We’re in the blissful period before the major awards nominations come out (Globes don’t count), when people are just having fun and seeing if their Oscar campaign is going to pan out into anything. Interviews, screenings, premieres, trips to film festivals, all of it. But it wasn’t before now that I realized that Kieran Culkin is probably going to be around this awards season. He’s considered one of the frontrunners for Best Supporting Actor for A Real Pain, which was written and directed by Jesse Eisenberg. Culkin is reportedly great in the movie, but let’s be real – Succession was such a beloved and popular show, there are a lot of people who will just want to give Kieran another award because they loved what he did as Roman Roy. Well, Kieran is dipping his toe in the Oscar season with this NY Times profile, which is lovely. I don’t get the sense that he’s playing the “it would be an honor just to be nominated” game either – he truly does not give a sh-t and he would much rather be home with his wife and kids. Some highlights from the Times:

He missed a parent-teacher conference because of work: “My wife was like, ‘We can postpone it and do it over Zoom,’ and I was like, ‘No, no, do it the right way, when they scheduled it. Go.’ I want to be the one that can go off for a weekend and do work but also be the parent-teacher guy. But I think I’m getting to the place of having to accept that I can’t always get home.”

Why he decided to do ‘A Real Pain’: “I was laughing really hard out loud, which hardly happens. It was such a tight, wonderful script that I didn’t need to do homework because there weren’t any holes for me to fill in. I just wanted to show up and not rehearse and not think about it because the character’s spontaneous and surprising. I literally would not say the dialogue out loud until we were shooting. I never said it once. I wouldn’t look over the scenes the night before or the morning of. On the way to set, I would go, “What scene are we doing? Great.” I’d learn the lines really quickly in my head, then do a take and just be like, “Oh, I guess that’s what happens in the scene? I didn’t know that.” But this character lends itself to that. I can’t do that with everybody.”

Acting isn’t a real job: “My wife made fun of me 10 years ago because I was tired, I was like, “Guys, I’m stressed, I’ve got to go to work.” She went, “Work? I have to go to work. I’m going to an office and working a job, you’re going to go pretend to be someone. It’s literally called play.”

Working with Jesse Eisenberg: “The tough part is getting notes from an actor, because an actor’s not supposed to look at you and go, “It’d be better if you do it like this.” That’s a huge faux pas, you get smacked in the mouth for that, and every time he did it, it threw me: Literally, my chest would pop out, and I’d clench my fist and be in a defensive stance, and be like, “Is this [expletive] telling me how to do it better? Because I got notes for him, too.” Then I’d realize he was actually really good at it: He would know what the exact little solve was for the scene if it wasn’t working. He’s also really fun to play with.”

On fame: “I don’t personally know anybody that has hit a level of fame that likes it. I have a friend who became famous overnight and his horror story was realizing, “Oh, it’s too late. I [expletive] my life.” He had to make adjustments in his life to figure out how to be OK with the fact that he’s famous, and he’s doing all right now, actually. But I remember when he told me that story years ago, I was like, “Oh man, I hope that never happens to me.”

Family first: “That’s why with this movie, I was like, “Why did I say yes to this? There’s no money here, I don’t see how this is going to benefit me or my family in any way.” I don’t have the same mentality of when I was 26 and single, being like, “I’m going to Shreveport to do a movie for a few weeks, who cares?” Now I have to go, “Where does it shoot and for how long? Can I bring the family? When, because are my kids going to be in school?” All those things matter before I even start the conversation of will I do it or not.

On ambition: “For work, no [I’m not ambitious]. But I think I aim high when it comes to other things. I took a shot at the most beautiful and charismatic person I’ve ever known and she said yes to a date with me. Now I’m married to her, so I aimed pretty high there and I ended up with my best friend and a great person. I have two beautiful kids and I want to be the best dad ever, so I work really hard at that. That [awards] stuff is nice, but the real stuff is me being home with my kids, when I’m reading them books and singing them songs until they go to sleep. That’s the whole point of life. The rest of it I’m doing so I can get back to that.

[From The NY Times]

I laughed at “Is this [expletive] telling me how to do it better? Because I got notes for him, too.” I can imagine it – Culkin getting super-defensive, blood-pressure spiking, because Jesse told him to try a different line reading. He’s so funny. As I said, I really buy that Kieran is this guy who would rather be at home with his kids. Since he wrapped on Succession, he’s only filmed A Real Pain and that’s it. He’s been home ever since, except for his promotional duties for the film. Now that I’m thinking about it… this could be a Matthew McConaughey situation. McConaughey ended up winning an Oscar for Dallas Buyers Club, but really he won for True Detective. Kieran might win for A Real Pain, but really, it’s because people just f–king love him for Succession.

Photos courtesy of Cover Images.