Over the years, holiday movies have changed. The stars that led them have grown up and while some have skyrocketed to A-list fame, others have taken a different route.
Zooey Deschanel starred alongside Will Ferrell in Elf in 2003, and while the movie is still a holiday classic, she’s since gone on to huge hits. She led New Girl, a Fox sitcom that landed five Golden Globe nominations and five Emmy nominations. Additionally, she starred in hit movies including 500 Days of Summer and The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy and formed She & Him, a band with M. Ward. She was nominated for a Grammy for Best Song Written for Visual Media for “So Long,” which was featured in 2011’s Winnie the Pooh. She also cofounded the female-focused website HelloGiggles that same year.
Another holiday star that is sure to be seen on TV in December is Macaulay Culkin, the star of 1990’s Home Alone and 1992’s Home Alone 2: Lost in New York.
The actor was only 10 when he landed the role, but it put him on the map in a huge way. After landing a Golden Globe nomination for his part in the first Home Alone, he went on to become a massive child star. He landed leading roles in My Girl in 1991, The Nutcracker in 1993 and The Pagemaster and Richie Rich in 1994.
He took a break from acting after that until 2003. He wrote an autobiography in 2006 and cofounded a pizza-themed comedy rock band in 2013. However, while the Home Alone movies are a Christmas staple, that’s not the case for the actor.
“I don’t really watch them all that often,” he said in an interview with Ellen DeGeneres in 2018. “It’s background radiation at Christmastime. I’ve had people who want to sit down and watch it with me, which is both flattering and creepy.”
He also added that he gets distracted by his memories on set whenever he does watch. “I’m remembering that day on set, like, how I was hiding my Pepsi behind the couch,” he shared. “I can’t watch it the same way other people can.”
For more updates on the biggest holiday movie stars, including Taylor Momsen, Johnny Galecki and Jonathan Taylor Thomas, scroll through the gallery below.
