Home Alone celebrated its 33rd anniversary in November, with the Macaulay Culkin classic now a holiday staple.
Culkin played the precocious Kevin McCallister, a troublesome eight-year-old boy who is accidentally left home alone while his family spends Christmas in Paris – but the film could have had a very different cast.
Oscar winner Robert De Niro was originally offered the iconic role of Wet Bandit Harry Lyme – a role made famous by Joe Pesci in the 1992 film and sequel Home Alone 2: Lost in New York.
Outlaws Lyme and Marv Murchins (Daniel Stern) target the McCallister family home in Chicago, but are brought down by Kevin’s ingenious contraptions.
Home Alone was the highest-grossing film of 1990, with $285 million from a budget of just $18 million, which at the time was the highest-grossing comedy of all time.
Home Alone celebrated its 33rd anniversary in November – and Robert De Niro almost joined the cast in a shocking role
Although De Niro never personally confirmed that he was being considered for the role of Harry Lyme, director Chris Columbus confirmed that he was approached in 2020. Insider interview.
However, when asked if he ever “seriously” considered taking on the role, Columbus admitted, “No, I don’t think so.”
“There was a little bit of talk about it internally, but when Pesci said yes, I was stunned,” Columbus admitted.
De Niro is certainly best known for his dramatic performances, although he is no stranger to the comedy genre either.
He played stand-up comedian Rupert Pupkin in Martin Scorsese’s 1978 film The King of Comedy, as well as comedic roles in Analyze This and played a legendary stand-up in 2016’s The Comedian.
Still, it seemed like De Niro had no interest in playing Harry Lyme, and the actor even admitted as much CinemaBlend in 2020 that he has never seen Home Alone.
‘I’ll be honest: I’ve never seen Home Alone. I would see it, but I just didn’t see it. Maybe I’ll see it with one of my kids,” he said.
Two months before Home Alone hit theaters, De Niro and Pesci starred in Goodfellas, with Pesci winning an Oscar for playing Tommy DeVito.
The Christmas classic stars Macaulay Culkin as the precocious Kevin McCallister, a troublesome eight-year-old boy who is accidentally left home alone while his family spends Christmas in Paris.
Oscar winner De Niro was originally offered the iconic role of Wet Bandit Harry Lyme – a role made famous by Joe Pesci (portrayed in the film starring Daniel Stern as Marv Murchins)
Although De Niro never personally confirmed that he was considered for the role of Harry Lyme, director Chris Columbus confirmed that he was approached in a 2020 Insider interview. When asked if he ever “seriously” considered taking the role to take, Columbus admitted: ‘No, I don’t think so’
Still, it seemed De Niro had no interest in playing Harry Lyme, with the actor even admitting to CinemaBlend in 2020 that he had never seen Home Alone (pictured Sunday at the Golden Globes)
Two months before Home Alone hit theaters, De Niro and Pesci starred in Goodfellas, with Pesci winning an Oscar for playing Tommy DeVito (pictured with Ray Liotta and Paul Sorvino)
While Goodfellas is considered by many to be one of the greatest films of all time, Home Alone is perhaps the more enduring classic.
Columbus also revealed to Insider that he ran into Goodfellas director Martin Scorsese after reuniting with Pesci for the first time in years in his 2019 film The Irishman.
“I ran into Marty Scorsese after he did ‘The Irishman’ and he told me, ‘We’re shooting in the street and all anyone wanted to talk to Joe about was ‘Home Alone,’” Columbus said.
He added: “Quite a compliment from the man who directed Joe’s best work. I think it’s hilarious that people still come up to Joe Pesci and want to talk about him on Home Alone.”