Rory Hugh Culkin (born July 21, 1989) is an American actor known for his roles in ''
You Can Count on Me
''You Can Count on Me'' is a 2000 American drama film written and directed by Kenneth Lonergan in his feature directorial debut. Starring Laura Linney, Mark Ruffalo, Rory Culkin, and Matthew Broderick, the film follows a single mother living in ...
'' (2000), ''
Signs'' (2002), ''
Scream 4
''Scream 4'' (stylized as ''SCRE4M'') is a 2011 American slasher film directed by Wes Craven and written by Kevin Williamson. Produced by Outerbanks Entertainment and distributed by Dimension Films, it is the sequel to ''Scream 3'' (2000) and ...
'' (2011), ''
Columbus'' (2017), and ''
Lords of Chaos'' (2018). He has also appeared on television series such as ''
Waco
Waco ( ) is a city in and the county seat of McLennan County, Texas, United States. It is situated along the Brazos River and I-35, halfway between Dallas and Austin. The city had a U.S. census estimated 2024 population of 146,608, making i ...
'' (2018), ''
Under the Banner of Heaven
''Under the Banner of Heaven: A Story of Violent Faith'' is a nonfiction book by author Jon Krakauer, first published in July 2003. He investigated and juxtaposed two histories: the origin and evolution of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-da ...
'' (2022), and the ''
Black Mirror
''Black Mirror'' is a British anthology series, anthology television series created by Charlie Brooker. Most episodes are set in near-future dystopias containing Science fiction, sci-fi technology—a type of speculative fiction. The series i ...
'' (2023) episode "
Beyond the Sea".
He is the youngest brother of actors
Macaulay and
Kieran Culkin
Kieran Kyle Culkin (born September 30, 1982) is an American actor. Known for portraying distasteful yet sympathetic characters across stage and screen, List of awards and nominations received by Kieran Culkin, his accolades include an Academy A ...
.
Early life
Rory Hugh Culkin was born July 21, 1989, in New York City, the youngest of seven children born to
Christopher "Kit" Culkin, a former
Broadway
Broadway may refer to:
Theatre
* Broadway Theatre (disambiguation)
* Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S.
** Broadway (Manhattan), the street
** Broadway Theatre (53rd Stre ...
stage actor, and Patricia Brentrup, a native of
North Dakota
North Dakota ( ) is a U.S. state in the Upper Midwest, named after the indigenous Dakota people, Dakota and Sioux peoples. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Saskatchewan and Manitoba to the north and by the U.S. states of Minneso ...
who met Kit in 1974 while working as a
road traffic control
: ''For the road traffic science, see various articles under :Road traffic management, Road traffic management.''
Road traffic control involves directing vehicular and pedestrian traffic around a construction zone, accident or other road disruptio ...
ler in
Sundance, Wyoming
Sundance (Lakota language, Lakota: ''Owíwaŋyaŋg Wačhí''; "Sun-watching Dance") is a town in and the county seat of Crook County, Wyoming, United States. Its population was 1,032 at the United States Census, 2020, 2020 census. The town is na ...
.
Culkin's siblings include Shane ( 1976), Dakota (1979–2008),
Macaulay ( 1980),
Kieran ( 1982), Quinn ( 1984), and Christian ( 1987).
[ He also had a paternal half-sister, Jennifer (1970–2000). Culkin's paternal aunt is actress ]Bonnie Bedelia
Bonnie Bedelia (born Bonnie Bedelia Culkin; March 25, 1948) is an American actress. After beginning her career in theatre in the 1960s, Bedelia starred in the CBS daytime soap opera '' Love of Life'' and made her film debut in '' The Gypsy Moths ...
. He has German, Irish, and Norwegian ancestry.[Kepnes, Caroline (October 2005)]
"Schmoozin' with Mila Kunis"
''JVibe
''JVibe'' was a bimonthly magazine for Jewish teens aged 12–18, published by a company called JFL Media between 2004 and 2009.
Overview
Sections of the magazine included pop culture events, celebrity interviews, news from Israel, sports s ...
''. Archived fro
the original
on June 3, 2006. Retrieved January 16, 2016. Mila Kunis on Culkin: "No my boyfriend was raised Irish Catholic..."
Career
Culkin began acting by playing alongside his elder brothers, among them Macaulay and Kieran, often as the younger versions of their characters. He first appeared in a photograph as a baby in '' The Good Son'' (1993), then as Young Richie in '' Ri¢hie Ri¢h'' (1994) (Richie being played by his brother Macaulay) and in 2002, played 10-year-old Igby in ''Igby Goes Down
''Igby Goes Down'' is a 2002 American comedy-drama film that follows the life of Igby Slocumb, a rebellious and sardonic teenager who attempts to break free of his familial ties and wealthy, overbearing mother. The film was written and directed ...
'' (17-year-old Igby was played by his older brother Kieran).
Culkin's breakthrough role was in ''You Can Count on Me
''You Can Count on Me'' is a 2000 American drama film written and directed by Kenneth Lonergan in his feature directorial debut. Starring Laura Linney, Mark Ruffalo, Rory Culkin, and Matthew Broderick, the film follows a single mother living in ...
'' (2000), opposite Laura Linney
Laura Leggett Linney (born February 5, 1964) is an American actress. She is the recipient of several awards, including two Golden Globe Awards and four Primetime Emmy Awards, and has been nominated for three Academy Awards and five Tony Awards. ...
, a role for which he received much praise and a Young Artist Award
The Young Artist Award (originally known as the Youth in Film Award) is an accolade presented by the Young Artist Foundation, a nonprofit organization founded in 1978 to honor excellence of youth performers, and to provide scholarships for young ...
. Since then, Culkin has appeared in numerous films, including '' Signs'' (2002), in which he starred alongside Mel Gibson
Mel Columcille Gerard Gibson (born January 3, 1956) is an American actor and filmmaker. The recipient of List of awards and nominations received by Mel Gibson, multiple accolades, he is known for directing historical films as well for his act ...
and Joaquin Phoenix
Joaquin Rafael Phoenix ( ; ; born October 28, 1974) is an American actor. Widely described as one of the most preeminent actors of his generation and known for Joaquin Phoenix filmography, his roles as dark, unconventional and eccentric charact ...
and ''Electrick Children'', in which he starred alongside Julia Garner
Julia Garner (born February 1, 1994) is an American actress. She gained recognition for playing Ruth Langmore in the Netflix crime drama series ''Ozark'' (2017–2022), for which she received critical acclaim and won three Primetime Emmy Awar ...
.
As a teenager, Rory started moving into more independent films. He took a leading role in ''Mean Creek
''Mean Creek'' is a 2004 American coming-of-age psychological drama film written and directed by Jacob Aaron Estes and starring Rory Culkin, Ryan Kelley, Scott Mechlowicz, Trevor Morgan, Josh Peck, and Carly Schroeder. The film is about a ...
'' (2004), a film about a group of teenagers that plan revenge on a bully. The entire youth cast won an Independent Spirit Award
The Independent Spirit Awards, originally known as the FINDIE or Friends of Independents Awards, and later as the Film Independent Spirit Awards, are awards presented annually in Santa Monica, California, to independent filmmakers. Founded in ...
for this film. He appeared in other independent films, such as '' The Chumscrubber'' (2005), '' Down in the Valley'' (2005), and '' Hick'' (2011).
Since his Young Artist Award win for ''You Can Count on Me'', Culkin has received three more nominations. He had a guest role in the '' Law & Order: Special Victims Unit'' episode " Manic", and in the episode "Azoth the Avenger Is a Friend of Mine" of ''The Twilight Zone
''The Twilight Zone'' is an American media franchise based on the anthology series, anthology television series created by Rod Serling in which characters find themselves dealing with often disturbing or unusual events, an experience described ...
'' alongside Patrick Warburton
Patrick Warburton (born November 14, 1964) is an American actor. His live action TV roles include David Puddy on ''Seinfeld'', the Tick (character), title character on ''The Tick (2001 TV series), The Tick'', Jeb Denton on ''Less than Perfect'' ...
. In May 2010, Culkin was cast for the slasher film ''Scream 4
''Scream 4'' (stylized as ''SCRE4M'') is a 2011 American slasher film directed by Wes Craven and written by Kevin Williamson. Produced by Outerbanks Entertainment and distributed by Dimension Films, it is the sequel to ''Scream 3'' (2000) and ...
'', which was released on April 15, 2011. Culkin was cast as Euronymous
Øystein Aarseth (22 March 1968 – 10 August 1993), better known by his stage name Euronymous, was a Norwegian musician and a founder of and central figure in the early Norwegian black metal scene. He was a co-founder and guitarist of the No ...
in the biographical film '' Lords of Chaos'' (2018) which tells the story about the events of the Norwegian black metal scene and the band Mayhem
Mayhem most commonly refers to:
* Mayhem (crime), a type of crime
Mayhem may also refer to:
People
* Monica Mayhem (born 1978), Australian pornographic actress
* Jason "Mayhem" Miller, American mixed martial arts fighter
* Mayhem Miller (dr ...
.
In 2014, Culkin starred as the titular character in ''Gabriel
In the Abrahamic religions (Judaism, Christianity, Islam), Gabriel ( ) is an archangel with the power to announce God's will to mankind, as the messenger of God. He is mentioned in the Hebrew Bible, the New Testament and the Quran. Many Chris ...
''. Culkin was commended by critics, and was subsequently nominated for the Gotham Independent Film Award for Breakthrough Actor.
In 2016, he appeared in the horror movies '' Welcome to Willits'' and '' Jack Goes Home''.
In 2023, Culkin guest-appeared in Amazon Prime Video
Amazon Prime Video, known simply as Prime Video, is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming television service owned by Amazon. The service primarily distributes films and television series produced or co-produced by ...
series '' Swarm''.
Personal life
In April 2018, Culkin married cinematographer Sarah Scrivener in New Orleans, Louisiana
New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...
. Their wedding was officiated by Paul Heyman
Paul Heyman (born September 11, 1965) is an American professional wrestling manager, former executive, promoter, and commentator. He is signed to WWE as the on-screen manager of Seth Rollins, Bron Breakker, and Bronson Reed, and is widely regard ...
on the eve of WrestleMania 34
WrestleMania 34 was a 2018 professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) and livestreaming event produced by WWE. It was the 34th annual WrestleMania and took place on April 8, 2018, at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana, held for ...
. Scrivener and Culkin had met already in 2009 while working on '' Scre4m'', the fourth film of the ''Scream'' franchise. In 2019, they collaborated on the Showtime series ''City on a Hill''; further, in 2022, they worked together on a music video that Scrivener directed, produced and filmed for musician Quinn Murphy.
Filmography
Film
Television
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Culkin, Rory
1989 births
Living people
20th-century American male actors
21st-century American male actors
American male child actors
American male film actors
American male television actors
American male voice actors
American people of German descent
American people of Irish descent
American people of Norwegian descent
Rory
Rory is a given name of Gaelic origin. It is an anglicisation of the /''Ruaidhrí'' and /''Ruaraidh'' and is common to the Irish, Highland Scots and their diasporas. for the given name "Rory". The meaning of the name is "red king", composed ...