Kieran Culkin’s wife, Jazz Charton, may have uncovered the secret behind his successful award season.
The 42-year-old “Succession” star, who shares two children, Wilder Wolf, 3, and Kinsey Sioux, 5, with his 36-year-old wife, mentioned a “baby pact” during his acceptance speech at the 2025 Oscars.
Culkin, who won Best Actor in a Supporting Role for his performance in A Real Pain, directed by Jesse Eisenberg, has been outspoken about his desire to have more children. During his Oscar speech, he shared a humorous story about Charton telling him that she would have two more kids on one condition: he needed to win an Oscar.
On March 4, Charton posted several photos from the 97th Academy Awards on Instagram and joked about her husband’s acceptance speech in the caption. She humorously credited the “baby pacts” for motivating his career.
“AN OSCAR?!!!! Okay okay hear me out – making empty baby pacts may seem foolish, but it’s clearly been a great motivator,” she wrote. “Would he have come this far if I hadn’t kept promising him more kids if he won awards?….. Probably. But who’s to say?”
Along with his Oscar win, Culkin has dominated this award season with victories at the Golden Globe Awards, Critics’ Choice Awards, BAFTA Awards, and SAG Awards. Yet, despite all his accolades, Culkin’s most important role remains that of a father.
In a conversation with Sing Sing actor Colman Domingo for Variety’s Actors on Actors series in December 2024, Culkin expressed his love for fatherhood. However, he admitted there is one task he doesn’t enjoy as much.
When Domingo asked, “What do you like about being a father?” Culkin joked, “Absolutely everything except dinner time.” He added, “I love everything else.”
He also described fatherhood as his primary focus, saying, “It feels like nothing else matters. I’m a dad now, and my only role in life is that. That’s real life. All this is lovely, but I’m just trying to get home.”
In an interview with E! News at the 34th annual Gotham Awards in December 2024, Culkin revealed that his kids have never seen Home Alone, the Christmas classic he starred in with his brother, Macaulay Culkin.
“There’s still some scary parts,” he explained. “For the 3-year-old, there’s the tarantula [and] there’s the guy at the end who said, ‘I’m gonna bite off all your fingers.’ That’s scary for a 3-year-old.”
However, Culkin hinted that this year might be the time for his children to experience the holiday film. “We think they might be ready for Home Alone this year,” he said. “If not, next year.”
