Macaulay Culkin claimed he was put in real danger on the set of “My Girl,” when he was just ten years old.
The child actor, who played Thomas J. Sennett in the family classic, claimed he was forced to work closely with real bees — in the scene that involved his character being fatally stung. Culkin recalled the terrifying ordeal on the Nov. 25 episode of the “On Film … With Kevin McCarthy Podcast.”
“I was working with the bees,” Culkin told the host. “They actually released thousands of bees on me, like imagine that! I’m not joking, those are real bees … That would not fly nowadays, boy howdy!”
“The way they did that, they wouldn’t do that today,” he told McCarthy.
Culkin continued, “They put this stuff on my fingertips that smells like the queen bee so [the bees] were actually attracted to my hands so I wasn’t a threat.”
McCarthy expressed shock at Culkin’s words, prompting the actor to continue.
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – OCTOBER 18: Macaulay Culkin attends the 5th Annual Academy Museum Gala at the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures on October 18, 2025 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Amy Sussman/Getty Images)
“No, no, no, those are real freakin’ bees man,” the “Home Alone” star told the host, “They just told me to wave my hands in front of my face so the bees can get in front of my face so it looks good for the camera and all that stuff.”
Culkin said he was given some warnings to heed while trying to get through the scary interactions with the bees.
“They told me not to touch anything, ’cause at one point I touched my pants and boom! They were just attracted to my pants!” he said.
The actor claimed he was told to get away from the insects as fast as possible after each take, but the advice seemed like a tall order for a young child.
HOLLYWOOD, CALIFORNIA – DECEMBER 01: Macaulay Culkin attends the ceremony honoring Macaulay Culkin with a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on December 01, 2023 in Hollywood, California. (Photo by Amy Sussman/Getty Images)
“As soon as they yelled ‘cut,’ they had like soapy hot water. Boom, I do that, wipe it off and then go out into the woods,” he said.
“The bee handler gave me a piece of advice, he says, ‘Human beings run faster than bees fly’. I was like, ‘But I’m 10. How fast do you think I am?’”
“They suck a bunch of bees on me!” he claimed. “We did four takes.”
“I didn’t get stung. I got a stinger in my neck, but that was me doing this,” he told McCarthy, gesturing. “Like it didn’t sting me, my neck went into the stinger. It didn’t break off or anything like that.”
Culkin went on to describe a scene that involved coaxing real alligators out of the water and claimed the production crew could have simulated the scenes in a pool instead. (RELATED: Guy Fieri Recalls The Time His Leg ‘Exploded’ In Horrific On-Set Injury)
“They’re throwing bees at me, and there’s alligators everywhere,” Culkin said, describing the alleged chaos on set. “Some of that stuff wouldn’t fly nowadays.”
