to stardom, Kit’s demands on the studios became more and more outrageous, endangering Macaulay’s career. Although his abrasive nature did land Macaulay’s role in The Good Son, he was a power-hungry man with disregard for anything resembling family values. Kit drank excessively, and his relationship with Macaulay’s mom crumbled. A vicious custody battle ensued over the mealtickets (Macaulay and his siblings); Kit spent so much on lawyers that his famous children lived in near poverty. Macaulay, still a teenager, took both his parents to court to gain control of his earnings. He paid off his mother’s debt, then cut off contact with his father.
